AIA Life Insurance Review: A Detailed Look Of What’s Offered

Published: November 22, 2017

A review of AIA insurance Australia.

When you’re looking to protect your family and their financial future, it’s helpful to know if the insurer you’re interested in has a solid financial history and a good reputation.

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AIA Australia was launched more than 40 years ago and with over 2.5 million Australian customers they are now one of our country’s biggest speciality insurer’s. Renowned for their financial stability, longevity, and fairness, they’ve paid out an impressive $3.4 million in claims every working day in 2014 alone.

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AIA life insurance review

Reviewing AIA life insurance is an important first step in your decision-making process. They are reinsured by Hannover and have an A+ Standard and Poor’s rating. However, you must read the AIA PDS (Product Disclosure Statement) to gain a thorough understanding of the coverage they offer. This terms and conditions document is imperative when considering whether AIA Insurance suits you.

Precisely how you and your family are financially protected very much depends on the type and level of cover you choose.

AIA’s life insurance products include:

  • Life cover;
  • Income protection;
  • Total and permanent disablement (TPD); and
  • Crisis recovery insurance;
  • Business expenses;

Life insurance products offered by AIA Australia

AIA offers a number of insurance products to their Australian customers, including life cover, income protection, total and permanent disablement (TPD), and crisis recovery insurance.

These cover types are constantly under review, which means that AIA is continuously working to improve and evolve their offering to suit the changing needs of the Australian population.

From one year to the next, your life is changing, you start a new career, get married or divorced, you have a baby or you’re getting ready for retirement. With this in mind, AIA’s product range is designed to be flexible so you can adapt your cover to fit your ever-changing needs.

AIA Priority Protection

AIA Australia understands that each person has different needs and financial concerns. Which is why they offer a diverse range of products.

Life Insurance

AIA’s premier life cover policy pays out a lump sum benefit to your beneficiaries when you pass away or have been diagnosed with a terminal illness.

This lump sum payment is designed to help your loved ones pay off outstanding debts and to support them in maintaining their current lifestyle.

Additional cost options include:

  • Family Protection: A lump sum benefit to be paid out if your child suffers one of the crisis events listed in the AIA PDS.
  • School Fees Protector: Paying your child’s school tuition fees should you become totally and permanently disabled, terminally ill or die. This benefit can be selected for each eligible child.
  • Funeral advancement: When you die, an advancement benefit deducted from your life cover, will be paid to your beneficiary(s) to help them pay for your final expenses. This quick release payment will be provided once a valid death certificate is provided.

Income Protection

AIA income protection generally covers you for up to 75% of your income, paid as a monthly benefit, to help pay for ongoing expenses while you recover from a serious injury or illness.

If you’re on a tight budget you can also choose their more affordable ‘Income Protection Accident Only’ cover which offers limited benefits if you suffer from a serious accident.

Additional cost options include Day 1 Accident Benefit, Claim Escalation, and Business Expenses.

Total and Permanent Disability (TPD)

Pays a lump sum benefit if you are unlikely to ever return to work due to an injury or illness. This product can be purchased as a stand-alone policy or as part of your life insurance cover.

TPD from AIA offers Any Occupation cover, which lets you claim if you are unable to work in the occupation you’re educated and qualified in.

There are a number of options offered by AIA Australia which can be purchased at an additional cost to further enhance your policy, including TPD Buy Back, School Fees Protector, Family Protection and Forward Underwriting.

Crisis Recovery

Crisis recovery insurance pays a lump sum benefit when diagnosed with a critical illness as defined by AIA. Illnesses such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, stroke, Parkinson’s, and heart attacks.

You can purchase this cover type as a stand-alone benefit or combine it with your life cover. Take note, if you decide to purchase the stand-alone option, you must survive for at least 14 days from the date of diagnosis.

Additional cost options include Forward Underwriting, Crisis Reinstatement, Crisis Recovery Buyback and Family Protection.

Business Expenses

To protect your small business, AIA Priority Protection provides Business Expenses Insurance, which offers a monthly benefit to cover fixed business costs if you are unable to work.

Fixed business costs covered include accounting fees, regular advertising costs, rent, leasing costs and more.

