Insurance cover for you and your employees:

Workers Compensation

You must provide accident and sickness insurance for your employees - workers compensation - through an approved insurer. Workers compensation is covered by separate state and territory legislation.

Personal accident and illness

If you are self employed you won't be covered by workers compensation, so you need to cover yourself for accident and sickness insurance through a private insurer.

There are several types of life insurance. Some are investment-type funds where you contribute over a certain time and get back your investment plus interest earnings at the maturity date. Others are designed to cover risk - things that could happen to you.

• Income protection or disability insurance - covers part of your normal income if you are prevented from working through sickness or accident.
• Trauma insurance - provides a lump sum when you are diagnosed with one of several specified life threatening illnesses.
• Term life insurance or whole of life cover - provides your dependents with a lump sum if you die.
• Total and permanent disability insurance - provides a lump sum only if you are totally and permanently disabled before retirement.

Superannuation

If you are running a business or employing people, you are likely to have superannuation obligations to your employees. If you are self-employed you also need to provide for your retirement - superannuation is generally used to provide for a retirement plan.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) considers complaints from policy owners of Australian life insurance companies. The service assists with superannuation inquiries or complaints if your super fund is administered by a life insurance company. Phone FOS on 1300 780 808.