Insurance

From 1 July 2019, superannuation legislation requires us to cancel insurance cover held through a member’s super account if:

• the member’s account becomes inactive for a continuous period of 16 months, (for this purpose, an inactive account means it hasn’t received any contributions or rollovers, and

• the member hasn’t elected to retain their insurance cover, even in these circumstances.

This legislation was passed to protect superannuation accounts from being eroded by unnecessary insurance or excessive fees.

To comply with the legislation, we’re required to contact our members when their account has been inactive for specified periods to give them the opportunity to confirm that they want to continue with the insurance cover.

If cover is cancelled reinstatement may be available under certain circumstances. Refer to the insurance product PDS or contact your adviser or the insurer for assistance.

MIML, the Trustee of the Macquarie Superannuation Plan had previously stated its intent to adopt the Insurance in Superannuation Voluntary Code of Practice (‘the Code’).

The Code was introduced in July 2018 as a set of high standards for insurance held within super and scheduled to come into effect on 1 January 2022.

However, since the development of the Code, most of the Code provisions have been superseded by legislative and regulatory reforms. For this reason, the Code owners* replaced the Code with guidance notes on issues that aren’t covered by legislation, focussing on claims handling standards and improving outcomes for vulnerable members.

While the Code has been removed, MIML remains committed to following the guidance and standards, and putting the best interests of our members first.

^*The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) and the Financial Services Council (FSC).

MIML’s insurance providers (Zurich, AIA, OnePath, and TAL) are subscribers to the Life Insurance Code of Practice (Life Code). 

The Life Code encompasses all aspects of life insurance, including how products are designed, how they’re sold, timeframes to communicate decisions with clients, the claims process and how complaints are resolved. You can find a copy of the Life Code here.