Commonwealth Bank Income Protection Insurance

ive never made a claim but its impossible to get through to them – I tried to call comminsure to just change the direct debit details on my monthly payment. i sat for 30 mins in a phone queue then scheduled a call back from someone. The SAME THING happened on the call back, i sat in a long queue for a long time. What is the point?? I never got to speak to anyone, and so sent a msg on the facebook site and got… Read more

nowhere too. Now im ringing another company that can answer the phone and send emails. I would hate to be making a claim with comminsure if they are this hard to get onto.

Took to long – Took too long. I lodge it in September 2018 and now it’s 21/12/18 and just found out that the manager won’t look at it till January 2019. So disappointed no money for Christmas.  Show details

A total rort, don't bother – I have had a "level" policy for a few years, sold to me by a CBA adviser as being more affordable in the long-term as premiums will not increase like a "stepped" policy would. This year the premiums are increasing by 21.4%. By any real world definition I know of, that is NOT a level premium. Probably buried in the t&c's it says they can do this… Read more

but this behaviour is just another example of the totally unethical and morally bankrupt behaviour of this bank.

Trauma – I lost an eye to cancer and they are still playing me around I sent them all the medical information plus a big list of things the doctor gave me of everything they did to me during surgery and what type of cancer I had. They are still trying to get the hospital to send them more info. They are saying that it might not be covered that my trauma and cancer claim might not fit there definition of trauma or definition of cancer.  Show details

Disgusted – Never use comminsure, you won’t get paid and they will do anything not to pay a claim. I know I’ve had to endure not being able to work since August 2016 and I had an income protection policy, but because I didn’t disclose that I suffered from depression many years ago they declined my claim and cancelled my policy. Now myself and my family have had to suffer because of this.  Show details

Very difficult – They want you and doctors to fill out an unbelievable amount of paperwork. They accused me of seeing too many doctors and making it hard for them when my normal doctor was off sick. Accepted finally, quiet disappointing experience, from a bank I've always used, but not much longer.  Show details

Income protection – Recently received a letter for my insurer, same one you would get from any of them I am told. That as reached 65 I am no longer able to have income protection insurance. I am not retiring, in good physical and mental health but the cover will end. In an era where the next generation can't retire till 70 I find this disappointing. The service has… Read more

been excellent over the years and I have no real complaint except it is ageist and makes a lot of assumptions about people.

I write the review to inform other who make get such a letter.

Scam – I was unemployed when I took out a 5000 dollar loan and they said i need to take out income protection to get the loan. I also took out life insurance. When I refinanced my loan they said to get it I would have to cancel both income protection and my life insurance. I will be changing banks for sure.  Show details

Rip offs – Paying for this is a total waste of money. Off work for 6 weeks without pay due to injury and it takes 30 days for claim to be processed and not even sure will pay 2 loan payments. Beware this has to be a money grabbing scam  Show details

Waste of money – Total waste of money. Will do anything not to pay out on policy. Basically I've been giving them free money as I am not covered under my policy for Illness.  Show details

Excellent TPD claim handling – Really happy with CommInsure. They processed and paid my TPD claim within a couple of weeks of me lodging my claim. Very simple and hassle free claim process. Thanks CommInsure!  Show details

Look for the tiniest loophole – Through my financial planner I applied for income protection insurance combined with trauma insurance through Comminsure They wanted a medical report from my doctor, fair enough, when they finally got it, they approved my application with 2 exemptions, 1 for a stomach ulcer , which I accepted as it is an ongoing condition,treated with tablets. … Read more

They also applied an exemption for anything to do with backs, discs, Nerves in back etc because according to the doctors report I saw him 2-3 times in 4 or so years for the odd sore neck.

I informed the planner if they want to be so picky, then I won't bother with the application.

I see from other posters this is a familiar tactic.

Loan Protection: Government approved scamming – I paid for loan protection for 6 years and despite believing I would never have to make a claim, that changed when I became too ill to work and was eventually 'let go' from my position. I never once missed a payment on either the loan or the loan protection. Regardless, my claim was refused on the grounds that I had managed to secure a single shift in 3 months to help me get by. Loan protection is a scam.  Show details

Really, really bad – I had an accident & after several months it became clear that my working life was over for some years with any physical effort gone forever due to a head/neck/back injury. After an initial small payment I was misled into closing the case. I attempted to reopen it after many months after receiving advice from Centrelink who had started making… Read more

disability payments to me when Comminsure stopped.

