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If your HESTA account was inactive after 1 July 2019, you might have lost your insurance in super.
That’s because government legislation called Protecting Your Super came into effect from 1 July.
An 'inactive' account is when a super account hasn't had any contributions or rollovers for 16 months or more.
The new laws were introduced to stop members’ super being eaten up by fees: something that can happen if contributions aren’t coming in regularly to cover them.
But there’s some good news.
You have until 30 September 2019 to get your full insurance cover back.
How to get your insurance back
Make a contribution by 30 September to reinstate your cover — you’ll then need to make at least one contribution every 16 months to keep your account active. The reinstated cover will be the same as before cover ceased, so if there were any restrictions previously they will still appIy.
If you miss the 30 September cut off, you can still apply to get your insurance back. But from 1 October, the insurance you get may be different to what you had before you became 'inactive' and will be subject to restrictions like new events cover.
Still have cover but think you might lose it?
You can stop that happening - here's how.
- Change your preferences in your HESTA online account
- log in or set up your online account here using your member number
- once you're logged in, go to the 'Personal details' section
- then go to 'Preferences' and choose Please keep my insurance cover if I become 'inactive'.
OR
- Call us on 1800 813 327 and choose 'keep my insurance cover' from the menu.
OR
- Make a contribution or rollover other super every 16 months to keep your account active.
How insurance through super can help protect you
Having insurance is an important way to help safeguard your quality of life. If you couldn’t work due to illness or injury, or you weren’t around, insurance gives you peace of mind that you and your loved ones will be looked after.
And your cover through HESTA gives you that protection 24/7.
Most members receive insurance automatically when they join HESTA. It’s paid out of your super account, so you don’t have to dip into your weekly budget to pay for fees or remember to renew each year.
We know that for many members, cover through super is the only insurance they have. And it’s been designed with our members’ needs in mind.
Before you decide whether to restart your cover
Make sure:
- you've checked whether you have insurance cover through other super (if you haven't combined it into one account) so you're not doubling up on cover and fees
- that cover through HESTA will give you the level of protection you're looking for; read Insurance Options for full details.
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