Built-in benefits include both Total and Partial Disability Benefits, Waiver of Premium, Benefit Indexation and Cosmetic or Elective Surgery Benefit. Day 1 Accident is also offered as an additional cost option

More AIA life cover benefits

One of the reasons for their popularity is the number of benefits that are built into the AIA Priority Protection life insurance products.

  • Worldwide cover: You’ll have full cover anywhere in the world 24/7, so you can travel with confidence.
  • Interim cover: You’ll receive a lump sum payout in the event of your accidental death or injury during the first 90 days your application date, while your policy is waiting to be underwritten and approved.
  • Cooling off period: You can cancel your policy within 28 days and get a full refund of all premiums paid, so long as you haven’t made a claim yet.
  • Premium freeze: If your policy has become too expensive or unaffordable and you are on the stepped premium option, you can freeze your premiums. Meaning, your cover amount will reduce each year so that your premiums will not increase.
  • Premium discounts: Generally, AIA offers customers a large sum insured discount where your lump sum is $250,000 or more and a bundled discount of up to 12.5% off your premiums when having at least one income protection policy and an eligible life insurance product.
  • Wellness program AIA Vitality: Access to a health and wellness rewards program, which helps you improve your health while earning rewards.
  • Terminal illness benefit: AIA will payout your life insurance policy in advance if you are diagnosed with a Terminal Illness. You can use this payment as you see fit, whether it’s paying for medical bills, outstanding costs, or helping your family cope with financial uncertainty.

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Exclusions referred to in the AIA life insurance PDS

Generally, most life insurance products have exclusions. Exclusions refer to circumstances under which AIA will not pay a claim.

General exclusions which apply to AIA Priority Protection products:

  • Neither life insurance nor income protection will pay a claim if death was due to suicide within the first 13 months of your policy commencing.
  • TPD, trauma and income protection insurance will not payout if any crisis event or disablement was as a result of an intentionally self-inflicted injury.
  • Accidental death will not be paid if caused directly or indirectly by the effects of alcohol and/or drug abuse.
  • Non-permanent residents of Australia will not be eligible to claim for accidental deaths.
  • If accidental death was due to you engaging in unlawful acts, a claim will not be paid.
  • Your accidental death claim will be rejected if due to training for or participating in professional sports or speed contests, this includes any form of aviation other than on scheduled airlines as a fare-paying passenger.

You will find the full list of exclusions for each specific policy type in the AIA PDS.

Understanding AIA life insurance claims

AIA Australia prides themselves on having a strong reputation, evident in their reliable payment of claims. In 2015 alone, AIA Australia paid out a total of $861 million claims.

To claim for your AIA policy, you must:

  • Notify AIA at your earliest possible opportunity. You can contact their AIA claims team via phone or email. Their contact details are available on their website.
  • Request claim forms and ask which supporting documents you need to include.
  • Complete the claim forms and provide it to AIA as soon as possible.
  • Additional information might be requested, like additional documents as proof of any entitlement to claim, and you may need to be medically examined by a Medical Practitioner appointed by AIA.

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

What does AIA stand for?

AIA stands for the American International Assurance Company (Australia limited). The name was given when it was still part of AIG, the Australian arm of the Hong Kong based AIA Group limited. However, since splitting from AIG in 2009, it was renamed the AIA Group.

How much does an AIA life insurance policy cost?

As a 35 year-old-male wanting $500,000 worth of cover, the minimum premium you can expect to pay for an AIA Priority Protection policy is $30.06 per month (as of November 2017).

However, what you’ll pay will depend on a range of variables, like your age, your occupation, your gender, the state of your health, smoking status, whether you choose stepped, level, or hybrid premiums, and any discounts that might apply to your policy.

While price isn’t everything, it’s an incredibly important factor when it comes to finding the right life insurance policy for you. That’s why it’s so important to compare policies when you’re in the process of searching for life insurance.

How can I apply and is my policy Renewable?

You can apply for life insurance from AIA by filling in the quote form above or contacting 1300 135 205.

Regardless of changes to your life and health, AIA will renew your benefits every year, as long as you keep paying your premiums until the expiry date of the benefit, as indicated in your PDS.

How can I pay my premiums?

