Why Chubb Life's Life Events Benefit Can Matter for Growing Families
Marriage, children, a new home and a larger mortgage can all change the amount of financial responsibility your family carries. Some insurance policies include features designed to help your cover adapt when those important life changes happen.
Chubb Life's Life Events Benefit may allow eligible policyholders to increase their Life Cover after certain qualifying life events without further assessment of their health. Limits, timeframes, age restrictions and other policy conditions apply.
Life Changes — and Your Financial Responsibilities Can Change With It
The amount of Life Insurance that suits someone at one stage of life may not necessarily continue to reflect their needs years later.
A person may originally arrange Life Cover when they are renting, single and have relatively few financial commitments. Later, they may have a partner, children, a mortgage and a household that depends more heavily on their income.
This is why major life events can be a useful trigger for an insurance review. The goal is not automatically to increase cover, but to check whether your existing protection still reflects the financial responsibilities you now have.
What Is Chubb Life's Life Events Benefit?
Chubb Life's Life Events Benefit is a built-in feature available on eligible cover. If a qualifying life event occurs, the policyholder may be able to apply to increase the relevant sum insured without further assessment of the life assured's health.
This can be particularly useful because health can change after insurance is first arranged. The benefit provides a way for eligible customers to increase existing cover following specified life events without going through a new health assessment for that increase.
Important: “Without further health assessment” does not mean the increase is unlimited or automatic. The policy's qualifying events, limits, eligibility rules, application deadlines and existing policy terms still apply.
What Kind of Life Events May Qualify?
Chubb Life's current policy material includes a range of qualifying life events. Depending on the cover and policy wording, examples can include:
Marriage or Civil Union
Formalising a relationship can create new shared financial responsibilities and long-term commitments.
Growing Your Family
Pregnancy, birth or legal adoption can significantly change the amount of financial support a household may need.
Buying Property
Buying a home, residential investment property or other qualifying residential property can create substantial new financial commitments.
Increasing Your Mortgage
A larger residential mortgage can increase the amount of debt your family would need to manage if something happened to you.
Significant Salary Increase
A qualifying increase in salary may reflect a higher level of household income and financial commitments.
Children's Education
Certain education-related milestones for dependent children may also qualify under the policy terms.
Chubb Life's current policy wording contains the complete list of eligible events and the conditions applying to each one, so the policy wording should always be checked before relying on the benefit.
How Much Can Life Cover Be Increased?
The amount that can be added depends on the qualifying event and the policy limits.
Key Life Cover rules include:
Does Increasing Your Cover Increase the Premium?
Yes. Increasing the sum insured means you are purchasing a higher level of insurance protection.
Chubb Life states that premiums increase from the date the higher sum insured takes effect.
The Life Events Benefit removes the need for further health assessment for an eligible increase — it does not mean the additional insurance is free.
The actual premium will depend on factors applying to the policy and the additional amount of cover. Your adviser can explain the premium before any change is completed.
A Simple Mortgage Example
A parent increases their residential mortgage by $100,000.
They already hold eligible Chubb Life Cover and want to check whether their existing sum insured still reflects the higher mortgage.
If the mortgage increase qualifies as a life event and all policy requirements are satisfied, they may be able to apply to increase their Life Cover without another assessment of their health.
The amount available would still be subject to the policy's per-event and overall Life Events Benefit limits, and the premium would increase if the additional cover is accepted.
This example is deliberately simplified. Whether an increase is available and how much can be added depends on the policy terms and the customer's individual circumstances.
Why Can This Feature Be Useful for Parents?
Parents often experience several major financial changes within a relatively short period of life — buying a home, increasing a mortgage, having children, changing income and planning for education.
At the same time, health is not guaranteed to remain the same as when the original insurance application was completed.
The value of the Life Events Benefit is flexibility. For an eligible life event, it can provide an opportunity to increase cover without a fresh health assessment, subject to the policy's conditions.
What Should You Do After a Major Life Event?
Review Your Current Cover
Check your current Life Cover, mortgage, income, family responsibilities and other financial commitments.
Check Your Policy Benefits
Confirm whether your policy includes a Life Events Benefit and whether your recent life change meets the relevant definition.
Act Within the Time Limit
If you may be eligible, speak with your adviser early so the applicable application deadline is not accidentally missed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need another medical assessment?
For an increase that qualifies under Chubb Life's Life Events Benefit, the increase can be applied for without further assessment of the life assured's health. All other policy conditions and eligibility requirements still apply.
Can I increase my Life Cover by any amount I want?
No. The Life Events Benefit contains limits on both the amount that can be increased for an individual event and the total amount that can be added under the benefit.
Does the Life Events Benefit only apply when my mortgage increases?
No. Mortgage increases are one qualifying event, but Chubb Life's policy wording includes a wider range of qualifying life events such as marriage, growing a family, purchasing property and certain income or family changes.
Will my premium increase?
Yes. Chubb Life states that premiums increase from the date the additional sum insured takes effect.
Is the increase automatically approved?
No. The request must satisfy the Life Events Benefit terms, including the qualifying event, applicable limits, evidence, timeframe, age requirements and other eligibility conditions.
Does every Life Insurance policy have this feature?
No. Benefits and policy terms vary between insurers and products. This article specifically discusses Chubb Life's Life Events Benefit.
A Life Event Doesn't Automatically Mean You Need More Insurance
A new baby, house purchase or larger mortgage can be a good reason to review your protection, but it does not automatically mean your current Life Cover is inadequate.
Your existing insurance, savings, mortgage balance, income, partner's income, family support and budget all matter.
The purpose of a review is to understand what has changed first. From there, you can consider whether your existing cover remains appropriate and whether using a policy feature such as the Life Events Benefit is suitable.
Has your family, mortgage or financial situation changed?
An insurance review can help you understand your existing cover, identify whether your protection still reflects your circumstances, and check whether any policy benefits may be available following a recent life event.
Book a Complimentary ReviewThis article provides general information only and is not personalised financial advice. It describes selected features of Chubb Life insurance based on current publicly available information. Benefits, qualifying events, limits, premiums, eligibility criteria and policy terms can change. Please refer to the applicable Chubb Life policy wording and obtain personalised financial advice before making changes to your insurance.