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ASC Financial Services is not authorised by GWM Adviser Services Ltd (T/A Garvan Financial Planning) to provide financial product advice on, or deal in General Insurance Products, however we recognise the importance of this protection and can refer to you a General Insurance broker if required.
General insurance policies provide payments depending on the loss incurred from a particular financial event, and typically comprise any insurance that is not determined to be life insurance.
Any risk that can be quantified probably has a type of insurance to protect it. |
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There are many types of house insurance available. You can select a replacement policy, whereby the insurer will pay (up to the policy limit) the cost of rebuilding your home without deducting costs for depreciation or past wear and tear. Another type of insurance available is a market value policy, under which the insurer will pay the market value of your home and land, less the market value of the land alone.
At a minimum, you should insure your home for its replacement value. You should also consider including cover to provide for the clearing of land, and fees that may be associated with rebuilding your home, in the event that it is destroyed by fire or natural disaster |
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Your home contents and personal effects, which can include furnishings, indoor and outdoor furniture, appliances, stereos, computers and other electronic equipment, hobby materials and recreational equipment, china, linens, silverware and kitchen equipment, and jewellery, clothing and other personal belongings, should be insured against loss, damage, fire and theft.
This type of insurance can be structured to protect the contents both within and around your home, and should include everything you and other members of your household own.
There are usually two ways of insuring your personal possessions, based on whether claims for damage to your personal property would be paid on replacement cost or actual cash value. A replacement cost policy pays the dollar amount needed to replace a damaged item with one of similar kind and quality without deductions for depreciation. An actual cash value policy pays the amount needed to replace the item minus depreciation.
It is most beneficial to estimate the replacement value of your personal possessions at current prices. The total is the amount of insurance you would need to replace the contents of your home with new items if everything were destroyed. |
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| Cars, whether fully owned or leased, are a luxury, with the retail value often substantially higher than the resale value. And unfortunately, every day, cars are involved in accidents or stolen. You can minimise the impact of such events by ensuring you have insurance in place.
Car insurance is generally offered at a number of different levels, which include: Comprehensive, Third Party Property – Damage, and Third Party Property – Damage, Fire and Theft. Full Comprehensive cover is preferred, as this insures you against a wide range of events and occurrences, and loss of or damage to the vehicle itself. Third Party insurance essentially covers you only for the damage you do to someone else’s car, or in the case of Fire and Theft, will only pay a nominated amount for specific occurrences. |
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| Investing in a property can provide substantial rewards through rental income and capital gain, and as such, it is prudent to safeguard both the property and the revenue it generates. This type of insurance can provide protection against malicious damage, legal expenses, your legal liability as owner of the property, as well as rental defaults. |
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| All Australian citizens currently have a degree of medical cover through the Medicare system. Under Medicare, the Government will cover your accommodation and medical expenses in a public hospital, however, you will not have your choice of doctors, and, where your condition is not life threatening, you may experience lengthy waiting periods.
Private Health Insurance gives you the opportunity to choose your doctor and hospital, and can ensure you avoid waiting periods for elective surgery.
Depending on the policy, Private Health Insurance may also cover expenses relating to dental, physiotherapy, pharmacy and optical needs. To encourage the adoption of Private Health insurance, the Federal Government has also introduced a 30% health insurance rebate. This rebate may be claimed in your taxation return or via a reduced premium. If you do not have adequate private cover, your income may be subject to a Medicare Surcharge, in addition to the general Medicare Levy payable with your annual tax assessment. |
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| A Government initiative designed to encourage people to take out hospital insurance earlier in life, and to maintain this cover. The aim was to strike a better balance between the private and public health sectors, to ensure Australians have a level of choice, as well as access to excellent health care.
The Lifetime Health Cover scheme was introduced to achieve this goal, including the 30% rebate to address the issue of affordability of private health insurance.
Lifetime Health Cover recognises the period of time that a person has held private health insurance and rewards this loyalty by offering lower premiums. Those who delay taking out hospital cover will pay a 2% loading on top of their premiums for every year aged over 30 when they first take out hospital cover. |
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| Many people do not realise that Household insurance does not cover them if a privately employed household worker, such as a cleaner or gardener, is injured while they are working for them. If a worker is injured while employed at your residence and you do not have a Household Workers insurance policy, you could be liable for the entire cost of the claim plus a penalty of up to 50% of the cost of the claim. Everyone who employs a Household Worker should have household workers insurance. |
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