Episode Summary: David Coorey from Carol and O’Dea was generous enough to come onto the MSSN podcast and demystify Total and Permanent Disability Insurance for us. It’s an insurance that we often find injured workers asking about as well.

Guests: David Coorey (Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers)

Host: Abe

I can remember getting my first cancer in my early 30’s and my oncologist was the one who asked me if I had something called Total and Permanent Disability or Trauma insurance.

Total and Permanent Disability. It’s the kind of insurance we all want once we have been seriously injured or become really sick but while we are healthy and running around, it’s unlikely to be top of mind, especially when we are young.

I was told I had cancer. I had two small children. My income was important and now I was unable to work. I was told I had to go to hospital. I wasn’t asked. I was told. It was a bit like playing Monopoly where you have to “Go to Jail and Do not pass Go!”

10 days. It was 10 days from diagnosis to surgery.

I didn’t have TPD insurance and it was frightening because I didn’t know what was going to happen to me and I didn’t know how I was going to pay bills or even how long I needed support.

Total and Permanent Disability Insurance has always been perplexing and like many others I had a bunch of questions.

TPD is a financial product, like workers comp that is set up to help people but it’s a product that is often not well understood.

What is Total and Permanent Disability Insurance: TPD? – a form of life insurance that sits often in people’s superannuation or a stand-alone product. It’s meant to support you if you are totally and permanently disabled

How do you get it? You need to make a claim for it separate to your super

Can it affect your pension? TPD doesn’t make you ineligible to claim for a Centrelink benefit. It’s an early access to super payment, it is not a compensation payment.

How do you know if you have access? Normally a default product attached to your superannuation but check this. It’s designed to help people who need to access the early retirement fund. You often don’t know the money is there and available.

Challenges in accessing a claim. The policies designed might not be set up to help, for example if you are a casual worker. Check your policy details. Do you have full or limited cover?

Does your medical condition disable you from employment? Do you pay tax on TPD? All this and more! Listen to understand!

In this episode David also runs through some real-life examples and helped us understand how TPD and workers compensation can work together.

We want to really thank David from Caroll and O’Dea for coming onto the Podcast and helping explain what TPD means.

It’s certainly an insurance I wish I had many years ago for my own peace of mind!

Listen now to this episode or check out our Podcast playlist for more.

If you have any topics you would like the podcast to cover then contact us at hello@mssn.com.au