 "Trauma insurance, what is it and do I need it?")
Money Smart
(ASIC)
A critical illness or serious injury can make it difficult to continue to work. Trauma insurance can help support you and your family at this time and pay for medical and rehabilitation costs.
Trauma insurance, also called ‘critical illness’ or ‘recovery insurance’ pays a lump sum amount if you suffer a critical illness or serious injury. This includes cancer, a heart condition, major head injury or stroke. Trauma insurance does not cover mental health conditions.
What’s covered under a trauma insurance policy and medical definitions can be different between insurers. To understand what’s covered under a trauma insurance policy, read the product disclosure statement (PDS).
Trauma insurance can be used to help pay for:
When deciding if you need trauma insurance and how much, think about:
If you need help deciding if you need trauma insurance and how much, speak to a financial adviser.
You can buy trauma insurance:
You can choose to buy trauma insurance on its own or packaged with life cover and TPD insurance. If you buy trauma insurance packaged with life cover, your life cover could be reduced by the amount paid out on a trauma claim. To see if this applies to a policy, read the PDS or ask your insurer.
Super funds no longer offer new trauma insurance policies. But if you were in a super fund that offered trauma insurance before July 2014, you might still have it through your super fund. Check your member statement or contact your super fund to find out.
Before buying, renewing or switching insurance, check if the policy will cover you for claims associated with COVID-19.
You can generally choose to pay for trauma insurance with either:
Your choice of stepped or level premiums has a large impact on how much your premiums will cost now and in the future.
Before you buy trauma insurance, compare policies to make sure you get the right one for you. Check:
A cheaper policy may have more exclusions, or it may become more expensive in the future.
Use our Life insurance claims comparison tool
Compare how long different insurers take to pay a trauma insurance claim and the percentage of claims they pay out.
You need to tell your insurer anything that could affect their decision to provide you with trauma insurance. You need to give them this information when you apply, renew or change your insurance.
This can include your:
If an insurer doesn’t ask for your medical history, the policy might have more exclusions or narrower medical definitions.
The information you provide will help the insurer to decide:
It is important that you answer the questions honestly. Providing misleading answers could lead to an insurer to decline a claim you make.
To claim on your trauma insurance, see making a life insurance claim for information on what to do.
| Posted in:News |
 "RBA to stay patient before lifting rates")
Colin Brinsden, AAP Economics and Business Correspondent
(Australian Associated Press)
Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe does not expect the Omicron variant to derail Australia’s economic recovery but says the central bank board is prepared to remain patient before lifting the cash rate.
As widely expected by economists at the RBA’s first board meeting of the year, it left the cash rate at a record low 0.1 per cent and is ending its multi-billion dollar bond buying program on February 10.
The program aimed to keep market interest rates and borrowing costs low.
“Ceasing purchases under the bond purchase program does not imply a near-term increase in interest rates,” RBA governor Philip Lowe said in a statement after the meeting.
“The board is prepared to be patient as it monitors how the various factors affecting inflation in Australia evolve.”
Economists and financial markets had expected Dr Lowe to provide a more definite outlook for the cash rate after the unemployment rate dropped to 4.2 per cent, a year earlier than the RBA had been predicting, while inflation is also running well ahead of its expectations.
Financial markets have been pricing in the risk of a rise in the cash rate by mid-year, while economists had been gravitating towards a move at the August board meeting.
“As the board has stated previously, it will not increase the cash rate until actual inflation is sustainably within the two to three per cent target range,” Dr Lowe said.
He said while inflation has picked up, it is too early to conclude that it is sustainably within the target band.
“There are uncertainties about how persistent the pick-up in inflation will be as supply-side problems are resolved,” he said.
“Wages growth also remains modest and it is likely to be some time yet before aggregate wages growth is at a rate consistent with inflation being sustainably at target.”
EY chief economist Jo Masters said the RBA board remains a long way from financial market expectations about the timing of the first rate.
“It’s clear that policymakers want to see wages growth accelerate to be confident that inflation will remain within the target band, as supply disruptions fade,” she said.
Key December quarter wages data is due on February 23.
