Top 5 Life Insurance Providers in Australia
Table of Contents
Introduction
Find the best life insurance policy for you with these top Australian providers. With a range of options from 27 insurers and 11 friendly societies registered with APRA, you can choose the coverage that best fits your needs. The seven largest companies make up almost 90% of the market, and we’ve included claims statistics and financial strength ratings from ASIC’s MoneySmart and S&P to help you make an informed decision.
What are the largest players in this game?
TAL Life Limited holds the largest market share and writes the most premiums in the life insurance industry in the Australia. It is followed by AIA Australia Limited, and Zurich. In this article, we’ll compare the market share, claims acceptance rate, and financial ratings of top life insurance companies in Australia. We’ll also review the policies and benefits offered by each provider to help you find the best coverage for your needs.
TAL Life Limited
TAL Life Limited, formerly known as Tower Australia Limited, is a leading life insurance provider in Australia. The company offers a range of life insurance products including term life, total and permanent disability, and income protection insurance. TAL is committed to providing high quality and personalized protection for their customers and their families. The company has a strong financial rating and a reputation for accepting a high percentage of claims.
Market share: 27%
Claims accepted rate: 95.8%
Financial strength rating: A+
Policy:
Accelerated Protection
Benefits:
- Death benefit: Benefit amount is paid after the policyholder dies
- Terminal Illness benefit: Early payment of the benefit amount if policyholder is terminally ill
- Advanced payment benefit: Advanced payment of 10% of the benefit amount, up to a maximum of $25,000 as soon as death certificate or medical certificate confirming death is received
- Repatriation benefit: Advanced payment benefit capped at a maximum of $35,000 if policyholder dies overseas
Zurich
Zurich is a global financial services company that offers a range of insurance products including life insurance. In Australia, the company offers term life, total and permanent disability, and income protection insurance. Zurich is committed to helping their customers protect what is important to them and has a reputation for providing high quality coverage and excellent customer service. The company has a strong financial rating and a history of stability and reliability.
Market share: 14.1%
Claims accepted rate: 98.3%
Financial strength rating: A+
Policy:
Wealth Protection Death Cover
Benefits:
- Death & terminal illness benefit: Lump sum payment on death or diagnosis of terminal illness
- Advancement for funeral expenses: Advance payment of $15,000 towards funeral expenses
- Accidental injury benefit: Advance payment of part or all of the death benefit if the life insured suffers a specified accidental injury
- Future insurability business benefit: Allows an increase in cover without underwriting if certain business events occur
- Inflation protection: Cover will increase every year even without health assessment, unless declined by the policyholder
- Future insurability: Allows an increase in cover without underwriting on certain life events
- Accommodation expenses: Reimbursement of some travel and accommodation expenses for an immediate family member who travels more than 100km from home to be with the life insured who is confined to bed and requires full-time care
- Financial planning advice: Reimburses the cost of advice following a claim payment, up to $3,000, benefit increases to $6,000 if death benefit has been in place for five years or more
- Interim cover: Puts some accident cover in place as soon as cover is applied for, as set out in the interim cover terms
AIA Australia Limited
AIA Australia Limited is a leading life insurance provider in Australia, offering a range of policies including term life, total and permanent disability, and income protection insurance. The company is a subsidiary of AIA Group, one of the largest life insurance companies in the world. AIA Australia is committed to helping their customers live healthier, longer, and better lives through a range of insurance products and services. The company has a strong financial rating and a reputation for providing excellent customer service.
Market share: 18.9%
Claims accepted rate: 96.6%
Financial strength rating: A+
Policy:
Priority Protection Life Cover
Benefits:
- Death benefit: Pays a lump sum equal to the sum insured if policyholder passes away
- Terminal illness: Pays the sum insured in advance if policyholder is diagnosed with a terminal illness
- Final expenses: Advances 10% of the sum insured up to a maximum of $25,000 to assist in dealing with immediate financial expenses whilst AIA assesses a death claim
- Complimentary family final expenses: Pays the lower of $20,000 or 10% of the sum insured if a policyholder’s child passes away or is diagnosed with a terminal illness between the ages of 2 and 17
- Guaranteed future insurability: Allows policyholder to increase the sum insured for significant personal or business events before age 55, without providing further evidence of health or insurability
- Benefit indexation: Automatically increases the sum insured at the policy anniversary each year by the higher of the CPI increase and 5%, and adjusts premiums accordingly
- Premium freeze: Allows policyholder to keep their premium the same for the following year by reducing the sum insured amount
- Premium and cover pause benefit: Allows policyholders to pause premiums and cover for a period of 3, 6 or 12 months in certain circumstances for eligible policies
- Financial planning reimbursement: Pays up to $3,000 to reimburse financial planning advice obtained within 12 months of a claim payment across all policies
- Complimentary interim accidental death cover: Pays a lump sum in the event of accidental death occurring while the application is being assessed, applies for up to 90 days from the date of the signed application
- Accommodation benefit: Reimburses the accommodation costs incurred by immediate family members while policyholder is confined to a bed more than 100km from their usual place of residence (up to $250 per day for up to 30 days)
- Counselling benefit: Pays $200 for each session of grief counselling for the policyholder or immediate family member, up to a maximum total value of $1,200 per life insured
MLC Limited
MLC Limited is a leading life insurance provider in Australia, offering a range of policies including term life, total and permanent disability, and income protection insurance. The company is committed to helping their customers protect their families and financial security through a range of insurance products and services. MLC has a strong financial rating and a reputation for providing excellent customer service and support. The company is a subsidiary of the National Australia Bank Group, one of the largest financial institutions in the country.
Market share: 10.9%
Claims accepted rate: 96.8%
Financial strength rating: A+
Policy:
MLC Insurance Life Cover
Benefits:
- Best doctors service: Provides access to some of the leading medical practitioners in the world
- Accidental injury benefit: Pays a lump sum benefit if policyholder is injured due to an accident, which results in the total and permanent loss of hands, feet, and eyes within 6 months of the accident
- Advance death benefit: Pays a benefit of $20,000 from the life cover lump sum to help loved ones pay for policyholder’s funeral
- Financial planning benefit: Reimburses part of the costs charged by a qualified financial adviser for financial planning services, if the lump sum benefit paid is $100,000 or more
Resolution Life
AMP Life Limited is one of the top life insurance provider in Australia, offering policies like term life, total and permanent disability, and income protection. It is now a subsidiary of Resolution Life Australasia. AMP Life is dedicated to helping customers protect their loved ones and financial security with a range of insurance products and services. With a strong financial rating and a history of excellent customer service and support, AMP Life (a subsidiary of AMP Limited) is a reliable choice for your life insurance needs.
Market share: 8.4%
Claims accepted rate: 957.1%
Financial strength rating: A-
In November 2021, Resolution Life acquired full ownership of AMP Life. The company is currently closed to new policies, according to Victoria-based brokerage firm Insurance Watch.
