ING Life Insurance Information and FAQs

Life Insurance - General questions

What is a Term Life Insurance?

Term life insurance cover pays out a lump sum benefit to your Estate if you die during the period of cover.

Why do I need life insurance?

If you're the main income earner in the family, life insurance can help provide a stable financial future for your loved ones if you pass away. Life insurance can help your family manage major household expenses, such as the mortgage and education costs, plus other unforeseen expenses, such as funeral costs.

How much life insurance do I need?

Most people take out life insurance policy at key stages during their lives, including:

  • getting married
  • starting a new job or changing jobs
  • the birth of children
  • moving house
  • launching a business or partnership

Life insurance from ING lets you choose how much cover you would like depending on your age and circumstances.

Whatever level of life insurance cover you choose, your amount of cover is guaranteed to never decrease.

If you require financial advice in determining your life insurance needs, call 133 667, weekdays from 9.00am to 6.00pm (Sydney time), to speak to a financial adviser or to obtain more information about ING's OneCare and Group Risk life insurance products.

Why should I buy life insurance from ING?

ING Australia Limited (ING Australia) is one of Australia's leading fund managers, life insurers and superannuation providers with over $30 billion in assets under management. With over 100 years experience in life insurance, both locally and globally, we can provide you with a broad range of insurance products to help protect you and your family.

I have life insurance cover with my superannuation. Why do I need additional life insurance?

It's great that you've started to protect your family's lifestyle. However, your superannuation may have a lower level of cover than you expect and may not be adequate to cover your changing circumstances.

I am self-employed. Why do I need life insurance?

Running your own business is an even bigger reason to consider life insurance. Even if you have your own superannuation fund, you may not have any or adequate levels of life insurance cover. So, it's important to review your insurance cover to ensure that both the financial future of your business and your loved ones is secure.

Can my partner and I get a joint life insurance policy?

Yes, you can. You and your partner can also receive a joint life insurance policy discount when you apply for Online Life Insurance together at the same time. To be joint applicants, you and your partner need to be either a spouse, defacto spouse or person living in a bonafide domestic arrangement where one or each provides the other with financial support, domestic support and personal care.

How to get a quote and buy life insurance online

How do I apply for life insurance cover?

It's quick and easy to get a life insurance quote and buy insurance policy online.

How long will the online application take?

You can get a life insurance quote in a matter of minutes. Plus, it's quick and easy to buy insurance online.

What will I need to get a quote?

Buying life insurance has never been easier. All you need to do is complete our online application and you can be instantly insured. Click to get a quote for affordable and comprehensive life insurance.

I quit smoking six months ago. Do I need to tell you?

Yes. It's important that you provide accurate information on your smoker status when applying for life insurance. If you give up smoking for twelve months or more after you take out the insurance policy, we can change your premium rates to the non-smoker price. Just call us on 1800 500 229, weekdays from 9.00am to 6.00pm (Sydney time), and we can update your policy details.

Who can apply for life insurance cover?

If you're a permanent resident of Australia aged between 21 and 59 years you can apply for Online Life Insurance.

How long does it take to get insured?

Your life insurance cover starts immediately after you buy life insurance online. Once your payment is confirmed, a printable version of your policy schedule confirming when your life insurance cover started and your level of cover will be instantly available. We will also mail you a copy of the policy schedule within 5 working days.

What if I change my mind? Do you offer a money back guarantee?

The insurance cover comes with a money-back guaranteed cooling-off period so you have 21 days after you buy your life insurance policy to decide if this cover is right for you. If it's not the cover you require, you can cancel the policy by calling us on 1800 500 229 or by writing to ING Life Limited, GPO Box 4871, Sydney NSW 2001. You'll receive a full refund on any premiums you have paid if you have not made a claim.

Can I cancel the policy at any time?

If you cancel your life insurance cover within the 21 day cooling-off period, we will return any premiums to you. However, if you cancel your policy outside of the cooling off period, you will not receive a refund.

Is my personal information confidential?

At ING we are committed to ensuring that your personal information remains confidential and secure. ING's Privacy policy explains how we manage personal information and can be downloaded here.

How secure is ING's Online Insurance site?

