NEOS Life Insurance
What life insurance products does NEOS offer?
At the time of writing, NEOS offers the following types of life insurance cover:
- Life cover: Provides beneficiaries with a lump sum payment if the insured person dies or is diagnosed with a terminal illness.
- Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) cover: Provides a lump sum payment if you are permanently unable to work again due to illness or injury.
- Critical illness cover: Provides a lump sum payment to help support you while you recover, in the event of a serious illness such as cancer, heart attack or stroke.
- Child cover: Provides a lump sum payment if your child passes away, suffers a critical illness or is diagnosed as terminally ill.
- Income protection cover: This cover replaces up to 75% of your income in monthly installments if you are unable to work because of illness or injury.
Some benefits of NEOS life insurance products include:
- A NEOS life insurance plan can be held within a superannuation fund or outside of super, by you or a legal entity, depending on what suits you and your needs.
- Worldwide cover means the insured person is covered for 24 hours a day anywhere in the world.
- Customer’s plans are guaranteed to be renewed each year until they expire, provided premiums are paid when due.
- Existing plans are guaranteed to upgrade and include any future improvements and benefits provided by life insurance products.
How much does NEOS life insurance cost?
The cost of NEOS life insurance depends on a range of factors, including the type and level of cover that you choose, your age, your health situation, your occupation and your hobbies.
Eligibility to apply for NEOS life insurance
To be eligible for NEOS Protection life insurance, you must be:
- an Australian resident, or an Australian company or trustee, and
- over the age of 18, or acting as an officer or trustee on behalf of a company or superannuation fund
Additional eligibility criteria may apply depending on the type of cover you choose to apply for. More information regarding eligibility requirements is available in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) on the NEOS website.
How to apply for a NEOS life insurance policy
NEOS states that you will need to speak to a financial advisor before applying for a NEOS life insurance policy. It says a financial advisor can help you to determine the type and level of cover that best suits your individual needs. They will then assist you with your NEOS application.
Before taking out a life insurance policy, it may be beneficial to first compare various providers to help ensure you’re applying for a policy that suits your needs.
NEOS life insurance FAQs
You or your beneficiaries can make a claim by calling or emailing NEOS, or your financial advisor may do this on your behalf. Once NEOS have been notified, you’ll be assigned a claims consultant to assist you with the assessment process.
NEOS says that the following information is generally required to make a claim:
- a completed initial claim form, this can be filled in by you or over the phone
- a statement from your treating doctor
- proof of identity
- Depending on the type of claim, additional medical or financial documents may be required
If your insurance claim is approved, NEOS will arrange the payment of your benefit depending on the type of cover.
Generally speaking, premiums for most forms of life insurance such as term life insurance, TPD insurance and trauma insurance are unlikely to be tax deductible, according to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Ask your tax accountant or financial adviser for more details on this.
The ATO adds that you normally can’t claim the cost of premiums you pay through your super fund, although outside of super you may be able to claim a tax deductions for insurance that covers the loss of your income, such as income protection insurance. Again, it could be worth asking your tax accountant or financial adviser for more details on this.
NEOS says its insurance policies have the option for both stepped and level premiums, which have different ways of being calculated.
Stepped premiums are recalculated each year on the anniversary of your policy’s start date, using your age at that time. Stepped premiums generally increase each year, in line with your age and the amount insured.
Level premiums are calculated based on an age-based premium rate. This is determined on the date that your cover commences. Unless otherwise changed, this rate will apply until you turn 65 or 70, depending on the length of time you chose initially. After this, your plan will revert to stepped premiums, which will typically increase each year as described above.
At the time of writing, NEOS states in its PDS that its base stepped and level premiums are guaranteed not to increase in the first three years of your policy’s start date.
At the time of writing, NEOS says medical tests are not required to apply for its life insurance policies. However, in the event of a claim, NEOS may require additional evidence (such as a letter from your medical practitioner) or do a full review of your medical records.
Once you’ve applied for cover, NEOS will contact you if a medical examination is required during the claims process.
NEOS advises that general changes to your plan can be made by contacting it over the phone or via email. Your financial advisor may be able to assist with this, too.
NEOS is an Australian insurance provider which began offering life insurance in 2018. Its headquarters are currently in Sydney. NEOS life insurance products are underwritten by long-standing Australian insurer, NobleOak.
This article was reviewed by our Sub Editor Tom Letts before it was updated as part of our fact-checking process.
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