Bank of Melbourne Income Protection Insurance

Bank of Melbourne

Bank of Melbourne is a provider of a range of banking and insurance products, including income protection insurance.

Bank of Melbourne’s income protection insurance policies are only available to customers via a Bank of Melbourne wealth consultant. Although Canstar does not rate Bank of Melbourne life insurance products, we have rounded up some key product info below.

What income protection insurance products does Bank of Melbourne offer? 

At the time of writing, Bank of Melbourne offers income protection insurance under its BT Protection Plans product. This is underwritten by Westpac.

Bank of Melbourne currently offers the following types of income protection policies:

  • Income Protection – provides a monthly benefit of up to 80% of your regular income while you are totally or partially disabled.
  • Income Protection through Superannuation – income protection which is included in a Westpac MasterTrust superannuation fund.
  • Income Protection Plus – provides a more comprehensive level of cover in addition to the benefits offered by a general income protection policy. Some extras include a counselling benefit, nursing care and childcare benefits to cover children of the insured person. This cover also provides financial assistance during your recovery.

Bank of Melbourne income protection policies also offer varying levels of cover for different purposes:

  • Own Occupation Income Protection – provides a monthly benefit for the insured person in the event of disablement due to illness or injury.
  • Home Duties Income Protection – provides a monthly benefit to an insured person who becomes severely disabled due to illness or injury and is not able to perform normal household duties.
  • General Cover Income Protection – provides a monthly benefit to cover severe disablement due to illness or injury that prevents the insured person from performing activities of daily living.

What features does Bank of Melbourne income protection insurance offer?

Some features that can be included in your Bank of Melbourne income protection policy are:

  • Elective Surgery Benefit: Pays a monthly benefit where you are totally or partially disabled due to an elected surgery, such as organ donation or cosmetic surgery.
  • Recurrent Disability Benefit: Allows the policy waiting period to be waived if you become disabled within a certain period of time after claiming benefits for the same sickness or injury.
  • Death Benefit: Pays your income insurance benefit in the event of your death.
  • Change of Waiting Period Benefit: Allows you to reduce the waiting period of your policy without further health evidence if your employment status changes
  • Future Insurability Benefit: Allows you to increase your insured monthly benefit each year without needing to provide further health evidence.

Please note these benefits may not be available on a Home Duties Income Protection or General Cover Income Protection policy.

How to apply for a Bank of Melbourne income protection insurance policy

You can apply for a Bank of Melbourne income protection insurance policy by calling Bank Of Melbourne to speak to a BT Insurance wealth consultant. 

Eligibility to apply for Bank of Melbourne income protection insurance

To apply for an income protection policy, you will generally need:

  • To be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or a permanent Australian resident
  • Have an Australian residential address
  • Be within the entry age range required for the cover that you choose

Considering taking out income protection insurance? Canstar does not compare advised income protection policies such as that provided by Bank of Melbourne. However, we do compare direct income protection policies, which are policies anyone can apply to take out directly with an insurer. 

Compare Income Protection Insurance

Bank of Melbourne Income Protection FAQs

The cost of your Bank of Melbourne income protection insurance premiums may vary depending on a number of factors, including the type of cover you choose, the monthly benefit and the waiting and benefit period, among other things.

Bank of Melbourne may also take into account personal factors such as your age, health, gender, occupation, smoker status and pastimes. 

Before taking out an income protection policy, it may be beneficial to first compare various providers to help ensure you’re applying for a policy that suits your needs.

Compare Income Protection Insurance

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) states that you can claim the cost of premiums you pay that cover the loss of your income, such as income protection insurance. You can’t, however, claim a deduction for premiums that compensate you for physical injury or are taken out through your super fund. 

The ATO also says that generally speaking, premiums for forms of life insurance such as term life insurance, TPD insurance or trauma insurance may not be tax deductible. Ask your tax accountant or financial adviser for more details on this.

If you would like to make a claim on an individual policy, Bank of Melbourne says that you can do so by contacting them over the phone. A member of the Bank of Melbourne claims team can help you start your claim and guide you through the process.

Bank of Melbourne was founded in 1989 and now says it has over 100 branches exclusively in the state of Victoria. Bank of Melbourne is part of the Westpac Banking Corporation.

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Written by: Eliza Parry-Okeden | Last updated: November 25, 2019