Yes, you can increase your life cover inside an SMSF whenever your circumstances change. Under the SMSF Master Insurance Plan, there are two ways to do this: a standard application where you go through normal underwriting, or the Life Stages option, which lets you increase cover after specific major life events without providing full medical evidence. Each path has its place, which one suits you depends on why you’re increasing your cover and how much extra you need.

Option 1 — Standard application for a cover increase

This is the straightforward path. You apply for additional cover through SMSF Insurance, and the application goes through standard underwriting. The new insurer assesses your current health, lifestyle, occupation, and the cover amount you’re requesting, then either accepts the application at standard rates, applies any loadings or exclusions, or in rare cases declines.

The amount of underwriting you’ll go through depends on the cover level you’re applying for and your age:

  • Up to $500,000 of Death only or Death and TPD cover (under age 60) — a Limited
  • Underwriting Questionnaire, completed online
  • Up to $1.25 million of Death only or Death and TPD cover (under age 60) — a Short
  • Underwriting Questionnaire, completed online
  • Above $1.25 million, or any application from age 60 onwards — a Full Personal Statement, which may also involve medical exams or tests

This is the path most people use when they want to bring their cover up to a new level reflecting an updated insurance needs assessment — for example, after buying a house, having a second child, or upgrading their lifestyle in a way that means more cover is appropriate.

Option 2 — The Life Stages option (no full medicals)

The Life Stages option is built into the SMSF Master Insurance Plan specifically to make it easier to keep your cover in line with your real-world obligations. After certain major life events, you can apply to increase your Death (or Death and TPD) cover without providing full health evidence.

The qualifying events:

  • Marriage (or starting a continuous de facto relationship)
  • Birth or adoption of a child
  • Divorce
  • Your child reaching age 12
  • You reaching age 30
  • Taking out or increasing a mortgage on your principal place of residence

The conditions

The Life Stages option comes with specific requirements:

  • You must be at work on the date you apply for the increase
  • The life event must relate to you personally and have occurred while you’re an insured member
  • Documentary proof of the event (marriage certificate, birth certificate, mortgage paperwork, etc.) must be provided within 60 days of the event
  • The increase is limited to the lesser of 25% of your existing cover or $200,000 per event
  • Your existing cover must have been accepted on standard terms (no loadings or exclusions), and you can’t have previously been declined for life insurance with any insurer
  • You must be under age 55 at the time of exercising the option
  • You can’t be eligible to make a claim under any policy at the time of applying
  • Maximum one increase per 12-month period, up to three increases in total under this Plan
  • A 13-month suicide exclusion applies to any increase in Death cover

Which path is right for you?

If you’ve had a qualifying life event and the cover increase you need is within the Life Stages limits (the lesser of 25% of existing cover or $200,000), the Life Stages option is usually the simpler path. No medicals, no underwriting delay, and you can act within the 60-day window.

If you need a larger increase, or you haven’t had one of the qualifying events, a standard application is the way to go. It’s more involved but lets you apply for any amount, with the underwriting depth scaling to the cover level.

A note on the Life Stages option: because the requirement is that your existing cover was “accepted on standard terms,” members who had loadings or exclusions applied to their original cover generally won’t be eligible. If that’s your situation, the standard application path is what you’d use.

Timing — get it right

For Life Stages increases, the 60-day window from the date of the event is non-negotiable. Documentary proof of the event needs to reach AIA within that window — miss it and the option lapses for that event.

For standard cover increases, there’s no hard deadline, but the optimal time to apply is when you’re young, healthy, and at work. Premiums under the SMSF Master Insurance Plan are stepped (they increase each year with your age), so cover applied for at age 35 is cheaper than the equivalent cover applied for at age 45. And if your health changes between now and when you decide you need more cover, the new application would reflect that — potentially with loadings or exclusions that aren’t on your current cover.

Top up your cover when life changes

Through SMSF Insurance, increasing your SMSF Master Insurance Plan cover is straightforward. Avail it through standard underwriting or the Life Stages option after a major life event. Get a quote and see what your options look like.

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