Duty to take reasonable care

The duty to take reasonable care

When you apply for insurance, you are treated as if you are applying for cover under an individual consumer insurance contract. A person who applies for cover under a consumer insurance contract has a legal duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the Insurer before the contract of insurance is entered into.

A misrepresentation is a false answer, an answer that is only partially true, or an answer which does not fairly reflect the truth.

This duty also applies when extending or making changes to existing insurance, and reinstating insurance.

If you do not meet your duty

If you do not meet your legal duty, this can have serious impacts on your insurance. Under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) there are a number of different remedies that may be available to the Insurer. They are intended to put the Insurer in the position it would have been in if the duty had been met. For example, the Insurer may:

avoid the cover (treat it as if it never existed);
vary the amount of the cover; or
vary the terms of the cover.

Whether the Insurer can exercise one of these remedies depends on a number of factors, including:

whether reasonable care was taken not to make a misrepresentation. This depends on all of the relevant circumstances;
what the Insurer would have done if the duty had been met – for example, whether it would have offered cover, and if so, on what terms;
whether the misrepresentation was fraudulent; and
in some cases, how long it has been since the cover started.

Before any of these remedies are exercised, the Insurer will explain the reasons for its decision, how to respond and provide further information, and what you can do if you disagree.

Guidance for answering the questions in this form

You are responsible for the information provided to the Insurer. When answering questions, please:

Think carefully about each question before you answer. If you are unsure of the meaning of any question, please ask us before you respond.
Answer every question.
Answer truthfully, accurately and completely. If you are unsure about whether you should include information, please include it.
Review your application carefully before it is submitted. If someone else helped prepare your application (for example, your adviser), please check every answer (and if necessary, make any corrections) before the application is submitted.

Please note that there may be circumstances where the Insurer later investigates whether the information given to it was true. For example, it may do this when a claim is made.

Changes before your cover starts

Before your cover starts, the Insurer may ask you whether the information that has been given as part of your application for insurance remains accurate or whether there has been a change to any of your circumstances. As any changes might require further assessment or investigation, it could save time if you let us or the Insurer know about any changes when they happen.

If you need help

It’s important that you understand your obligations and the questions that are being asked. Please contact us for help if you have difficulty understanding the process of obtaining insurance or answering any questions.

Please also let us know if you’re having difficulty due to a disability, understanding English or for any other reason - we're here to help and can provide additional support.

Our duty of disclosure

The Trustee has a similar duty to tell the insurer anything that it knows that may affect the insurer’s decision to provide you with insurance, and if the Trustee fails to do so the consequences are comparable.

Declaration

I authorise:

The Insurer to refer any statements that have been made in connection with my application for cover and any medical reports to other entities involved in providing or administering the insurance (for example reinsurers, medical consultants, legal advisers).
The Insurer and any person appointed by the Insurer to obtain relevant information on my financial history from the Insurance Reference Association and any other body holding information on me.
Any hospital, doctor or other person who has treated or examined me to give to the Insurer any information on my illness or injury, medical history, consultation, prescription or treatment or copies of all hospital or medical reports.

For information on the Insurer’s privacy and information-handling practices, read their Privacy Policy Statement at www.tal.com.au or call 1300 209 088 for a copy.

I declare that:

My answers and declarations on this application are true and correct.
I haven’t withheld any information which may affect any decision to provide insurance.
I've read and understood the Product Disclosure Statement provided with this application and the Insurance in your super guide, and I understand that the additional information it refers to is also part of the Product Disclosure Statement.
As part of my AustralianSuper membership, I agree to abide by and be bound by the Trust Deed and Rules.
I have read the Insurance in your super guide.
I have read the Duty to take reasonable care and I am aware of the consequences of non-disclosure. I understand that the Duty to take reasonable care continues until my application for cover has been accepted in writing by AustralianSuper and the Insurer.
I've read and understood TAL's Privacy Policy and I agree with how TAL will collect, use and disclose my personal information.

I acknowledge that:

If I haven’t updated my insurance as part of this application, there’ll be no change to any basic insurance cover I have or am eligible for.
The answers I have provided, together with any special conditions, will form the basis of the contract of insurance, and that cover will be provided on the terms and conditions set out in the contract of insurance with the Insurer and as agreed between AustralianSuper and the Insurer from time to time.
If I fix any of my cover, I understand that my cover amount won’t change (except TPD cover reduces gradually from age 61 to zero at age 65), but the cost will increase with age.
If I have chosen to cancel any of my cover, I’ll no longer be insured for that cover, and if I decide to apply for cover in the future, I’ll need to supply detailed health information as part of my application.
- I (or my beneficiaries) won’t be able to make an insurance claim if something happens after I cancel.
- The cost of cover will stop being deducted from my account (costs are deducted one month in arrears).
- I might not be able to get cover later. If I decide to reapply I’ll need to provide health information for the Insurer to consider.
- If I’m replacing this cover with another insurance policy, I’ll wait until the other insurer confirms my cover has started.
- I’ve considered getting financial advice to help work out if cancellation is right for me.
Any change in cover will start from the later of the date it is accepted by the Insurer (as long as my employer is paying contributions), or I have received confirmation that my cover has started or restarted, and hasn’t stopped.
My eligibility to claim for benefits will be determined by the Insurer in line with AustralianSuper’s insurance policy terms and conditions.

AustralianSuper’s Privacy Collection Statement was at the beginning of this application. Our Privacy Collection Statement and Privacy Policy may change from time to time.

By providing my personal information and contact details I am consenting to AustralianSuper sending me important information about my account, AustralianSuper’s products and services and marketing communications, including third party products and services, via email, my account online, SMS, mobile app or phone, as appropriate and in accordance with AustralianSuper’s Privacy Policy.

I understand I can change my communication preferences at any time by calling AustralianSuper on 1300 300 273 or through the My communication preferences section of my account online.