Total & Permanent Disability Insurance Claims

If you suffer illness or an injury, whether from a motor vehicle accident, in the course of your work, due to medical mistake or from the wrongful or negligent actions of another, then you may have entitlement to personal injury compensation as well as injury & disability insurance claims.

You may be unaware that you have entitlement to insurance payments under injury & disability insurances attached to credit cards, personal loans, vehicle finance, mortgages, Superannuation Funds or under other insurances you hold. In particular, if your injury or disability impairs your ability to work, then you may have a claim for Total & Permanent Disability Insurance attached to your Superannuation Funds.

To learn about general injury & disability insurances that you may have access to if injured or suffering illness, go to our webpage: Injury & Disability Insurance Claims. To learn more about Total & Permanent Disability Insurance payments, we have provided you with the information below.

Total & Permanent Disability Insurance & Partial & Permanent Disability Insurance Claims

Partial & Total Permanent Disability Insurances are specific types of injury & disability insurance that you may be entitled to if your injury, medical condition or illness, impairs your ability to work.  Often people have this insurance attached to their Superannuation Funds, but they are not aware of it.  And in the case of a Total & Permanent Disability Insurance claim, the insurance payment can be quite substantial, and of great assistance in meeting medical expenses and any outstanding debts when person is unable to work due to illness or injury.

Total & Permanent Disability Insurance Claims

Total & Permanent Disability Insurance (TPD) Claims apply when you suffer an injury or illness that results in you being permanently unable to return to work in your usual capacity.  The extent of your work impairment required to be entitled to a TPD claim is totally dependent on the terms of your Superannuation Fund’s insurance policy.

In the majority of cases, eligibility for a TPD claim payment is based on whether the individual will be able to work in any gainful employment that he or she is reasonably qualified for by his or her training, experience or education, because of the injury or illness.

In some cases, to be eligible for this insurance, you need only show that your injury or illness has taken you out of your usual occupation on a permanent basis, and you are lacking transferable skills to provide you with meaningful employment in some other area.  In other cases, you are required to show that you are totally disabled from any work whatsoever because of your condition.  It will depend on what definition for “total & permanent disablement” applies under your policy of insurance as to the extent your injury or medical condition has to impact on your employment capacity before you will have a TPD claim.  Accordingly, you will need expert legal advice to properly interpret the requirements of your TPD policy or that of your Super Fund.

Most TPD insurance stipulates that you will not be able to claim after a certain age, usually associated with retirement age. The majority of funds have age stipulations of 60 or 65 years.  Most funds also require that you be out of work for 6 consecutive months before a claim can be made.

It does not matter how your injury or illness occurred, as long as it developed within the period of your insurance coverage and was not self-inflicted in order to claim. Unlike personal injury claims, TPD claims do not rely on injury occurring from the negligent or wrongful act of another. To be eligible, you simply have to meet the criteria stipulated in the covering insurance policy.

Should Your TPD Claim be Denied, there are Appeal Avenues

Unfortunately, it is the usual case for TPD insurers to deny TPD claims unless the injury or illness is so seriously debilitating that it is quite clearly the case that the claimant is no longer employable. Mostly, claims are denied on the basis that some form of work is still possible.  There are appeal processes available where your TPD claim is denied.  You can ask initially for a review of the decision to deny your claim via the insurer, and if this is unsuccessful, then you can appeal to the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal or bring legal proceedings in the Court to enforce your entitlements under the insurance contract.

No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers can Assist you with Your TPD Claim

The law of TPD claims can be quite complex and you will need expert legal advice to ensure your case is fully and properly submitted to the insurer and any appeals are promptly dealt with as time limits do apply.  You can access expert legal advice to assist with your TPD claim through No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers.

You can CONTACT US on 1300 388 383, Livechat with us or send us an enquiry via a FREE Instant Case Appraisal webform on our website (click on the link here or at the top right hand side of this webpage).

If You don’t Meet a TPD Claim then You May Still be Entitled to a Partial & Permanent Disability Insurance Claim

This is another type of disability insurance that is often attached to Superannuation Funds, although not as commonly as TPD insurance.

Partial & Permanent Disability Insurance or PPD claims apply where you suffer injury or illness that impairs your work capacity on a permanent basis, but the impairment is only partial and not total as in the case of a TPD claim. This means that you are still able to undertake gainful employment despite your illness or injury, although it may limit your capacity for work to some extent.

Insurance payments for PPD claims are not as lucrative as TPD claims, but if you have such insurance, will still provide you with some compensation for your injury or illness.  In many cases, where you are found ineligible for a TPD payment under your TPD policy of insurance, you will be found to have a PPD claim instead.

Often, if you are eligible for a PPD claim, you do not receive a lump sum payment that you can access immediately, but it is deposited into your Superannuation Fund and you will be restricted from accessing it, just as you are with your Superannuation. But how your PPD payment is made will depend on the terms of your policy.

Again, whether you are eligible for a PPD payment under such insurance will depend on the terms of the covering insurance policy and what those terms stipulate as the necessary criteria for entitlement to a PPD insurance payment.

No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers can review your TPD and PPD insurance policies and put forward the strongest possible claims to your Superannuation Fund for you.

If you are injured Contact us today and find out if you have a TPD or PPD claim, or any injury & disability insurance claims available to you.