More awareness needed around insurance inside super

Life insurer, MetLife Australia, has called the industry to work together closer to drive member engagement and increase awareness of the insurance cover Australians have through their superannuation funds.

According to MetLife’s new research, ‘MetLife Insurance Inside Super Report’, almost 40 per cent of members were unaware that they could modify the level of cover they had inside super.

Further to that, the study revealed that over half of those who increased their insurance inside super were prompted by a life event such as buying a house, following a recommendation from a financial adviser or following communication from a superannuation fund.

At the same time, the research proved that one of the biggest barriers preventing engagement was concern about their insurer paying out in the event of a claim as 60 per cent of members cited distrust and industry reputations the main reasons of their fear.

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However, at the same time, almost three-quarters of respondents trusted their super fund to help them make informed decisions about life insurance while 70 per cent said that they trusted their super fund to help them understand how much life insurance they needed.

Chesne Stafford, chief customer and marketing officer, MetLife Australia, said: “We know insurance inside super is built-in protection that serves an incredibly important purpose and has been a safety net for many Australians when the unexpected occurs”.

“Everyday we see examples of people who rely on their insurance inside super to help pick up the pieces after major illness or accident, or bereavement,” she said.

“We need to ensure that protection continues and people aren’t caught unexpectedly without cover, so we’re committed to working with the industry to increase and simplify communication about insurance inside super.

“We want to help Australians understand that it exists, why it exists and to be confident to make choices about their cover.”