FSC highlights benefits of insurance within super

The FSC said in a statement that 92 per cent of the working population afforded some type of insurance cover that would not otherwise be in place.

It noted that the government’s welfare bill for 2016-17 was estimated to be $158.6 billion and that, according to Rice Warner figures, group insurance will reduce this annual cost by $403 million.

FSC chief executive Sally Loane said, "We need to preserve insurance inside group superannuation, and we need to preserve the current opt-out mechanism. Without this, people would slip through the net.

“It would also make insurance more expensive, potentially pricing out many Australians who receive cover today.

“Worse than that, many Australians, for example those working in heavy industry or suffering from a pre-existing medical condition, may not be given access to any cover at all if it wasn’t provided in their workplace fund.”