Premium and cover suspension

IMPORTANT NOTE: Premium and Cover Suspension is closed to new applications from 22 June 2021.

Customers already on suspension who selected an initial suspension timeframe of less than 9 months will be able to extend the suspension period up to a maximum combined period of 9 consecutive months, subject to confirmation of ongoing financial hardship.

Resolution Life is offering a Premium and Cover Suspension to help customers who are experiencing financial difficulty due to unemployment or reduced income. Customers can apply for a 3, 6 or 9-month suspension if they meet the eligibility criteria.

The cover and premium will be suspended over this period of time. During the period of suspension, customers will not be able to claim, and no benefit will be payable by Resolution Life, in respect of the suspended cover for an event:

That occurs or arises during the period in which premium and cover is suspended and has not been reinstated (the “Suspension Period”); or
Where the symptom(s) first arose during the Suspension Period, even once the premium and cover are reinstated

It is important that your customers understand the above implications of suspending their cover.

We understand that things can change so we will be keeping in touch with customers periodically during the suspension period. It’s important to note that continuation of premium and cover suspension is subject to ongoing financial hardship so, if the customer's financial situation improves, we may bring forward the end of your suspension.

This is a summary of the Premium and Cover Suspension offer. For the full terms and conditions of the offer, please refer to the applicable Income Protection and Lump Sum Application Forms.

Product eligibility

Lifetrack
Risk Protection Plan
Term Life Insurance (TLI)
Yearly Renewable Term Plan (YRT)
Replacement Income Insurance (RII)
Survival Insurance (SIM)
Concord Risk Protection Plan
Annual Renewable Term Plan (ART)
Term Life Insurance – issued pre 1997
Stand-Alone Trauma Plan – issued pre 1997
Ordinary Term - Term EasyChoice

All polices that accrue bonus or are unit linked will NOT be eligible for the suspension. However, your Adviser will be able to discuss other options on how to manage these policies.

Customer eligibility

If a customer holds a policy in one of the products above, subject to Resolution Life accepting the Premium and Cover Suspension application, they may be eligible for the Premium and Cover Suspension if they meet the below criteria:

They have recently become unemployed, or
Their hours of work and income have been reduced involuntarily, or
They are self-employed and have experienced a significant downturn in business.

You will need to declare this via a signed declaration in the application form.

Important information - all covers

The request for premium and cover suspension will not become effective until Resolution Life accepts the application for suspension. If Resolution Life accepts your Premium and Cover Suspension application, during that time:

Customers will not be charged any premiums
If premium and cover is suspended, customers will not be able to claim, and no benefit will be payable by Resolution Life, in respect of the suspended cover for an event:
- That occurs or arises during the period in which your premium and cover is suspended and has not been reinstated (the “Suspension Period”); or
- Where the symptom(s) first arose during the Suspension Period, even once your premium and cover are reinstated
If you have a policy anniversary during the premium and cover Suspension period, a new premium amount will apply after the end of the Suspension period.
No cost of living or indexation increase to your cover that arises during any Suspension Period will be applied.
If a customer selects an initial suspension time frame of less than 9 months, subject to confirmation of ongoing financial hardship they will be able to extend the suspension period up to a maximum combined period of 9 consecutive months. Customers need to advise us before the end of the premium and cover suspension period if they want to continue the suspension.
Continuation of cover and premium suspension is subject to ongoing financial hardship, regardless of the suspension period selected. If a customer is no longer experiencing financial hardship when we make periodic contact with them, they will be given the opportunity to recommence your cover (noting that certain criteria apply for income protection benefits). If a customer chooses not to recommence their cover, or if they do not meet the restart criteria, the option to reinstate will end.

Before applying for the Premium and Cover Suspension, you should check your policy documentation to see if there are any features in your existing policy that may be able to assist you during this time.

Important information - Lump sum covers, such as life cover

Except for any reinstatement following our periodic contact, customers will not be able to reinstate their premium and cover at any time before the expiry date of your selected premium and cover suspension timeframe.
Customers need to advise us before the end of the premium and cover suspension period if they want to continue the suspension. If we are not instructed otherwise by the customer, or if they have reached the maximum suspension period, we will automatically reinstate the premium and cover at the expiry date of your premium and cover suspension.

Important information – Income protection covers

Customers will have the opportunity to reinstate the suspended cover following the earliest of the events below (“Reinstatement Events”):
- expiry of the premium and cover suspension timeframe that you select, or any extended period approved;
- you confirming when we periodically contact you that you are no longer facing financial hardship, regardless of the suspension timeframe you selected; and
- you otherwise notifying us in writing that you want to reinstate your cover
Reinstatement of your suspended cover will be subject to the following conditions being met (“Reinstatement Conditions”):
- the life insured is working in the usual occupation they had prior to the suspension of cover, and has worked continuously for at least one month for a minimum of 25 hours per week;
- since returning to work, the life insured has not had any time off due to illness or injury;
- for personal income protection policies, if the life insured has returned to work in some other occupation, then reinstatement of cover is subject to receipt of financial information about their income that is satisfactory to Resolution Life. In accepting the reinstatement of cover, Resolution Life may modify the sum insured or benefit period; and
- for business income protection (Business Protection and Business Survival), the life insured/s have returned to the same occupation and role within the policy owner’s business; and
- payment of premiums has recommenced.
Customers will not be able to reinstate your cover if the Reinstatement Conditions are not met.
If cover is not reinstated within 1 month of the date of the earliest of Reinstatement Events occurring, the option to reinstate will end and the suspended cover will automatically lapse without the need for notice to you.

What happens after the Premium and Cover Suspension period?

It’s important to note that continuation of premium and cover suspension is subject to ongoing financial hardship so, if the customer’s financial situation improves, we may bring forward the end of the suspension. When the customer reach the end of the Premium and Cover Suspension, depending on the type of cover, one of two processes will apply:

For lump sum covers, such as life cover, your policy will be automatically reinstated and we will recommence charging your premiums.
If the customer selects an initial suspension period of less than 9 months, subject to confirmation of ongoing financial hardship they will be able to extend the suspension period up to a maximum period of 9 consecutive months. We will contact customers periodically to confirm their financial situation remains the same.
For income protection covers, we will contact you about restarting your cover. Cover will recommence only if certain conditions have been met.
If the customer selects an initial suspension period of less than 9 months, subject to confirmation of ongoing financial hardship they will be able to extend the suspension period up to a maximum period of 9 consecutive months. We will contact customers periodically to confirm their financial situation remains the same.

Commission

Similar to the current Income Protection suspension process, benefits are taken out of force for the period of suspension so no commission is payable until they are reinstated.

How does a customer apply?

Premium and Cover Suspension is closed to new applications from 22 June 2021.

Find more information here on how Resolution Life can support you through COVID-19.

Important information

Resolution Life Australasia Limited ABN 84 079 300 379, NZ Company No. 281363, AFSL No. 233671 (Resolution Life) is part of the Resolution Life Group. The content on this website is for information only. The information is of a general nature and does not constitute financial advice or other professional advice. Before taking any action, you should always seek financial advice or other professional advice relevant to your personal circumstances. While care has been taken to supply information on this website that is accurate, no entity or person gives any warranty of reliability or accuracy, or accepts any responsibility arising in any way including from any error or omission.

A disclosure statement is available from your Adviser, on request and free of charge.

Support through a Premium and Cover Suspension