The security and privacy of your information is of the utmost importance to ING. We use the latest technologies to ensure your details are kept confidential and secure, including the 128-bit secured encryption protocol for managing the security of your information while it's transmitted over the internet, and 256-bit encryption for the storage of your confidential information.

When you are in the quote engine, you can tell if the connection between our servers and your computer is 'secure' if your browser displays a small closed lock () in the status bar at the bottom of the screen.

Paying your life insurance premiums

How can I pay my life insurance premium?

You can charge the insurance premium each month to your credit card (Visa, MasterCard or American Express). When will insurance premiums be deducted?

Insurance premiums will be deducted monthly. The premium for your first month of cover will be deducted from your nominated account on the date we process your application.

After this first premium deduction, each subsequent premium will be deducted on the 20th day of each month from your nominated credit card. If the 20th day falls on a weekend or public holiday, deductions will be made on the next business day.

How much will life insurance cover cost?

To find out how much Online Life Insurance will cost you, click to get a quick life insurance quote - it takes less than a minute.

What if I stop paying my insurance premiums?

If you stop paying your insurance premiums, we will write to you to let you know that your cover has ceased and no benefits will be payable.

Will the insurance premiums change over time?

Insurance premiums are based on your age, and will increase over time as you get older. Will this impact my tax?

In most cases, any benefits paid to the policy holder or the estate are free of personal income tax.

When do I get paid a benefit under the life insurance policy?

Online Life Insurance has been designed to keep premiums as low as possible so money is only paid out for specific events during the life of the policy. There is no cash-in value at the end of the policy. So, at the end of your policy your cover will end and you will stop paying premiums.

Can I get a discount if my partner and I get a joint life insurance policy?

Yes, you can. Online Life Insurance offers joint life insurance policy discounts if both you and your partner apply for cover at the same time.

What will happen if I can't afford the monthly premiums?

Our insurance cover has been designed to be flexible so you can choose the level of cover to suit your needs and budget. Call the ING Insurance Centre on 1800 500 229 to determine whether you can change your level of cover so that you can continue to be protected.

Making a life insurance claim

How to make a claim

We want to make the claims process as easy as possible. A claim can be made by either:

  • calling 1800 500 229, weekdays from 9.00am to 6.00pm (Sydney time), or
  • writing to ING Life, Risk Claims, GPO Box 4028, Sydney NSW 2001.

We will then send the necessary claim forms that will need to filled in and returned to us.

Can I choose who gets the money if I die?

The lump sum payment will be paid directly to the policy holder or their estate.

What happens if I die?

If you are covered through Online Life Insurance and you die from a covered event before the end of your policy, we will pay the policy holder or their estate a lump sum. The amount of money that is paid will depend on your chosen level of cover.

Levels of life insurance cover

How much cover do I need?

The level of life insurance cover you choose will depend on your personal needs. If your salary was no longer being paid you'd need to take into account how much it would cost your family to pay the following expenses:

  • mortgage
  • education costs
  • day-to-day bills, e.g. electricity, food.

Are there any age restrictions?

You can apply for Online Life Insurance if you are aged between 21 and 59 years of age.

What does 'guaranteed renewable' mean?

You can renew your insurance policy each year, without evidence of continuing good health, up until the policy anniversary date following your 75th birthday.

Do I have to take out life insurance cover for a minimum amount of time?

No. You can cancel your policy at any time. If you cancel within the 21 day cooling off period, you will receive a full refund. However, if you can cancel after 21 days you will not receive a refund.

Can I get joint life insurance cover?

Yes, you can. You will also receive a discount if you and your partner apply together at the same time. What happens to the policy if one person under the joint policy passes away?

In the event of your death, ownership of the policy will be transferred to your partner and the joint policy discount will be discontinued.

Am I covered if I go overseas?

Yes. You will be covered anywhere in the world 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

What if I need financial advice?

Online Life Insurance is only available online and not through an adviser. If you would like to speak to a financial adviser call 133 667, weekdays from 9.00am to 6.00pm (Sydney time), to receive more information about our OneCare and other Group Risk life insurance products.

When your circumstances change

What if my contact details change?

If your contact details or insurance needs change when you are insured with us please call 1800 500 229, weekdays from 9.00am to 6.00pm (Sydney time).

More about ING Life Insurance