Life Insurance Checklist Launched to Support Australian Women
Australian women are being encouraged to have tough conversations and use a life insurance checklist, in a bid to address a $1.8 trillion gap in insurance cover for death or permanent disability.
Not for profit risk and insurance network Know Risk says the ($1.8 trillion) figure, reported by Rice Warner, reveals that if an individual or family member were to die or be permanently disabled, thousands of Australians would not have adequate life insurance cover to support themselves or their families to endure the loss of income and care costs.
With women now making the bulk of financial decisions in Australian households, Know Risk says providing information and supporting women to make decisions about whether they need life insurance and how much of it they need are vital to addressing the shortfall.
“This is a really shocking statistic but it’s really one that we hope will encourage people to start talking about the financial reality of death and disability,” said Know Risk spokesperson Prue Willsford.
“Insurance is complicated and this in combination with a lack of awareness and a reluctance to have uncomfortable conversations may be to blame for the gap. Right now, many Australian families rely on cover from their superannuation funds and this leaves many people underinsured.”
To start to address the gap, Know Risk launched a Life Insurance checklist on 2 September, aimed at supporting women to assess their needs and their families’ needs. The complete checklist and other resources on life insurance are available from knowrisk.com.au.
According to Know Risk, the steps for ensuring individuals and families are fully covered are:
- Decide if you need life insurance.
- Do your research on insurance providers.
- Decide what type of life cover you need.
- Decide what level of cover you need.
- Buy your insurance.
- Review your policy each year prior to renewal.
Know Risk is an independent, non-profit practical risk and insurance information initiative developed by the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance with the support of community and emergency groups, insurers and risk experts.
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