Home › Services › Personal Insurance Advice
Protect your plan
Personal Insurance Advice
Your biggest asset isn’t your RSUs or your home. It’s your ability to earn.
If illness or injury stopped that income, would your family’s plan still work? The right cover means the answer is yes.
General information only. Not personal advice.
The four types of cover
Income protection, life, TPD and trauma cover
Each type of cover does a different job. Most families need a mix, sized to their own debts, income and goals.
Income protection
Pays a monthly benefit if you can’t work because of illness or injury. For a high earner, this is often the most important cover of all.
Life insurance
Pays a lump sum if you die. It can clear the home loan, fund the kids’ education and replace years of income.
Total and permanent disability (TPD)
Pays a lump sum if you’re permanently unable to work again. It covers the costs that life insurance alone doesn’t.
Trauma cover
Pays a lump sum if you’re diagnosed with a serious condition such as cancer, a heart attack or a stroke. It buys you time to recover without draining your investments.
For tech execs
Why high earners are often underinsured
Many tech companies offer cover through work or through your super fund. It’s a good start. But I often find it falls short.
- It’s sized for an average salary, not a $400K+ household with a big home loan
- Your bonus, commission and RSUs may not count fully as insurable income
- It usually ends when you leave, and changing jobs is common in tech
- Nobody has checked it against your debts, your family and your retirement plan
I review what you already have first. Sometimes the answer is to keep it, sometimes to top it up, sometimes to restructure it.
Inside or outside super
Paying for cover the smart way
Where you hold your cover changes how it’s paid for and how it’s taxed.
- Inside super: premiums come from your super balance, not your take home pay. Useful for cash flow, but it reduces your retirement savings.
- Outside super: income protection premiums are generally tax deductible when you hold the policy yourself.
- A mix: often the best answer, with each policy held where it works hardest.
Insurance is one part of your bigger plan. It sits alongside your retirement plan, your super strategy and your estate plan.
Client example
Seeing this in practice
A tech couple on $550K plus shares, with two kids and a home in Sydney. One works at a global US tech company, one in recruitment.
Their cover hadn’t kept up with their income, their debts or their family. We restructured it to cover the family properly, as part of their plan to retire in 10 years.
Read the full case study or browse all case studies.
Results depend on your circumstances. Details changed for privacy.
83 LinkedIn recommendations
What clients say on LinkedIn.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much life insurance do I need in Australia?
It depends on your debts, your family’s living costs and how long they would need support. A common approach is to cover the home loan, education costs and several years of income, less what your investments and super could provide.
What is the difference between income protection and TPD?
Income protection pays a monthly benefit while you can’t work, usually for a set period. TPD pays a lump sum if you’re permanently unable to work again. Many people need both.
Is income protection tax deductible?
Generally yes, when you hold the policy outside super and pay the premiums yourself. Benefits you receive are then usually taxed as income.
Should I hold my insurance inside super?
It can help cash flow, because premiums come from your super rather than your pay. The trade off is a smaller retirement balance. The right answer depends on the type of cover and your situation.
Is the cover through my employer enough?
Sometimes, but often not for high earners. It may be sized for an average salary and usually ends when you leave the company. It’s worth checking against your own needs.
Protect what you are building
Is your family’s plan protected?
15 minutes. No cost, no obligation.
