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Life · TPD · Trauma · Income Protection · Brighton, Melbourne

Would your insurance actually pay out?

Most people find out what their cover actually does the day they need it — which is the worst possible time to find a gap. If you've got insurance through your super, through a policy you took out years ago, or you're honestly not sure what you've got, we'll show you exactly what it covers, what it doesn't, and what that's worth fixing.

45 minutes · Complimentary · No obligation to change anything

  • Corporate Authorised Representative of Lifespan Financial Planning Pty Ltd, AFSL 229892
  • Brighton office, or by video
  • More than 15 years in financial services
  • Personal experience supporting clients through claims

What does each type of cover actually do?

Pays: A lump sum to whoever you've nominated

Trigger: On death, or diagnosis of a terminal illness

The catch: Held inside super, the payout usually takes longer to reach your family than a policy in your own name, and whether it arrives tax-free depends on whether the recipient is a financial dependant.

General information current as at August 2026, based on APRA's Individual Disability Income Insurance sustainability measures and the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994. Rules and definitions vary between insurers and products — always check your own PDS.

Being covered and being covered for enough aren't the same thing

3.4 million

Australians estimated to be underinsured for income protection

1 million

Australians estimated to be underinsured for death and TPD cover

Since 2014

Trauma cover has not been available inside superannuation — default super insurance may not include it at all

Figures for underinsurance are drawn from Financial Services Council research and cited widely across the Australian advice industry. Ask us for the current source before publishing this figure — it's worth a fresh check, not a fixed number.

Does any of this sound familiar?

  • You've had two or three jobs, and each one opened a new super account — so you might be paying for TPD or life cover three times over without realising it.
  • You've never actually seen what your default cover through super would pay, or what has to happen before it does.
  • You assumed trauma cover came bundled with your super. It doesn't, and hasn't for anyone who joined after mid-2014.
  • You're the main income earner in your household and you don't have income protection at all.
  • Your cover was set up years ago — before the mortgage, before the kids, before your income looked like it does now.

None of these mean your cover is wrong. They mean it's worth twenty minutes to find out.

The Insurance Health Check

Forty-five minutes with Adam Sobczak, in the Brighton office or by video. Bring whatever you've got — a super statement, an old policy document, or just your best guess. You'll leave with a plain-English picture of where you stand, whether or not you go any further with us.

What you're actually covered for

A plain-English read of your current policies, inside and outside super — what triggers a payout, what doesn't, and what definition applies if you ever need to claim.

Where the gaps and overlaps are

Duplicate cover sitting in old super accounts, definitions that won't hold up when it matters, and cover levels that made sense a decade ago but don't reflect your life now.

What's worth changing, and what isn't

A clear view of what to keep as-is, what to restructure, and what — if anything — is genuinely worth replacing, with the trade-offs and any cost spelled out in writing before you decide anything.

There's no cost and no obligation, and no assumption you'll replace anything. If your current cover is well structured, we'll tell you that too.

New to cover entirely? Get a life insurance quote · For business insurance needs, see our personal insurance services.

How it works

01

Tell us what you think you have

A short form. Your name, how to reach you, and a rough idea of what cover you hold and where. Takes under a minute — "not sure" is a completely fine answer.

02

We talk for 45 minutes

Brighton office or video. If you can find a recent super statement or a policy document, bring it — if not, we'll work from what you know and chase the rest.

03

You get it in writing

A plain-English summary of what you're covered for, where the gaps are, and what's worth changing, within five business days. Yours to keep either way.

Adam Sobczak, Director and Principal Adviser at Amber Wealth

You'll be talking to Adam — including if you ever need to claim

Adam Sobczak is Director and Principal Adviser at Amber Wealth. He has worked in Australian financial services since 2010, including roles at CBA, NAB, ANZ and the industry fund TelstraSuper, as well as boutique practices around the country.

He holds the Diploma and Advanced Diploma of Financial Planning and is accredited to advise on SMSF and margin lending. He graduated from Victoria University in 2012, majoring in Financial Risk Management and International Trade.

Insurance advice doesn't stop at the policy. Adam supports clients directly if a claim ever needs to be made — not handed off to a call centre.

Adam reviews life insurance, TPD insurance, total and permanent disability definitions, trauma insurance (also called critical illness insurance), and income protection — whether held as insurance through super or as a personal policy — from the Amber Wealth office in Brighton, bayside Melbourne.

  • Dip. FP
  • Adv. Dip. FP
  • SMSF accredited
  • Brighton, VIC

Questions people ask before they book

TPD pays a lump sum only once you're assessed as totally and permanently unable to work, while trauma pays a lump sum on diagnosis of a listed serious illness regardless of whether you can still work. That difference matters — someone diagnosed with cancer who can still work part-time may never meet a TPD definition, but could still be eligible for a trauma payout the day they're diagnosed. Many people carry one and assume it covers the situations the other is designed for.

No — trauma insurance hasn't been available inside super since 1 July 2014, because a critical illness diagnosis doesn't meet any of super's conditions of release. If your only insurance is your super fund's default cover, you almost certainly have no trauma cover at all, even if you have life and TPD. Trauma has to be held as a personal policy, either standalone or linked to a life policy held outside super.

If your TPD cover sits inside your super fund, it will be "any occupation" — super funds are legally restricted to this definition, because it's the only one that aligns with the permanent incapacity condition of release. "Any occupation" means you need to be unable to work in any job you're reasonably suited to by education, training or experience, not just your own — a much harder test for a specialist or senior professional to meet. "Own occupation" TPD, which tests against your actual job, is only available on a policy held outside super.

Under current APRA rules, most income protection policies replace up to 90% of your income for the first six months of a claim, then up to 70% after that. This has applied to new policies since October 2021, when APRA introduced sustainability measures across the industry — older or grandfathered policies may still run under different terms, which is one of the first things worth checking on an existing policy.

They cover different situations — TPD pays once, and only for permanent disability, while income protection pays a monthly income for as long as you're unable to work, including temporary and long-term illness or injury that never meets a TPD definition. Most claims for time off work are temporary rather than permanent, which is exactly the gap TPD alone doesn't cover.

Most super funds automatically include default life and TPD cover once you're 25 or older and have a $6,000 balance, which is why many people have cover they've never actively chosen — often several times over, across old super accounts from previous jobs. Equally, if you're younger, changed jobs recently, or opted out at some point, you may have far less cover than you assume, or none. Both situations are common, and both are worth an actual look rather than a guess.

Not necessarily, and it's never the starting assumption. A review looks at what you have, whether it still fits, and where the gaps or overlaps are — any recommendation to change or replace cover comes with a full written comparison, including any cost or underwriting you'd be taking on, so you can make an informed decision rather than a rushed one.

The Insurance Health Check itself is complimentary. If you decide to proceed with advice, fees are agreed in writing before any work begins, so you'll know the exact cost before you commit to anything. There's no obligation to proceed after the initial check.

Amber Wealth is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Lifespan Financial Planning Pty Ltd, AFSL 229892. That licensee is responsible for the financial services we provide. You can ask for our Financial Services Guide at any point, and you'll receive one before any personal advice is given.

Read more frequently asked questions →

Book your Insurance Health Check

Two steps. The first takes about thirty seconds.

Find out what you're actually covered for.

Forty-five minutes, no cost, no assumption you'll change a thing. You'll leave knowing exactly where you stand.

Or call 03 9964 0718 — you'll get Adam or someone who works with him.

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