It is to provide money to meet or contribute to the funeral and incidental expenses of each of your Named Persons. It provides a payment for funeral expenses; no money goes to the family.
No. That is not how the Plan works. It is not a savings plan. There is no money “in your plan”. Rather, in return for the payments made to us we promise to make a payment for funeral and related expenses, in accordance with the rules of the Plan, following the passing of each of your Nominees. That payment is only to pay funeral and incidental expenses of the deceased Nominee and is not to be used for any other purpose.
No. It is only for the funeral and incidental expenses of the deceased Named Person.
The Plan is open to all citizens and residents of Australia who at the time application is made are under 70 years of age.
Based on the information you provide, we assign a classification to each Named Person based on age and our assessment of the Named Person’s health.
How does a Name Person’s age affect Classification?
Named Persons aged from 65 to 69 will be classified as Level 3. All Named Persons under 65 will be classified as Level 1, 2 or 3 based on the information you provide in the health statement.
Do I need to let you know if the health of a Named Person changes?
Not unless the original information given by you at the time of application was wrong. Or you are applying to increase a benefit amount, at which time we must reassess the health level of a named person.
What methods can be used to make payments?
Bank or Credit Union: A bank or credit union account may be used to make the payments by using a Direct Debit Request form. This allows us to automatically take the payments from an account.
What will happen if not enough money is left in the account?
It is likely that the bank will charge the account holder a dishonour fee and automatically debit that amount to the account. This might result in the account being overdrawn, which might cause the bank to charge the account holder a further fee. Although the account holder’s bank statements might indicate that these fees have been paid to us, in fact the fees have been charged and taken by the bank.
How long do payments need to be made?
Payments must be made every fortnight for as long as you wish your plan to continue.
What should I do if a payment or payments are missed?
If payments have been missed or if you think a payment may have been missed, you should phone us to discuss the matter.
What happens if payments continue to be missed?
If payments are stopped or fall behind by an amount equal to 4 fortnightly payments or more, you will cease to be a Plan Holder, your Named Person will cease to be Named Person and a payment will not be made when they pass away.
If I lose my plan because of missed payments what can I do?
If you wish to have your plan reinstated you should contact us as soon as possible.
When will you reinstate a plan?
If you lose your plan we may reinstate it at our sole discretion on such terms and conditions as we may require.
Will I receive money back if my plan does not continue?
No. If your plan is stopped for any reason you will not receive any money back.
What should I do if there is a change to a bank or credit union account?
If payments are made by direct debit and the bank or credit union account is changed, you should let us know immediately. If you do not tell us, we will not be able to receive the payments. This might result in the loss of your plan.
What should I do if the day on which money goes into the account changes?
If payments are made by direct debit and the day money goes into the account changes, you should contact us immediately as it might be necessary to change the day on which we debit the account. If you do not let us know of a change, there might be insufficient money in the account to use for the payments. This is likely to result in the bank or credit union charging the account holder dishonour fees. It could also lead to the loss of your plan.
Does the fortnightly payment go up at any time?
We will endeavour to notify you by mail of increases in payments for your plan before those increases take effect.
What do I do about payments if I go into custody or a correctional centre?
It is very important that you or a family member or friend contact us as soon as possible to let us know about your situation. It might be possible to arrange a way for the payments to continue.
When does a cancellation take effect?
A cancellation takes effect on the date we receive your request, by phone or in writing.
If you cancel your plan, we will not give any money back and we will not make any payment on the passing of a person who was a Named Person.
Yes. If you no longer wish to be a Plan Holder, you can ask us at any time to cancel your plan.
Can I remove a Named Person?
Yes. If you no longer wish some of your Named Persons to be included in your plan, you can ask us to remove those Named Persons.
What happens if I remove a Named Person?
If you remove a Named Person, we will not give any money back and we will not make any payment on the passing of the person removed.
What needs to be done when a Named Person passes away?
When a Named Person passes away, someone should phone us as soon as possible on 1800 234 700 to let us know. Once notification of a Named Person’s passing has been received, our claims department will contact the payee and discuss with the payee what documents and/or other information are required to process the claim.
An official document confirming the Named Person’s passing.
An official document stating the cause of the Named Person’s passing.
A Claims Form signed by the payee that the benefit amount will be used for the sole purpose of meeting funeral-related expenses. The Claims Form sets out how the payee proposes the benefit amount will be spent, the insurer will only make payments for documented funeral & funeral-related expenses according to the rules of the plan.
What will happen once we have received the documents?
Once all information and documentation has been supplied to us, the claim will be sent to the insurer.
The insurer may require further information before it deals with the claim.
Once the claim has been approved by the insurer, the insurer will make a payment to us.
Once we have received payment from the insurer, we will confirm the identity of the payee’s (first critical contact) and take steps to release the benefit amount.
Are there any limitations on benefit amounts?
We will only make a payment by reason of a Named Person’s passing for the sole purpose of meeting or contributing to funeral-related expenses. We will require the payee (first critical contact) to give a written undertaking that the benefit amount will be used for that sole purpose and may impose other requirements on the payee (first critical contact) to ensure that the benefit amount is so used. We will only make a payment to the extent that the required undertaking is given and to the extent that any such requirements we impose are met.
If information provided to us about the Named Person’s age or state of health was incorrect or misleading, we can limit the benefit amount to the amount we would have been required to pay if we had been given accurate information. If incorrect or misleading information was given to us fraudulently, we are entitled to treat our agreement with you as if it never existed.
It is a sad fact of life, that some people find that they cannot cope with their own personal and family-related worries. With the added everyday pressures of modern times, they often take their own lives. We recognise this tragic fact and, whereas many other companies will not make payments in suicide cases, we will cover nominees (named persons) for such an eventuality, 12 months after the start of the plan. If the suicide was within 12 months, whilst we wouldn’t make a payment, we would, however refund the costs of the payments which had been made during this first 12 months.
How much will be paid when a Named Person passes away?
The amount depends on a number of things including the chosen plan amount, the length of time the person has been a Named Person and the person’s health at the time you applied for that person to become a Named Person.
We cannot answer all your questions via this Information Guide. Some matters need to be discussed with one of our office staff members.
If you have one of the following questions, or any other question that is not answered in this Information Guide, you should contact us toll-free on 1800 234 700.
Can I transfer one of my Named Persons to another plan?
Can I change the benefit amount for one of my Named Persons?
Can another person make the payments for my plan?
Can I change one of my Named Persons’ levels?
Are the payments for my plan up-to-date?
What amount will you pay on my passing?
What amount will you pay on the passing of my Names Persons?
What is the current fortnightly payment for my plan?
Who receives mail relating to my plan?
Any letters or documents relating to you and your Named Persons will be sent to you as the Plan Holder. All mail will be sent to the address you gave us.
What do I do when I move or change my telephone number?
You should notify us immediately when you change your address or telephone number. We cannot tell you if you miss payments or anything about your plan if we do not know how to contact you.
What should I do if I receive a letter from us?
If we send a letter, it is important. Please read your letters. If you do not understand a letter we send you or if you are unsure of anything contained in one of our letters, please call us. We are always happy to explain anything that appears in our letters. Not reading letters is the most common reason why a person paying for a plan is charged bank fees by the bank. It is also the reason why a lot of plans are cancelled.
When will I receive my Plan Holder's card?
You will receive a plastic card containing your Plan Holder number and the names of your Named Persons. We will endeavour to send your card to you within approximately 6 to 8 weeks after your application is accepted.
Phone us to order a new one. It may take up to 10 weeks before you receive your new card.