What to expect when you apply for life insurance

ARTICLE

27 February 2025

3 min read

You’ve decided to take the plunge and look into getting life insurance to protect you, your family and your lifestyle in case the unexpected happens. Great decision! So, what’s the process?

There are a couple of ways you can go about this.

Get general advice from an insurance consultant
An insurance consultant can explain the different types of insurance, what it covers, and generate a quote for you based on the amount of cover you think you need and the premiums you prefer to pay. General advice is usually offered free of charge, but the onus is on you to assess your own protection needs.
Get personal, tailored advice from a financial planner
A financial planner will look at your circumstances including income, investments, expenses and debt; they’ll talk to you about your goals, whether you have any dependents, and your lifestyle. They will assess the amount and type of insurance protection you need, taking into account any existing policies you may have (including default insurance in your superannuation), research options and present you with recommendations and price. A fee is usually charged for this kind of tailored financial advice.

AIA Financial Wellbeing offers both kinds of advice. Whichever way you go, the following steps come next when applying for life insurance:

Application process

Your insurance consultant or financial planner will commence the application process with you and book you in for an underwriting appointment with the insurer (this can be done over the phone). Make sure you have the following information in preparation for your interview:

Occupation - including your job history, duties, average hours worked, location of work
Personal history - your habits, travels and pastimes
Medical history - including tests, investigations and treatments you have had; also, if applicable, details of your health specialist, clinic and their contact details
Family history - medical history of your immediate family members

Depending on your medical and family history and the type or amount of cover you are seeking, you may be asked to undergo additional tests (e.g., blood test) or provide a medical report from your GP.

Underwriting assessment

The job of the underwriter is to assess the risk of insuring you – that is, how likely you will need to claim in the future. Your insurance application is assessed based on the information you have provided in the application, underwriting appointment, and the amount and type of cover you are seeking. Most people fall within the average range of risk for the insurer and their application can be accepted as per the original quote without special conditions.

Application outcome

Once the underwriting assessment has been completed, you will be notified of the outcome of your insurance application. There are three potential outcomes:

Accepted – congratulations, you’re covered!
Accepted with conditions (for example, an increased premium loading or an exclusion for certain conditions) – you have the option to accept these conditions and implement the insurance, or discuss further and ask for a review of the decision
Declined – you have the option to discuss further or ask for a review of the decision

Paying your premiums

Depending on the type of life insurance you are purchasing, you may be able to pay your premiums in part or in full via your superannuation.

If not, you can generally choose the payment plan that suits you – annually, monthly or fortnightly.

Did you know?

Income protection insurance premiums are tax deductible in certain circumstances.

AIA Financial Wellbeing can help you get the right protection for your needs, and we’ll be there to support you through the application and implementation process. We can also help you at claim time.

Want help getting AIA insurance?

Call us on 1800 417 788 or register online and we’ll call you

Want personal advice?

Call us on 1800 434 044 or register online and we’ll call you

Disclaimer:
Copyright © 2025 AIA Financial Services Pty Limited (ABN 68 008 540 252, AFSL 231109), trading as AIA Financial Wellbeing. All rights reserved. This information is current at the date of this publication and is subject to change. This provides general information only, without taking into account factors like the objectives, financial situations, needs or personal circumstances of any individual and is not intended to be financial, legal, tax, health, medical, nutritional or other advice. Before acting on the information in this publication, individuals should consider its appropriateness having regard to such factors.