We have adopted the Insurance in Superannuation Voluntary Code of Practice, and we're proud to be helping more than 350,000 Australians protect their future with insurance through their super.
What is the Insurance in Superannuation Voluntary Code of Practice?
The Insurance in Superannuation Voluntary Code of Practice (the Code) is the industry’s commitment to high
standards when providing insurance to you as a super fund member.
Under the Code, your super fund needs to:
- Offer automatic insurance that’s appropriate and affordable
- Communicate with you in a way that’s easy to understand
- Help you if you need to make an insurance claim, keep you updated on your claim's progress, and process
your claim.
As a result of the Protecting Your Super (PYS) and Putting Members’ Interests First (PMIF) legislation, the
Code is being reviewed by its owners – the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), the
Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST), and the Financial Services Council (FSC).
View the Code on the ASFA website
Transition plan
The Code covers the insurance we can provide you through a QSuper Accumulation account:
We already meet most of the individual Code standards and we'll continue to work towards compliance by 1 January 2022, where it's in the best interests of our members to do so.
Exception to protect our members
To protect the financial wellbeing of our members, we offer some of the highest levels of default insurance cover for an industry or public sector super fund. Because of this, we have opted out of the section of the Code that says the cost of automatic insurance benefits can't be more than 1% of the estimated level of salary for our overall membership.
We have opted out of this section because:
- Your financial wellbeing is important
Insurance plays a vital role in bridging the gap between your retirement and what you could need if you were unable to work because of illness, injury, or early death.
- Protecting you requires focussing on value, not just cost
While you can choose the type of insurance you hold or apply for, our automatic insurance is supposed to provide an adequate and affordable level of cover. In some cases, this means the total cost of insurance may exceed 1% of a member's salary.
While opting out of this section of the Code is currently in our members’ best interests, we will continue to monitor the suitability of our default insurance and premiums for our members. If we make changes to our cover or Code compliance approach in the future, we will published a revised transition plan.
Insurance strategy and affordability
Protecting our members with flexible cover1
QSuper provides eligible Accumulation account members with one of the highest levels of automatic insurance cover offered by an industry or public sector fund.2 We offer automatic death and total and permanent disability cover, and many members also automatically receive income protection cover, with the ability to tailor cover to meet individual needs.3
To support our members employed the Queensland emergency services, we provide these members with automatic insurance cover regardless of their age and account balance, under the dangerous occupations exception.4 This includes all employees of Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, Queensland Police Service, and Queensland Ambulance Service.
Cover is highly valued by QSuper members, with 65% of our Accumulation account members holding insurance as at 30 June 2020.
Our member-centric holistic approach to claims management supports members and their families in their time of need. When compared with the industry average, our members generally are more satisfied with claims decisions than the industry average.5
Affordable automatic cover for members
QSuper provides meaningful levels of affordable automatic cover for members, supported by sustainable premiums, and with the ability and support to personalise cover to meet individual circumstances.
We conduct regular pricing reviews and assess the affordability of premiums (our recent pricing changes at 1 January 2021 were made to ensure we can continue to pay claims into the future).
We also conduct regular product reviews to ensure our cover is suitable for our current and future members.
Premium adjustments
Premium adjustment mechanisms are when a super fund receives money or other material benefits (other than claims payments for members and any related costs) directly or indirectly from an insurer or reinsurer, and they publish the details of the arrangement on their website.
Premium adjustment mechanisms do not apply to QSuper's insurance arrangements with our current insurer, QInsure.
Understand your current insurance
Log in to Member Online or check your latest annual statement to see your current insurance level.