Is it ever too late to lodge a Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) claim? Are there any time limits?
This is a question we often get from our clients.
The answer is that, generally, there is no time limit to making a TPD claim, which means that you can make a claim years after you have ceased working because of a disability.
There are exceptions to the above general rule, and these include:
- Some (but not all) policies require claims to be lodged before reaching pension age.
- Some (but not all) policies require claims to be made within a certain time of ceasing work.
- When a claim has been declined by the insurer, time limits will apply from the date the declinature was issued to review or dispute their decision. If this applies to your case, please contact us without delay.
What if I was covered by a TPD policy previously, but I no longer have that policy?
As long as the policy was active at the time that you became disabled for work, you will still be able to make the claim.
For example, a person may have held TPD insurance cover through their superannuation, and develops a serious illness such as cancer which prevented them from working from the age of 53.
At age 55, they may have withdrawn all of their superannuation, and this would have closed their related TPD policy.
Even if it is not until years after the policy was closed, when they turn 60 for instance, they will still be able to make a claim for the TPD benefit which applied and which they were covered for at the time that they became disabled.
Better late than never. Contact us today
Therefore, when it comes to TPD claims, it is rarely too late to make a claim. If you were forced to cease working for any reason prior to reaching normal retiring age, contact us today on 13 43 63 and our expert lawyers at Turner Freeman will help you search for any TPD policies you had in place at the time that you became disabled, and help you make your claim.