AIA allows you to choose whether you want to pay your premiums monthly, half-yearly, or yearly. It’s worth noting that an extra 5% charge applies if you pay half-yearly, and an 8% charge applies if you pay monthly. This means that the yearly option is the cheapest.

You can pay your AIA life insurance premiums in one of 3 ways:

  1. Credit card: You must use a Mastercard, Visa, Diners Club or American Express credit card.
  2. Direct debit: You will need to supply your banking details from your nominated bank account.
  3. BPAY and Post Billpay: This option is available if you pay your premiums yearly or half-yearly.

How does AIA Vitality work?

AIA Vitality is a separate health and wellness program that you can add to your policy. It is designed to help you improve your overall health and well-being by giving you access to knowledge, tools, and motivation in the form of Vitality Points. By using a variety of online resources and completing health checks and assessments, you can achieve a healthier lifestyle.

You can earn points by completing the following assessments and actions:

  • Online health reviews and checks;
  • mental wellbeing and fitness assessments;
  • dental and nutritional assessments;
  • joining a partner gym (like Anytime Fitness and Virgin Active);
  • buying partner fitness devices and apps (like Fitbit and Garmin);
  • getting vaccinations and advanced screenings; and
  • when you quit smoking.

You’ll also gain access to amazing rewards for every action you complete. You can redeem your Vitality Points with AIA and partner retailers. These rewards include discounted movie tickets, discounted spa treatments and travel packages, shopping gift cards at a range of retailers, and discounts of up to 20% off your premium amount.

The more points you earn, the higher AIA Vitality status you will achieve, which unlocks more benefits and rewards.

Do they still offer funeral protection products?

While AIA no longer offers their Funeral Protection policy, they have replaced this with MaxLife Final Expenses. This stand-alone policy provides a lump sum benefit to your nominated beneficiary(s) in the event of your death to help your loved ones pay for your final expenses.

Benefits of AIA MaxLife Final Expenses cover:

  • Level premiums, which means your premiums won’t continue increasing every year.
  • Guaranteed acceptance when meeting the policy requirements.
  • Worldwide cover so that wherever you go, your final expenses will be covered.
  • Joint policy discount if you and your partner both take out MaxLife Final Expenses.
  • Your choice of cover amount: 5,000 to $10,000.

How can I cancel my policy?

You can cancel your policy by sending AIA your cancellation request via email, letter, or fax, together with your policy document and your policy schedule.

If you have paid any premiums in advance, it is possible that you’ll be refunded the unexpired portion of the premium after they have deducted any cancellation fees.

Will AIA allow me to change my insurance?

With AIA you can request to increase your cover at any time, but you will most likely have to be underwritten again. Similarly, you can reduce your sum insured and/or monthly benefit at any time your premium is due, just as long as you don’t reduce it below the minimums in force during the time of your decrease.

Get an AIA life insurance quote today

If you’re considering buying life insurance for the first time or searching for a better and more affordable option, it might be worth comparing the top life insurance companies in Australia and doing an AIA insurance review.

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Ask an Expert?

4 Comments

  • Brian Ridley | 21st, November, 2017

    To whom it may concern,

    I would like some information on the above insurance protection plans.

    I am 62 and self-employed. My wife is 48 and works in aged care.

    Kind Regards,
    Brian Ridley, Gold Coast.

    Reply
    • SPECIALIST
      Anneke Van Aswegen | 21st, November, 2017

      Hi Brian,

      Thanks for posting your question.

      I would love to supply you with all the information you need, however, to do so I first need a bit more information from you.

      Please fill in the quote form above and you’ll be directed to the side-by-side comparison that you can review at your convenience. Once you’ve filled in the form a consultant will contact you to take you through the available insurance protection options and help you choose one that is most suited to you and your wife’s particular requirements.

      If you prefer to contact us directly, please feel free to call us on 1300 135 205.

      Have a fantastic day.

  • Istvan Nel | 28th, November, 2017

    Hi, where do I change my address for my existing insurance policy?

    Reply
    • SPECIALIST
      Anneke Van Aswegen | 1st, December, 2017

      Hello Istvan,

      Thank you for your question.

      I have asked one of the Life Insurance Direct team to reach out to you to get this actioned for you.

      If you need any further assistance please let me know.