Despite filling in many, many forms, speaking to many, many different case officers (they changed almost weekly) & visiting their rehabilitation counsellors (who wanted me to find work despite my injuries) I've received no more payments.

So after paying my premiums for 10 years when I really needed some help (my first ever claim) I was given a small payment & left to fend for myself with Centrelink being my only income ever since.

I hope this review may help others avoid what my family & I had income insurance to help protect us from but didn't even come close.

inadequte protection – i have bben injured and unable to work as a nurse since april 2014,it took 90 days to get any income from cominsure and centrelink no one would help its vital that people get help earlier.also i still have to attend a doctor to fill in a claim form every month even though they know i have numerous conditions and have had surgery to replace my… Read more

knees that was problematic and is now the main reason i cannot work again .centrelink agreed i am disabled permanately now but the forms keep coming and i am paying a premium for loan protection but getting no protection don,t understand that one.just a foot note i have a sub form of ms ms and motor nurone is not recognised as causes of death so none is covered .

CommInsure are homophobic and send endless irrelevant "questionnaires". Canceled my application – I'm a 24 year old male in perfect health. I was told that the whole application process would take a max of two weeks. A month and a half and several lengthy "questionnaire" forms later, I still have no income protection. The reasons? Well... Firstly, I'm homosexual. CommInsure see that as a massive black mark, and so they sent me a "lifestyle… Read more

questionnaire" that asked every single gritty question they possibly could about my sexual lifestyle, whether I use a condom and, if I don't use condoms, a full explanation as to why I still think I practise safe sex. They asked how many sexual partners I've had, whether any or how many of them have had ailments of their own, how often I'm tested, etcetera. Unnecessary and gritty level of detail for the purposes of obtaining income protection. Why does any of this even matter anyway? Does a heterosexual person not have a chance of acquiring any of the same ailments a homosexual person could?

Then they request a medical report from my doctor. That takes a couple of weeks to come through. Then CommInsure start asking for particulars about every single time I've visited the doctor, for what purpose my visit was, what I was tested/checked for, what the results/diagnosis was, what treatment I've since undertaken, the results of said treatment, so on and so forth. It was completely exhaustive and again, 90% irrelevant for the purposes of obtaining income protection insurance. Did I mention I'm also in perfect health and have never had a medical issue? Good luck if you've ever visited the doctor due to even a slight sniffle.

Then another questionnaire... and another questionnaire... and then another clarification on the information I'd supplied them (these are all additional forms they sent me, spaced two weeks apart).

Now they want me to disclose "mental health" details as a result of having been to a counselling session for family issues when I was 16. Nope, this is where I'm drawing the line.

This process has taken a month and a half so far, with no end in sight. It seems CommInsure don't want me as a customer. Their application process is abusive and asks you to supply them with endless irrelevant information, likely in the hope that they'll find some loophole through which to refuse any claims later on. CommInsure basically want me to pay them free money for a non-existent policy. It's clear to me that if they're going to treat me like this before I'm a customer, what on earth are they going to treat me like when I AM a customer? Don't choose them simply because they're cheaper. There's obviously a reason for that (they don't pay out) and their application process has been nothing but proof of that.

Terrible company – ok to take monthly payments but when you claim it takes months to come back in 5 months to say you didn't fill out original application correctly and insist on a home interview. I would never go near them again.  Show details

Partial Claim CommInsure – In 2007, I became to sick to work and went on full claim in terms of my Accident/Sickness and Disability Policy with CommInsure. I was on the full-time benefit provided under my Policy off and on for about 3 years and then set out again to rebuild my business and somehow provide for my family. Initially, I didn't make a claim on my policy for a… Read more

Partial Benefit at that stage, but I seemed to consistently "crash and burn" so to speak. I would progress along" okay" and then out out of the blue would enter a downward spiral and go back on full claim. This had a terrible effect on my business as consistency is a cornerstone of any small business.

My Doctor suggested I go on a Partial Claim and I have been on one for just over a year. The process is a little onerous at times. As I am self employed I have to provide Monthly Financials and when you are struggling this can prove a challenge but so far I have kept up. Given BAS Deadlines it actually forces you to maintain some schedule. The other difficulty is you need to provide a Medical Certificate with each claim. This is totally understandable but it can take half of your doctor's appointment to complete it.

