What is the meaning of TPD Insurance Cover and what does TPD mean?
TPD means, Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) which means insurance cover provided through your superannuation fund that pays you a lump sum if you are unable to return to work due to illness or injury, subject to your insurance policy, eligibility and your circumstances.
TPD benefits are paid, subject to different policies as each one may have different eligibility conditions, definitions and terms. However, generally you are considered to be TPD if you :
- Stop work due to sickness or injury; and
- Do not work for an extended period of time (usually 3-6 months); and
- Are unable to return to work within your education, training and experience.
This TPD insurance cover, if provided under your superannuation, is cover that you have been paying premiums for during the period of your membership, and it is separate to your and your employer’s contributions. That is, TPD cover is insurance cover that will be paid to you as a lump sum if you are totally and permanently disabled and unable to return to work in an occupation with which you have education, training or experience, due to your illness or injury.
Rest assured, our TPD Lawyers take pride in breaking down policies and eligibility criteria in providing you with the most simplest and easiest to understand advice for your benefit.
Double TPD meaning?
Sometimes people refer to making two TPD claims as a double TPD although it is making a separate TPD claim with different superfunds if you had TPD insurance cover as of the date you last worked with double or perhaps more depending on what different insurance covers you took out prior to ceasing work. For a specific or sometimes, forgotten reason, you may have held double, or even multiple TPD insurance covers with different superfunds. You are entitled to make separate TPD claims with each superfunds if you meet the eligibility criteria with each superfund. Our TPD Lawyers take pride in advising you to make a TPD claim with each superfund that you have a TPD Insurance policy with on a No Win No Fee basis.
What is income protection insurance?
Income protection is an insurance benefit that pays a portion of your pre-injury income earnings if you’re unable to work due to illness or injury. In most instances, income protection is a monthly benefit that pays up to 95% of your pre-injury income for a set time period, depending on what you or your superfund selected at the time.
What is the benefit period for income protection?
Income protection payments are paid on a monthly basis to an injured person during the time that they are unable to work. The payments are made monthly until the person returns to work or until their benefit period ends which can be 2 years, 5 years or until the age of retirement. The circumstances of the payments will depend on the injured person’s policy. Our TPD Lawyers represent and claim income protection insurance on behalf of our clients as well on a no win no fee basis.
What is the cost of income protection?
If you have income protection in your policy than it usually means you have already been paying for it as part of your policy and cover. In terms of legal fees our TPD lawyers work on a No Win No Fee basis and may already assist you as part of the TPD process if you are also claiming TPD as well.
Can you claim TPD and income protection together?
In summary, yes. In most cases, if your insurance cover held income protection, you also may have TPD Insurance cover. However, is important to note that lodging a TPD claim may end your entitlement to income protection, however this is not always the case, depends on your cover and policy.
Most of the time, it is possible to claim a TPD benefit while also receiving income protection payments however, some insurance policies will automatically cease your income protection benefits when you make a TPD claim.
To avoid these issues and make an informed decision about your circumstances, we recommend that you seek legal advice before (not after) lodging a TPD claim, especially if you are already in receipt of income protection benefits.
What does it mean when a TPD policy refers to “education, training and experience”?
TPD definitions can vary depending on your fund’s insurance policy. Most TPD insurance policies require that you stop working due to illness or injury and be permanently unable to return to work in your usual employment or any other employment that you are suited by your education, training and experience. That is why the superfund most of the times requests your resume.
Essentially this means that you are unable to work without being retrained or acquiring further education. That is, if you stop working in your own occupation because of an injury or illness, and you are unable to return to work in any occupation without acquiring further education or training, then you may be entitled to a TPD benefit. This part of the process is very important as it determines your eligibility to meeting the criteria and being eligible. Our TPD lawyers will assist you with ensuring you understand this and advise you whether or not you may be eligible based on your own education, training and insurance.
Can I return to work after my TPD claim has been approved?
In short, it depends on the TPD insurance definition within your funds’ insurance policy.
Each fund has its’ own TPD insurance definition and therefore, it is difficult to answer this question with certainty without reviewing your policy and circumstances. However, generally, the TPD meaning falls within one or more of the following definitions:
- Must not ever work again within your education, training and experience;
- Must not ever work again within your usual or own occupation;
- Must be unable to do your activities of daily living; and
- Must lose the use of two limbs or your vision.
Therefore, provided you do not return to work within the area that was applied to your claim, you may be able to return to work after your TPD claim is finalised and you genuinely recovered or retrained in another area that you were deemed unable to work within prior.
Issa Rabaya
• Bachelor of Laws
• Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice
• Approved Legal Service Provider to the Work Cover Independent Review Office
• Member of the Law Society
