AIA Life Insurance Review 2024

Overview

AIA Life Insurance has been protecting Australians for more than 48 years. They are part of the AIA Group which covers 18 markets across life insurance, health insurance and wealth products.

AIA members have access to the award-winning AIA Vitality program, with health-focused benefits and rewards.

What types of cover does AIA offer?

Nobody likes thinking about falling ill, having an accident or worse, but it’s important to be prepared if something were to happen to you. It’s all about providing a secure financial future for anyone who depends on you.

If you’ve got no dependents but not much in the way of savings, you may simply want income protection to cover your bills. Have a history of illness in your family? You may want to consider trauma (critical illness) cover. And if you have a growing family or big financial commitments like a mortgage, you might prefer the reassurance of life cover.

AIA offers a wide range of options, some of which you can take out as part of your super. AIA also offers accident only cover for Death, TPD, and Income Protection, which you can read more about in the PDS.

Life cover

AIA Life Cover provides a lump sum payment that can be used to pay off debts, cover day-to-day expenses and help with your dependents’ future needs. 

Key features:

• A one-off payment if you die or are diagnosed with a terminal illness

• Up 10% of your life cover or a maximum of $25,000 in advance to help with expenses like funeral costs

• Complimentary lump sum benefit of up to $20,000 if a dependent child dies or is diagnosed with a terminal illness

Critical illness cover (Crisis Recovery Plan)

The AIA Crisis Recovery Plan (or critical illness cover) gives you a lump sum payment for specified critical illnesses such as a stroke, heart attack or cancer. 

Key features:

• A one-off payment if you suffer from one of 47 listed critical conditions

• Advances a partial sum if you are diagnosed with a certain condition, including severe diabetes or skin cancer

• Pays a lump sum of $5,000 if you pass away

• Complimentary cover of up to $20,000 if a dependent child experiences a serious illness

Total permanent disability (TPD)

If you suffer a serious injury or illness, you may not be able to continue working. TPD insurance gives you one less thing to worry about. Our TPD guide has more information on how this type of cover works. 

AIA offers three main types of TPD insurance cover; TPD, Accidental TPD and Universal TPD, but this guide focuses on TPD. If you’d like to know more about the other types of TPD cover AIA offer, please read the PDS.

Key features:

• Lump sum payment if you suffer a total and permanent disability

• Pays up to $3,000 to cover financial planning advice if held outside of super

• Partial payment of up to 25% of the sum insured, with a maximum of $750,000 if you lose the use of an arm, a leg or sight in one eye if held outside of super 

Income protection

Your ability to earn an income is important, so it makes sense to protect it. With a monthly payment to help cover your expenses, AIA Income Protection CORE takes the pressure off so you can focus on your recovery.

Key features:

• Monthly payments to replace part of your income if you can’t work because you’re sick or injured 

• Your insurance premium is automatically waived while you receive payments

• A lump sum payment of up to six times your insured monthly benefit if you’re diagnosed with a terminal illness

What member benefits does AIA offer?

Members can access the AIA Vitality member program, which gives you access to online health checks, discounts on gyms and fitness goods and the ability to earn Vitality Points which entitle you to premium discounts. 

AIA has also partnered with Medix, to give members access to health care if you’re dealing with a serious medical condition.

Can I get AIA Life Cover through my superannuation?

Yes, you can get life, TPD and income protection through your super. Compare Club can help with this. 

Trauma/critical illness cover isn't available with your superannuation through any insurer. 

Want to know more about how life insurance works with superannuation?Read our guide.

Performance of AIA

According to Moneysmart.gov.au, AIA’s number of finalised claims between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021 has a 97% acceptance rate, with an average claim time of 1.7 months.

The industry average during this period for claiming on advised life insurance policies is 1.5 months to settle a claim, with a 96.6% acceptance rate. AIA has a 15.3% policy cancellation rate, which is slightly higher than the industry average of 13.6%.

Maximum cover amount*

• Life cover – No limit for all occupations excluding home duties; $2 million for home duties

• TPD – $5 million

• Critical illness – $2 million

• Income protection – $30,000 per month (depending on age and occupation)

*Cover amounts are subject to financial underwriting.

Maximum entry age

• Life cover – 74 (outside super) or 73 (within super) 

• TPD – 63

• Critical illness – 63

• Income protection – 59

Expiry age

• Life cover – 100th birthday

• TPD – 70th birthday

• Critical illness – 70th birthday

• Income protection – 65th birthday

Key exclusions

AIA Insurance has listed its key exclusions by product type. You can see them below.

Life cover

A Life Cover claim will not be paid if the Life Insured’s death was caused or contributed by:

• Suicide within the first 13 months of the cover commencing, is reinstated or increased. 

TPD

A TPD Cover claim will not be paid if total and permanent disablement is either caused, or contributed to, by:

• A self inflicted injury or attempted suicide

Critical illness

A critical illness claim will not be paid if:

• Death from suicide in the first 13 months from the benefit date commencement

• Any crisis event or disablement caused by intentional self-inflicted or any such attempt by you

• An event caused by intentional self-inflicted injury or any such attempt by you

Income protection

AIA will not pay any benefit under if your disability, sickness, injury or death is caused directly or indirectly by:

• An intentional self-inflicted act, suicide, or attempted suicide

• Committing or attempting to commit a criminal offence or incarceration

• Normal or uncomplicated pregnancy or childbirth

If you want to know more about AIA’s policy exclusions, please check the PDS.

AIA life insurance costs

Everybody’s different, so your premium will be based on your individual circumstances, including your age, occupation and your insurance needs.

That's where Compare Club's specialists can help, by helping you work out what type of policy could be right for you at a cost that fits in with your budget.

Of course, it’s worth consulting a financial advisor before making any financial decisions.

FAQs Who owns AIA?

AIA Australia is owned by the AIA Group.

Do I need a medical exam to get life insurance with AIA?

Possibly yes, as the underwriter may require blood tests to be done. If this is the case however, it will be at no additional cost to you. 

Does smoking affect my premiums?

Yes. Smokers can pay up to 60% more for their premiums than non-smokers.

Does AIA life insurance include funeral cover?

A Final Expenses benefit of up to $25,000 is included with Life Cover insurance held outside of super.

Is it easy to cancel AIA Life Insurance?

Yes. You can cancel in writing within the cooling off period, which is 28 days from the start date at no cost to you. You can cancel at any time after the cooling off period in writing; however, premiums paid through monthly instalments are not eligible for a refund.

Where can I buy life insurance with AIA?

Compare Club’s life insurance experts can help you find an affordable policy quickly and easily, and take care of the paperwork for you.

The information contained in this guide is of general nature only and has been prepared without taking into consideration your objectives, needs and financial situation. As such, it is important that you consider the appropriateness of any advice and the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) before proceeding. Any opinions expressed within an article are those of the author and do not specifically reflect the views of Life Insurance Comparison Pty Ltd.