I really do not know how I would have been able to keep going without the support of CommInsure. I have read the various recent media reports and if they are accurate they are concerning, but they do not represent in any way the interaction and support I have received from CommInsure.

I was not asked to provide this review but given the recent media coverage I felt it important to say that other more positive experiences do exist.

February 11th 2019 Update: Without the support of CommInsure we would have lost everything.

I have had a CommInsure Income Protection Policy for over 20 years. As an Accountant, I knew adequate Insurance was necessary but when your family is confronted by a major tragedy and your physical and emotional strength is tested over ten years having the support of a strong Insurance company cannot be understated.

Having not really slept for 10 years, I finally succumbed to Medical advice and have now been on full claim since November 2017. The support I have received from CommInsure has been first rate. It is my belief that I would have lost my home and probably my marriage without their support. Income Protection Insurance is tax deductible and expensive especially as you get older, but being a recipient I now advice anyone I speak to to have Income Protection Insurance.

I ran my own business and took out the policy to basically provide me "sick leave" if such a situation as confronted me arose. My policy had a 1 month lead time as I felt this was practicable given how my business operated. No one sets out to be a recipient of Income Protection benefits but when you are in my situation my broker must be thanked for advising me to take out this policy with CommInsure.

Shame about the claim service – They seem ok to make monthly benefit payments, but try to claim on any other policy benefits and good luck! I urge clients to contact the Financial ombudsman and also Fairfax media. Comminsure service, well just crap! My claim for other benefits has taken 18 months and counting, now in the hands of my solicitor.  Show details

Accept claim, then look for loopholes to not honor the services you paid for – From personal experience staff were mismanaged and had no people skills what so ever. I provided all the required documentation, and proof of involuntary redundancy only to be screwed around for months and eventually rejected after initial acceptance. Absolutely terrible service. Do not waste your time!!  Show details

UNBELIEVABLY good, best in the business – Lost my job in july 2015, by sept 2015 they were paying me ontime EVERY time, compared to AIA these guys are legends. They accepted my initial claim no questions asked (80 pages of medical evidence on submission) Not only that, instead of filling out 3 pages of documentation with my doctor each month(extra fees for long consultation) they accept… Read more

a standard worker compensation certificate to cover for the month.

THEY EVEN PAID IN ADVANCE!!!!!

I provided a med cert that covered the current month and the next month and they paid both months without any hassle!

Meanwhile AIA "income protection" have yet to approve initial claim that was made at the same time after being dismissed due to a permanent impairment from a workplace injury, this is 6 months later....

IF YOU HAVE A CHOICE!!!! chose commonwealth bank over AIA, AIA are usless and dont care, where cominsure are easy going and aslong as you tick the boxes everything will be as it should.

My advice/PSA

AVOID AIA at all costs, change super if you have to!!!

USE COMINSURE they are great

Application rejected – Through my financial adviser, i applied for income protection. After filling loads of paperwork then answering further questions about my job role, I find out I was rejected through a letter. They didn't seem to understand my role nor called me for an understanding. Also if you've had minor health issues, especially related to the back, then don't bother applying. The application was an absolute waste of time.

Waste of money and waste of time – Been a customer of commonwealth for 8+ years and purchased loan protection 3 years ago with a loan have stayed up to date with my payments, never had a problem until redundancy 2 months ago. Every phone conversation I have received different information and also discovered I cannot make a claim for 30 days and they do not back pay either when I… Read more

was told over the phone that they actually do. Then another 15 days to process and I must have emails from 2 months ago as proof I have been looking for employment which luckily I did.

Wish I had read the fine print and been better informed before paying for a service which I am starting to doubt is going to happen. Buyer beware. Polite phone staff Staff need to carefully read case notes as I feel confused and definitely suddenly not feeling like a customer any longer

The Worst Day of My Life – I entered my review in Comminsure Home Insurance by mistake...ooops...the content is real just didn't tick the right spot...read about the horrendous ultimatum Comminsure gave me..."fly interstate to complete a pointless Independent Medical Examination and leave my 5 kids at home to self manage all day (whilst they were extremely distressed at the… Read more

hospitalisation of their Mum) or go without benefits for around 8 months"...and all this just before Christmas...thank you Comminsure...for the worst day of my life...an ultimatum which hurt me and my children at an extremely distressing time... CommInsureCAN'T? Comminsure make great adverts and have great objectives but at the end of the day... From my perspective, Comminsure cares about what it costs them in dollars, not what their conduct costs you