*The contents in this blog relates to legislation in New South Wales.
Should you find yourself suffering from a long term injury or illness where you will be unable or unlikely to return to work for at least 6 months, in which you have been qualified by education, training or experience, than you may be eligible to make a claim under your superannuation policy for Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD).
Total and Permanent disability insurance can provide you the financial assistance in a form of a lump sum payment should your claim be successful, to help support you and your family during the difficult times you are injured or ill.
If you are uncertain whether you have this insurance policy in place as part of your superannuation fund, or wish to make a claim, speak to an expert at Turner Freeman Lawyers where we assist in obtaining the highest lump sum available for you.
What does it mean to be totally and permanently disabled?
A person is permanently and totally disabled if you are unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental condition and or illness.
In order to qualify to be totally and permanently disabled an Australian medical practitioner must determine that you qualify this condition or can be expected to be at least a year or your injury and or illness can lead to death.
Each insurance and or superannuation policy has different definitions as to what they qualify to be totally and permanently disabled. The insurance policy can cover you as follows:
- Your own occupation — you’re unable to work again in the job you were working in before your disability.
- Any occupation — you are unable to ever work again in any job suited to your education, training or experience.
What to know when making a TPD claim
Firstly, it is vital you identify all your policies and provide us all details including your membership details. Our expert lawyers will write to each superannuation fund and obtain all policy documents and statements to identify the level of coverage. It is here when is it important for our lawyers to determine and analyse your insurance statements to see if you had cover as of your last date of work.
Our lawyers at Turner Freeman also discuss details of you date of injury and or illness and in particular your last day of employment working full time and or the date in which you worked in any restricted duties.
Our lawyers provide tailored advice and check whether your superannuation insurance policy was valid during the time of your injury and or illness and the level of coverage you have.
In order to successfully claim you are totally and permanently disabled, we attend to completing and providing the insurer relevant facts and details which include
- medical reports and medical test results from your doctor;
- details of your work duties, including physical requirements, and the number of hours you work each week;
- payslips and tax returns, or financial statements if you are self employed
- in cases of death cover; a death certificate or medical report listing the cause of death.
How long does a TPD claim take?
All insurers range in different time frames in assessing your claim however depending on the circumstances, an insurer will let you know their decision for:
- Income-related claims— within 2 months of being notified about your claim, or 2 months after the waiting period has expired
- Other claims— within 6 months of being notified about your claim, or 6 months after the waiting period has expired
Can I work after a TPD claim?
In order to successfully qualify as being totally and permanently disabled, our lawyers would need to demonstrate you are no longer able to work in which you are qualified by education, training and experience. However, each policy differs from policy to policy which can relate to the following terms such as never work again in which you are qualified by your education, training and experience; must not ever work again within your usual or own occupation; must be unable to do your activities of daily living; and must have the loss of use of one or two limbs and or eyesight or your vision.
Can you claim TPD more than once?
Our lawyers will determine whether your superannuation and or insurance policies do not stipulate any conditions where you are restricted to make a claim whilst making a claim on the current policy.
Our lawyers at Turner Freeman are specialised to undertake making the claim process simpler for you, provided that each of your policies are valid and are held independently we may lodge multiple claims for you.
Get in touch with us
If you’re struggling physically or emotionally, we advise you to seek professional assistance at Turner Freeman Lawyers to make sure you are receive and are paid your full entitlement. Insurers may make the claim process and requirements complex by sending you to multiple independent medical examinations as well as a assessment of your skills to undermine and make your claim process difficult. Our experienced lawyers make the process for you stress free by using a No Win No Fee guarantee, call 13 43 63 today.