Income Protection Insurance FAQs

If you are a New Zealand resident aged between 16 – 60, and work at least 15 hours a week, then you can apply for OneChoice Income Protection Insurance. You are eligible to apply if you are an employee, a self-employed small business owner, a sole trader, or a contractor.

With OneChoice Income Protection Insurance, you can apply to cover up to 75% of your monthly pre-tax income, with a maximum benefit of $15,000 per month. Keep in mind that everyone’s situation varies, so the amount of cover you might want to take out could depend on factors such as the amount of sick leave you have, your monthly income, and regular expenses. Creating a budget to compare your total expenses against your income can help you determine the appropriate level of cover you might need.

You’ll have to share the following information as part of your application:

• Your name
• Your age
• Duties you perform as part of your regular occupation
• Your sex at birth
• Your smoker status

You can apply for OneChoice Income Protection Insurance by calling us on 0800 600 634 0800 600 634 or requesting a quote online – one of our friendly team members will get in touch with an obligation-free quote.

You don’t have to go to the trouble of getting a medical or blood test to apply for OneChoice Income Protection Insurance. You can apply over the phone by simply answering a few questions about your duties at work and your health and lifestyle. How good is that?!

Your cover will end on the policy anniversary following your 65^th birthday. This is because 65 is a common age for Kiwis to retire, who are more likely to take advantage of their KiwiSaver / superannuation funds, investments, or other assets at that time, and are less likely to work and earn an income.

With OneChoice Income Protection Insurance you’re covered while overseas if you are a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident and living and working in New Zealand at the time of your application.

Your pre-tax income is the total annual remuneration you receive and will vary depending on whether you are an employee or self-employed. 

If you are an employee, your total annual remuneration includes salary, regular commissions, and regular bonuses paid to you by your employer, before tax, excluding employer KiwiSaver/super contributions.

If you are self-employed, your total annual remuneration is your total share of annual income earned in the business before tax, directly due to your own personal efforts, less any business expenses and excluding super contributions.

With OneChoice, you can choose a waiting period of either 30 or 90 days on your income protection policy. Your waiting period starts on the day you consult your doctor and get their confirmation that your sickness or injury will see you unfit to continue working. Upon claim approval, you’re eligible to start receiving your monthly benefits as soon as your waiting period ends. The great news is that you’re paid in advance at the beginning of the month instead of at the end, so you can stay on top of all your bills and other payments!

Yes, there may be some exclusions that apply to your policy. No income benefit will be payable if the sickness or injury is caused directly or indirectly as a result of:

• an intentional self-inflicted act;
• attempted suicide;
• normal pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage, or pregnancy termination; 
• war (whether declared or not) or war-like activity, or taking part in a riot or civil commotion;
• engaging in any criminal activity or illegal acts; or 
• any Special Terms or Conditions that we have agreed with you that are shown in your Policy Schedule. 

Other exclusions may apply – please refer to your Policy Document for more information.

While OneChoice is paying your income protection insurance income benefit, you won’t have to pay your premiums as they’ll be waived until either you are back at work or have reached your maximum benefit period. Provided we receive your completed claim form within 30 days from the start of the sickness or injury we will also reimburse the portion of premium paid during the waiting period.

If you cancel your income protection insurance during the cooling-off period and you haven’t made a claim during that time, then you’ll get a full refund of any premiums that have been paid. With OneChoice Income Protection Insurance, the cooling-off period is 30 days.

If you cancel your policy after 30 days, and pay your premium fortnightly or monthly, you will not get anything back because this policy is not a savings plan. However, if you have chosen an annual payment option, we will refund the annual premium less a pro rata amount covering the period for which you were insured.

OneChoice Income Protection Insurance offers a reoccurring disability benefit. This means that if your sickness or injury reoccurs within six months of your last income protection insurance benefit payment, OneChoice will pay your monthly benefit without you having to re-serve your waiting period. You will continue receiving monthly payments until you reach the balance of your benefit period.

If you get sick or injured due to another cause, then a new waiting period and benefit period will apply.

You can’t take part in either your regular occupation or any other gainful occupation, while you are receiving monthly benefits. But passive income from investments generally won’t impact your income protection benefit payments. Seek independent financial advice from an accountant to get the correct information based on your unique circumstances.

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to cover your partner on your policy, but as long as they are also working at least 15 hours a week, they can apply for a separate income protection insurance policy of their own.

According to the government’s Work and Income website, not all insurance payouts affect your benefit.¹  It will depend on the type of insurance and the benefit you’re receiving from the government. Consider consulting a financial adviser to determine if your payments might be impacted.

Keep in mind your income benefits may be reduced by any other offsets you receive such as paid sick leave, other insurance policies, ACC or any other government agency payments, for your sickness or injury.