Life insurance advice in Australia.
Life insurance advice, not a policy bought off a comparison table. Term life pays a lump sum on death or terminal illness. The structure, ownership, and premium type decide how much actually reaches the beneficiary.
The needs analysis.
How much life cover you should hold is a maths question, not a feeling. We size it against the obligations the cover has to meet if you are not there. Young professionals putting first cover in place often start with the considerations on our advice for young professionals page.
- +Debt clearance
Mortgage, personal loans, and any guarantees that would otherwise fall to the family.
- +Income replacement
Years of household income for the surviving partner and dependents, until children are independent or longer.
- +Education and care
School fees, university support, and the cost of replacing unpaid care if the surviving parent has to return to work.
- +Final expenses and capital buffer
Funeral, estate administration, and a buffer so the family is not forced to sell the home or investments at the wrong time.
- +Existing cover credit
Super default cover, employer cover, and any retail policies already in place. The new cover sits on top, not in place of.
The six structural choices.
Product type, premium structure, and ownership are three separate decisions. We model them against your circumstances rather than treating them as a single default.
Term life
A lump sum paid on death or terminal illness diagnosis. Renewed annually with cover continuing to age 99 in most contracts. The standard product for most Australians.
TPD bundled
Life and TPD linked under one policy. Cheaper to start. A TPD payout reduces the remaining life benefit unless a buy-back option is held.
Stepped premium
Premium rises each year with age. Cheaper in the early years. Suits short-to-medium hold periods or cover that will be replaced as your situation changes.
Level premium
Premium held flat to a chosen age, recalculated only on policy reviews. More expensive at the start, materially cheaper over a long hold.
Inside super
Premiums paid from your balance. Tax treatment of the death benefit depends on the beneficiary. Limits on sum insured and definitions apply.
Outside super
Owned personally or through a structure. The benefit is paid directly to the beneficiary, generally tax-free, with no SIS conditions on release.
Stepped versus level: the long view.
The decision turns on hold period, cash flow, and what the cover is for. The interaction between cover held inside super and a personal policy is covered in more depth on the superannuation advice page.
Cheaper now, more expensive later.
Premium rises each year as you age. Suits cover that will be reduced or replaced within ten to fifteen years, or a household where current cash flow is tight and future income is rising.
Smoother cost over a long hold.
Premium calculated to stay flat until a chosen age, with insurer reviews on the base rate. Materially cheaper than stepped over a 20-year hold. Suits cover that is expected to stay in place to retirement.
Ownership and tax.
The same sum insured can land in the beneficiary's hands as a clean tax-free lump sum or arrive trimmed by tax. Ownership decides which. For medical specialists, the choice often interacts with practice ownership and partnership protection, which is covered on the advice for doctors page.
- +Personal name outside super
Benefit paid to the named beneficiary, generally tax-free, fast settlement.
- +Through a trust
Used in business and estate planning where direction of the proceeds matters.
- +Inside super to a tax dependant
Generally tax-free. Spouse, minor children, and financial dependants.
- +Inside super to an adult non-dependant
Tax may apply to the taxable component. The classic estate planning trap.
- +Beneficiary nominations
Binding death benefit nominations inside super, named beneficiaries outside. Both need keeping current.
Credentials and licensing.
- Practitioner
- Balki Balakrishnan
- Experience
- 12+ years on personal risk
- Membership
- FAAA
- Authorisation
- AR 409415 of La Verne Capital Pty Ltd
- Focus
- Ownership, tax, and beneficiary outcomes
- Standalone reviews
- Available without a full plan
Life cover is one of the four common covers we arrange most often, alongside income protection, TPD, and trauma. Recommendations require personal advice and sit inside the financial planning pillar.
The questions clients ask before booking.
Stepped is cheaper now and more expensive later. Level is more expensive now and cheaper later. The crossover point usually sits between ten and fifteen years from start. If you plan to hold the cover long term, level wins. If the cover is bridging a defined period, stepped is often the better answer.
We size it against debts to clear, income replacement for dependents, education costs, and a capital buffer. The number is specific to the household, not a default multiple of income.
Inside super eases cash flow. Outside super gives clearer beneficiary outcomes and avoids the tax pitfall when a non-dependant inherits a super death benefit. Many clients hold a mix.
Outside super the death benefit is generally tax-free. Inside super, the benefit paid to a tax dependant is tax-free; paid to a non-dependant adult child it may carry a tax component on the taxable portion. We work through this in the review.
Application questions, often a medical or blood tests, and access to your health records. The work happens at application, not at claim, which is the point of advised cover.
Read on adjacent cover
- All personal risk coverLife cover in context with the four other covers we advise on.
- Income protection insuranceMonthly benefit while illness or injury keeps you from work.
- TPD insuranceLump sum if you can never return to work. Often bundled with life.
- Trauma insuranceCritical illness lump sum on diagnosis.
- Business insuranceKey person, buy and sell, partnership protection.
- Insurance for doctorsUnderwriting around specialty practice and overseas records.
Information on this page is general in nature. It does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation, or needs. Read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and consider whether personal advice is appropriate before acquiring any insurance product mentioned here.
Book a free life cover review.
An hour on the file. Sum insured, premium structure, ownership, and beneficiaries, all checked against your circumstances today.