Whether you already have a life insurance policy or are thinking about taking one out, the past year has thrown many Australians’ priorities into sharp focus, reminding us of the importance of our family and loved ones. If you’re considering what the future might hold and how to prepare for it, you might well decide it’s time to take another look at your life insurance policy to make sure it still covers your needs. Alternately, you may like to consider what kind of cover might be available with a new policy.
The coronavirus pandemic put a squeeze on household budgets for much of last year, and it may now be the case that you’re questioning whether your current life insurance policy is providing value for money, and whether it might be time to shop around for something new. Or, you might be considering a life insurance policy for the first time.
If you are considering your life insurance needs at the moment, Canstar Research has assessed and rated 17 products from 17 providers on our database and has identified the ones offering outstanding value to consumers.
How are products and providers assessed?
For Canstar’s Life Insurance Star Ratings, products on our database are assessed on both price – monthly premiums – and a range of features such as ease of application, payment options and comprehensiveness of cover. Each product is rated against 20 different consumer profiles broken down on the basis of age group, gender and smoking status. Products are assigned a total score in each profile, 70% of which is weighted according to the price score and 30% of which is weighted according to the feature score. The products that perform to a high standard in individual profiles are given a 5-Star Rating.
Canstar Awards an Outstanding Value Direct Life Insurance Award to the provider or providers who offer outstanding value based on their cumulative score and star ratings performance across all 20 direct life insurance profiles. You can find out more in the methodology.
How much could you save with a 5-Star rated life insurance policy?
Say, for example, you are a woman aged in your 30s who does not smoke. The average monthly premium of one of our 5-Star rated insurance policies is around $21.04, for $500,000 worth of coverage. The average premium for the same person with a policy that received a rating of four stars or lower is $35.88 a month, so this represents a saving of $14.84 a month. This means that a 5-Star policy could potentially save you up to $178.08 annually.
2021 Outstanding Value Award-winning life insurance providers
Both of the winners of this year’s Outstanding Value Direct Life Insurance Award have won the Award the previous three years. It is also NobleOak’s sixth consecutive win.
NobleOak
NobleOak has held on to the Direct Life Insurance Award that it has won every year since 2016. This year, it once again provided extremely competitive premiums, leading the way in 19 out of the 20 profiles considered, according to Canstar Research. NobleOak’s cover includes a variety of benefits, such as a funeral advance benefit, terminal illness benefit, financial advice benefit, grief counselling benefit, premium freeze benefit and future increases benefit. You can choose to add cover for trauma, as well as total and permanent disability (TPD).
Allianz Australia
Allianz has won the Direct Life Insurance Award for the fourth year running. In 2021, the insurer continued its strong performance across a number of profiles, according to Canstar Research. Allianz doesn’t require medical or blood tests to apply for its life cover. Once you are accepted, it guarantees that the policy will continue until the anniversary after your 99th birthday, regardless of how your health may change, as long as you pay your premiums. For policy terms and conditions, you can visit the Allianz website.
Cover image source: Nattakorn_Maneerat/Shutterstock.com
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This article was reviewed by our Sub Editor Jacqueline Belesky and Finance and Lifestyle Editor Shay Waraker before it was updated, as part of our fact-checking process.
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