The Life Stages option under the SMSF Master Insurance Plan lets you increase your Death (or Death and TPD) cover without full health evidence when major life events happen — marriage, a baby, a mortgage, and others. Find out how it works.

Life doesn’t sit still. The amount of life insurance that’s appropriate for you at age 28 is probably different from what’s appropriate at age 38, after you’ve bought a house, had two kids, and taken on a much bigger set of financial responsibilities. Without something like the Life Stages option, increasing your cover to match those new responsibilities would mean going through the full underwriting process again — providing updated health information, possibly medicals, and accepting whatever terms come back.

The Life Stages option built into the SMSF Master Insurance Plan removes that friction for the moments when your cover most clearly needs to increase. After certain qualifying life events, you can apply to top up your Death (or Death and TPD) cover without full health evidence.

Which life events qualify

Six events trigger the option:

  • Marriage — Including starting a relationship that meets the de facto definition (two adults living together on a continuous, genuine domestic basis for at least two years)
  • Birth or adoption of a child — Your child, born or adopted during the period you’re insured
  • Divorce — Where you and your spouse have legally divorced
  • Child turning 12 — Reflecting the increased ongoing financial responsibility as children move into secondary education
  • Turning 30 — A one-time age milestone trigger
  • Taking out or increasing a mortgage on your principal home — Including new mortgages and increases for renovation or building work, with a registered mortgage provider

The cover increase limits

Per qualifying event, you can apply to increase your cover by the lesser of:

  • 25% of your existing cover, or
  • $200,000

So a member with $600,000 of existing cover could apply for an increase of up to $150,000 (25%) after a qualifying event. A member with $1 million of existing cover could apply for up to $200,000 (the dollar cap kicks in).

Across your time on the Plan, you can use the Life Stages option up to three times, with a maximum of one increase in any 12-month period. So while there are six different qualifying events, the total number of increases you can apply for through this option is capped at three.

The conditions to qualify

To use the Life Stages option, you need to meet all of these:

  • You must be at work on the date you apply for the increase
  • The life event must relate to you personally and have occurred during the period you’ve been an insured member
  • Documentary proof of the event (marriage certificate, birth or adoption certificate, mortgage documentation, etc.) must be provided within 60 days of the event
  • Your existing cover must have been accepted on standard terms — no loadings, no exclusions
  • You can’t have previously been declined for life insurance by AIA or any other insurer
  • You must be under age 55 at the time of exercising the option
  • You can’t have made a claim, or be eligible to make a claim, under any policy at the time of applying

These conditions narrow the option significantly. Members who had any underwriting adjustments on their original cover, or who have any active or pending claims, are excluded. The option is designed for members in standard underwriting categories who are at work and haven’t had reason to claim — which is the majority of members, but not everyone.

What about TPD?

If you hold Death and TPD cover, the Life Stages option allows you to increase both together. The same conditions apply. There’s a specific note that benefits won’t be payable on an increased TPD amount where the disability is caused by deliberate self-inflicted injury or attempted suicide.

The suicide exclusion on increased Death cover

There’s one technical condition worth understanding. A 13-month suicide exclusion applies to any increase in Death cover under the Life Stages option. This means if death by suicide occurs within 13 months of the cover increase, the increased portion isn’t payable (though the original pre-increase cover would still pay out subject to its own conditions).

This is a standard feature across the industry and applies to all new and increased Death cover under most life insurance policies.

How to actually use the option

If you’ve had a qualifying event and you want to use the Life Stages option:

  • Step 1 — Gather your documentary proof of the event — marriage certificate, birth/adoption certificate, mortgage paperwork, etc.
  • Step 2 — Apply within 60 days of the event date — this window is strict
  • Step 3 — Confirm you meet the eligibility conditions (at work, under 55, existing cover on standard terms, no current claim)
  • Step 4 — Submit the application through SMSF Insurance, indicating that you’re using the Life Stages option
  • Step 5 — Wait for AIA to confirm the increase — this is generally faster than standard underwriting because no medicals are required

The strategic value

The Life Stages option is most valuable for members whose health has changed in ways that would make a standard application difficult — but who were healthy when they first took out cover. For those members, this feature is a way to keep cover growing in line with life obligations without exposure to fresh underwriting.

For members in perfect health, the Life Stages option is convenient but a standard application would also work fine — and in some cases might let you apply for a larger increase than the Life Stages caps allow. Either path produces equivalent cover.

Keep your cover in step with your life

The Life Stages option under the SMSF Master Insurance Plan makes increasing cover after major life events straightforward. Get a quote through SMSF Insurance to set up cover that grows with you.

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