Essential Disability Income

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Eligible Ages
Minimum age: 16
Maximum age: 55 or to age 60 if working in a managerial, professional, or clerical job (Class 1 or 2)

Eligible Occupations
Most. However, some high risk occupations are uninsurable. To confirm eligibility, please contact us.

Cover Options
Level or CPl linked

Benefit Payment Period
5 years or to age 65

Waiting Period
8 weeks

Premium Guarantee
1 year

Essential Policy Wording

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Start Up Income Protection

TotalCare Income Protection

This benefit provides for a monthly income to be paid in the event of the insured being disabled as a primaryt result of suffering one of the covered critical conditions.

Essential Disability Income is an ideal cost effective complement to Accident Compensation, which provides an ongoing income if unable to work due to an accident.

Built in Features

Essential Disability Income pays a benefit when a life assured becomes disabled as a direct result of suffering or undergoing any one of the conditions listed.

The disability must be as a direct result of suffering one of the listed critical conditions. Secondary effects of these conditions, such as depression, are specifically excluded and no benefit is payable.

Partial Disability Benefit

This benefit provides for additional income if the life assured:

is unable, in Sovereign's opinion, to perform all of the key tasks of their occupation;
is solely, because of the continuation of disability, unable to earn at least 75% of pre-disability income;
has been totally disabled for a period of at least 2 weeks and then immediately thereafter engages in work or carries on a business at a reduced level than was the case before becoming totally disabled.
is not in Occupation Class 5 at the time of becoming totally disabled.

The reduced benefit will continue to be paid until the disability no longer prevents the life assured from earning at least 75% of pre-disability income, or the end of the benefit period.

Benefit Type*

This is an indemnity benefit. The maximum benefit is 75% of your gross remuneration package. However, the payment will not exceed 75% of pre-disability income at the time of claim. If the life assured is employed as a homemaker, the maximum benefit is 75% of the costs incurred of hiring home care as a result of the disability, up to $2,500 per month.

Any other income replacement benefit received or that a life assured is entitled to receive from other sources in connection with the same disability will be offset.

Conditions*:

Alzheimer’s disease and dementia
Angioplasty - 3 vessels or more
Aortic surgery
Aplastic anaemia
Benign brain tumour
Cancer
Carcinoma-in-situ surgery
Cardiomyopathy
Chronic liver failure
Chronic lung disease
Chronic renal failure
Coma
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Diplegia
Encephalitis
Heart attack
Heart valve surgery
Hemiplegia
HIV
Idiopathic Parkinson's disease
Intensive care benefit
Loss of independent existence
Major burns
Major head trauma
Major transplant surgery
Meningitis
Motor neurone disease
Multiple sclerosis
Muscular dystrophy
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
Paraplegia
Peripheral neuropathy
Permanent blindness
Permanent loss of speech
Permanent loss of hearing
Permanent loss of limbs
Prostatic cancer surgery
Pulmonary hypertension
Quadriplegia
Stroke

Benefit Period

5 year or to age 65.

Waiting Period

The Essential Disability Income benefit is payable after a waiting period of 8 weeks.

Children's Benefit

Without any additional cost, all of your children — either by birth or adoption — aged between 3 and 18 years will automatically be protected for up to $500 per month each, or 50% of the Essential Disability Income benefit, whichever is less, should they be confined to home or a medical institution and require continuous nursing care due to sickness or injury.

This benefit will pay you to care for a child who has been sick longer than 8 weeks.

Waiver of Waiting Period

If, after returning to work, the client has a further period of disablement from the same, or related cause within 6 months, the selected waiting period will be waived.

Worldwide Coverage

24 hour a day protection, anywhere in the world.

*Please note that special conditions apply; please refer to the Policy Document.

Definition of Disability

Occupation classes other than 5:

In Sovereign's opinion, after considering the advice of a Registered Medical Practitioner and other relevant information, the life assured for the benefit is so seriously incapacitated by illness or injury that they are:

unable to follow the occupation or carry on the business they were involved in before the disablement date for more than 10 hours per week; and
not in fact working, or engaged in any other business.

For Occupation Class 5:

In Sovereign's opinion, after considering the advice of a Registered Medical Practitioner, and other relevant information, the life assured for the benefit is so seriously incapacitated by illness or injury that they are continuously confined under full-time care to the life assured's home or a medical institution.

Additional Benefits

This cover may be written in conjunction with the full range of Sovereign's other protection benefits.

Waiver of Premium

The premium is automatically waived while on claim.

Exclusions

Sovereign will not pay any Essential Disability Income benefits where any of the following (and in each case either directly or indirectly) causes or contributes to the disability:

The life assured (or child in respect of the children's benefit) deliberately injuring himself or herself or attempting to do so.
The life assured (or child in respect of the children's benefit) participating in any criminal act.
Pregnancy or childbirth of the life assured unless the disability lasts more than 90 days after the end of pregnancy in which case the waiting period will start from the 91st day.
The life assured does not comply with the treatment prescribed by the attending treatment providers.
The life assured deliberately taking or using non-prescribed drugs, other than for proper therapeutic or medical purpose and in accordance with the manufacturer's directions for use, or the deliberate misuse by the life assured of prescribed drugs.
Sovereign will not pay a children's benefit for the relevant condition if the condition directly or indirectly arises from an injury caused by you, the child's parents or guardian.
Sovereign will cease to pay a benefit where the ongoing cause of disablement ceases to be the critical condition that gave rise to the claim. No amount will be payable where the ongoing cause of disablement becomes a secondary condition, not included as a critical condition, such as depression.

Sovereign will also not pay a children's benefit if a congenital disorder directly or indirectly causes or contributes to the disability or the disability was known by any person to be present at the risk commencement date as shown in the schedule.

If the life assured is imprisoned for any reason, no monthly benefit will be payable during the term of imprisonment.

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