What is a Total & Permanent Disability Assist claim?
A Total & Permanent Disability Assist claim is a request for your Total & Permanent Disability Assist insurance cover to be paid to you where you have become totally and permanently disabled.
Totally and permanently disabled generally means that you will be unable to ever again work in any occupation for which you are suited by education, training or experience. If you don’t have Total & Permanent Disability Assist insurance cover with Australian Retirement Trust, you may be able to claim your superannuation balance as a Permanent Incapacity benefit.
If approved for a Total & Permanent Disability Assist benefit, you may receive up to six support payments over a minimum of five years (where you continue to meet the Total & Permanent Disability Assist definition). If your Date of Disablement was on or after 1 July 2016 and prior to 1 October 2020 then each payment is equal to one sixth of your maximum cover amount as at your Date of Disablement. If your Date of Disablement occurs on 1 October 2020 or thereafter, the initial support payment is calculated as 25% of your maximum benefit amount at the Date of Disablement and the subsequent support payments (up to a maximum of five payments) are each calculated as 15% of your maximum benefit amount at the Date of Disablement. In limited circumstances, Total & Permanent Disability Assist may be paid as a single lump sum payment.
How to make a Total & Permanent Disability Assist claim?
If you believe you may be eligible to claim a Total & Permanent Disability Assist benefit, there are three steps that you need to complete in order to submit a Total & Permanent Disability Assist claim.1. Contact us on 13 11 84
We're here to help at no cost to you. So start by contacting us. One of our experienced Claims Representatives will guide you through the process of making a Total & Permanent Disability Assist claim.
The Claims Representative will:
- confirm details of your Australian Retirement Trust membership, including member number and date of birth, and provide details of your current account balance and insurance cover,
- ask you for details about your injury/illness, the date your injury first occurred or your illness first presented, the date and detail about your diagnosis, details about your work status, the date you last worked and
- the hours you worked per week leading up to your injury or illness,
- discuss your options or refer you to an expert to discuss early assistance,
- explain the information you need to provide for the claim to be assessed, and
- provide any claim forms (known as a ‘claims pack’) you need to complete, or, if you’re eligible, a link to eClaims to lodge your claim online.
2. Provide necessary information
Completing your Total & Permanent Disability Assist claim application is an important step in the claim process. The details and evidence you provide will form the basis upon which the Insurer makes their decision. Providing us with all the information we require and completing your forms correctly will speed up your claims process.
If information is missing or incomplete, we will need to contact you to ask for it, which will delay your claim.
Certified proof of your identity
You must provide certified proof of your identity (for example, a certified copy of your driver’s licence or passport).
Why? For security purposes we need to be sure of the identity of the individual who is submitting the claim. Understandably, you won’t want to send us your original documents, so we ask that you have a copy certified by an authorised person.
Tip: See the Proof of Identity Requirements section in the claims guide for information on what forms of ID are suitable and how to have a copy certified.
3. Complete and return your Total & Permanent Disability Assist claim documents
The claims pack we send you contains important information about what you need to do, and what we need from you. Please take some time to carefully read this information and gather all the information and documents required. You will need to answer several questions and provide us with additional information. Completing the claim form is an important step in this process; the details and evidence you provide will form the basis upon which the Insurer makes their decision in regards to your Total & Permanent Disability Assist claim.
We recognise that this may be a daunting task and our Claims Representatives are here to help you every step of the way.
Australian Retirement Trust has an online claims tool that allows claims to be lodged electronically. The eClaims tool lets members lodge and monitor their claims online. It also provides third parties (i.e. employers and doctors) with the capability to complete and submit claim information directly online for the insurer to assess. It’s designed to help simplify the process and reduce the time taken to finalise the claim. Please call us as soon as you are able to on 13 11 84, if you would like help making a claim or have any questions.
For more information on making a Total & Permanent Disability Assist claim, refer to the Super Savings Insurance Claims guide - Total & Permanent Disability Assist.