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Terminal Illness claims

If you’ve been diagnosed with a terminal illness, we are here to help you through the process to make a claim to access your super balance and any death benefit you may have as part of your insurance cover within super. 

What is a Terminal Illness claim?

A Terminal Illness claim is a request for your Australian Retirement Trust superannuation account balance and Death insurance cover to be paid to you where you have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and are likely to pass away within 12 or 24 months.

Insurance cover for terminal illness is provided as a part of your Death insurance cover. If you don’t have Death insurance cover with Australian Retirement Trust, you may be able to claim your superannuation account balance as a Terminal Medical Condition benefit.  

How to make a Terminal Illness claim?

If you believe you may be eligible to claim a Terminal Illness benefit, there are three steps that you need to complete to submit a Terminal Illness claim.

1. Contact us on 13 11 84

We're here to help at no cost to you. So start by contacting us. One of our experienced Claims Representatives will guide you through the process of making a Terminal Illness claim.

The Claims Representative will:

  • confirm the details of your Australian Retirement Trust membership, including member number and date of birth, and provide details of your current account balance and insurance cover,
  • ask you for details about your injury or illness, the date your injury first occurred or your illness first presented, the date and detail about your diagnosis, details about your work status, the date you last worked and the hours you worked per week leading up to your injury or illness,
  • discuss your options or refer you to an expert to discuss early assistance,
  • explain the information you need to provide for the claim to be assessed, and
  • provide any claim forms (known as a ‘claims pack’) you need to complete, or, if you’re eligible, a link to eClaims to lodge your claim.

2. Provide necessary information

Completing your Terminal Illness claim application is an important step in the claim process. The details and evidence you provide will form the basis upon which the Insurer makes their decision. Providing us with all the information we require and completing your forms correctly will speed up your claims process.

If information is missing or incomplete, we will need to contact you to ask for it, which will delay your claim.

Certified proof of your identity
You must provide certified proof of your identity (for example, a certified copy of your driver’s licence or passport).

Why? For security purposes we need to be sure of the identity of the individual who is submitting the claim. Understandably, you won’t want to send us your original documents, so we ask that you have a copy certified by an authorised person.
Tip: See the Proof of Identity Requirements section in the claims guide for information on what forms of ID are suitable and how to have a copy certified.

3. Complete and return your completed Terminal Illness claim documents

The claims pack we send you contains important information about what you need to do, and what we need from you. Please take some time to carefully read this information and gather all the information and documents required. You will need to answer several questions and provide us with additional information. Completing the claim form is an important step in this process; the details and evidence you provide will form the basis upon which the Insurer makes their decision in regards to your Terminal Illness claim.

We recognise that this may be a daunting task and our Claims Representatives are here to help you every step of the way.

Australian Retirement Trust has introduced an online claims tool that allows claims to be lodged electronically. The eClaims tool lets members lodge and monitor their claims online. It also provides third parties (i.e. employers and doctors) with the capability to complete and submit claim information directly online for the insurer to assess. It’s designed to help simplify the process and reduce the time taken to finalise the claim.

Please call us as soon as you are able to on 13 11 84, if you would like help making a claim or have any questions

For more information on making a Terminal Illness claim, refer to the Super Savings Insurance Claims guide - Terminal Illness.