your insurance options

Our standard Income Protection (IP) Cover provides a monthly benefit to help you and your family meet ongoing living expenses, in the event you are sick or injured and cannot work.

Our IP Cover means that if you're totally disabled either permanently or temporarily, we’ll pay you a benefit every month for up to five years, after a 90 day waiting period (conditions apply and is subject to policy terms and conditions).

Key features

• low cost cover that varies with your age for Standard Cover
• benefit payments for up to five years, with cover through to age 67
• monthly disability payments
• also provides cover for members even if only partially or temporarily disabled
• option to reduce waiting periods to 30 or 60 days
• flexibility to change cover expiry age to 60
• you can apply for a benefit payment period to age 60 or age 67 or for two years
• a Permanent Incapacity Support Benefit of $10,200 to eligible members after a qualifying period
• fee-free cover for up to 12 months of approved parental leave (for eligible members)
• a reduced insurance fee for those members who meet certain occupational criteria.

What is Standard Cover?

Eligible HESTA members automatically receive standard insurance cover when they are at least aged 25 and have had an account balance of $6,000 after joining. Alternatively members can opt into cover earlier. Read Insurance options (pdf) for information on when cover starts.

You may be able to get Standard Cover before it automatically starts by letting us know when you join the Fund. After 90 days, HESTA members need to complete a short personal health statement if they want cover before becoming automatically eligible. 

Standard Cover through HESTA has a low weekly insurance fee that varies with your age and provides two units of Income Protection Cover with a benefit payment period of up to five years, a 90 day waiting period and a cover expiry age of 67; and two units of Death Cover to age 75..

Our standard Death Cover provides a lump-sum benefit to help with ongoing expenses and one-off costs your family may face in the event of your death or in some cases, terminal illness. 

Key features

• low cost per unit per week which varies with your age
• cover to age 75 (benefit expiry age)
• provides a lump-sum benefit which varies with your age, ranging from $25,000 per unit to $92,800 per unit if you are under age 40,  then progressively decreasing from ages 40 to 74 
• choose between unitised or fixed cover
• a reduced insurance fee for those members who meet the management occupational criteria. 

WHAT IS STANDARD COVER?

Eligible HESTA members automatically receive standard insurance cover when they are at least aged 25 and have had an account balance of $6,000 after joining. Alternatively, members can opt into cover earlier. Read Insurance options (pdf) for information on when cover starts.

Standard Cover through HESTA has a low weekly insurance fee that varies with your age. It provides two units of Income Protection Cover with a benefit payment period of up to 5 years, a 90 day waiting period and a cover expiry age of 67; and two units of Death Cover to age 75.

In addition to the standard IP Cover and Death Cover, you also have the option of applying for Lump-sum TPD Cover, which provides a lump-sum benefit to assist you and your family in the event you are totally and permanently disabled and unlikely ever to be able to return to work.

Key features

• low insurance fee of $0.73^ per unit per week for ages 15 to 34 and $1.57^ for ages 35 to 69
• provides a lump-sum benefit of up to $85,000 per unit, decreasing from age 40, in the event of total and permanent disablement
• choose between unitised or fixed cover*
• a reduced insurance fee for those members who meet certain occupational criteria.

_{^We are legally required to show the gross insurance fee; however most members actually pay the net insurance fee, which is up to 15% less than the gross cost.} 

_{*If you fix your lump sum TPD cover, your benefit amount will be fixed until you reach age 61 at which point your cover amount will decrease in equal amounts, 10% for each full year until age 70 when cover stops. If applicable, the insurance fee payable will be based on the reduced lump-sum TPD Cover.}