How Benefits TPD Insurance Will Help You And Your Family

TPD (Total and Permanent Disability) cover provides an excellent safety net, in case you suffer injury or illness that completely disables and prevents you from working again. However, you must buy sufficient coverage in order to enjoy the advantages of benefits TPD insurance. The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) and Industry Funds Forum (IFF) suggest a formula-based coverage of $517,000 to provide sufficient financial protection. Apart from simply providing much-needed financial protection, TPD cover can also help to improve your quality of life. Vital Financial Protection A lump sum payment will be issued by your insurer at the instance of your disablement. This will provide critical financial protection, since you won't be able to work any more. Such a payment will help cater for the unique circumstances that you're sure to face: (i) Paying Your Debts: Virtually every household has various forms of debt including pending mortgage payments, car loans and personal loans. A 2013 survey by the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia(HILDA) indicates that Australian households have an average debt of $151,488. All these must be paid even when you are disabled. Therefore, having the amounts of coverage suggested by AIST/ IFF will be more than sufficient to pay off such debts. (ii) Paying Your Medical Bills: Any illness of injury that completely disables you will definitely involve costly medical care. For instance, treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) - an incurable auto-immune ailment - has an estimated cost of more than $1,000 every month (based on a 2002 study published in the Australian Prescriber, titled "Treatment Of Multiple Sclerosis With Newer Immune-Modulating Drugs"). Such costs will be hard to meet without your benefits TPD insurance. (iii) Paying For Unique Needs Of Living With Disability: A lifetime of disability also means a lifetime of added cost, which will most likely be catered for by your family - if you don't have TPD cover. Such added costs would involve aids, equipment, health care, transport challenges and even limited employment opportunities. In fact, disability would force you to seek assistance even when performing normal daily activities such as: dressing and undressing; bathing and showering; using a toilet; eating and drinking; getting in and out of a chair or bed; and moving from place to place. This is evident in Muscular Dystrophy (MD), a dementia-type illness, that causes loss of sight, inability to use limbs and significant cognitive impairment. In such cases, families caring for an affected person, who has no TPD cover, will face a huge financial burden of approximately $126,000 annually (according to 2012 estimates by the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA)). Hence, buying sufficient TPD cover is a wise decision. Improving Your Quality Of Life Many times, people living with disability end up having a lower quality of life than they had before. Fortunately, TPD cover benefits can help you maintain or even improve your quality of life, even after total and permanent disability. With sufficient coverage, you may pay off all your debts and medical bills, but still have extra to live a more comfortable life. Perhaps, even do something that you enjoy such as traveling.