Dr Lowe said the Australian economy remains resilient and spending is expected to pick up as Omicron case numbers trend lower, but he conceded the main source of uncertainty continues to be the pandemic.
The RBA now expects economic growth of around 4.25 per cent over 2022 and two per cent over 2023.
This is lower than the RBA’s central case predicted in November when it had forecast growth of 5.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively.
However, it has upgraded its annual underlying inflation forecasts after the unexpected jump to 2.6 per cent as of the December quarter, predicting 3.25 per cent in coming months before declining to around 2.75 per cent over 2023.
The central bank had previous not expected underlying inflation to hit 2.5 per cent until the end of 2023.
“One source of uncertainty is the persistence of the disruptions to supply chains and distribution networks and their ongoing effects on prices,” Dr Lowe said.
“It is also uncertain how consumption patterns will evolve and how this will affect the balance of supply and demand, and hence prices.”
Dr Lowe will get the opportunity to flesh out his expectations for the outlook when he addresses the National Press Club in Sydney on Wednesday.
The RBA will also release its quarterly statement on monetary policy on Friday which will provide its full suite of forecasts.
| Posted in:News |
 "Get set for financial success in 2022")
Money and Life
(Financial Planning Association of Australia)
With a new year just around the corner, now’s the perfect time to say bye-bye to bad habits and get your finances on track. Here are five things you can do to set yourself up for financial success in the new year.
Whether you’ve been naughty or nice all year long, it’s likely that a few bad habits have crept in when it comes to your finances. It’s certainly tempting to splurge on all of those little luxuries you might have missed in the last two years, like dinners, nights out, and oh yes, travel.
But spending up big without a financial plan in place is asking for a new year’s hangover. So before you go ahead and enjoy a summer to remember, take a closer look at your financial health. Here are five things you can do ahead of the new year, to get yourself into Santa’s financial good books.
The start of a new year is a great time to revisit your spending and set some goals for the year ahead. With more freedoms available than we’ve had in a long time, you can dream big! Perhaps you’d like to travel, study or even buy a home?
Write down your top goals for the year, and check that your budget will get you there. If you don’t have a budget, now’s the time to create one. Use a spreadsheet or online budget planner to list your income, expenses and savings.
If you already have a budget in place, review your bank statements to see whether you’ve been living within your means this year. Make any changes to your budget – or spending – that are needed. If your savings aren’t looking too merry and bright, look for places where you can cut back on spending and divert those funds towards your savings.
Related: Creating a flexi-budget
The silly season can get the best of us all when it comes to overspending, but it’s important to get on top of debt quickly. If you’ve borrowed money to help cover your costs, make a plan to repay it as soon as possible.
The repayments on consumer debt like credit cards, personal loans and buy-now-pay-later schemes can quickly add up, eating into your cash flow. The sooner you pay off your debts, the sooner you’ll be on your way to a happy new year.
Read more: Smart strategies for paying down debt
If the last 18-months has shown us anything, it’s that the unexpected can happen at any time. But you can set yourself up to weather an unexpected loss of income. There are two aspects to emergency planning:
Read more: How to build an emergency fund
Once living expenses, debt repayments and emergency provisions are taken care of, next in line is you! That’s right, it’s time to pay yourself, in the form of savings and investments. If you’re just starting your savings journey, look for a high-interest account to build your savings in. You can also keep your savings in your mortgage offset account to help reduce the interest you pay on your home loan, just be sure to read the fine print on your loan.
Once you have enough funds saved, you can look at investing for a return, and/or contributing more towards your superannuation.
If your funds are already invested, review your strategy and make sure it still meets your goals. Evaluate how your investments are performing, using benchmarks and your long term plan, and make any changes to your investment portfolio that are needed.
If you’d like advice to help optimise your investment strategy, speak to a financial planning professional.
Read more: Where to invest in 2022
Finally, if you don’t have an estate plan in place, make an appointment with a lawyer to get one drawn up. An estate plan includes several legal documents, like your will, binding nominations designating your beneficiaries, and, powers of attorney over your health and affairs.
If you die intestate (without a will) your estate will be distributed according to the legislation in your state or territory. That means it’s up to the relevant authorities to decide what happens to your assets and any dependent minors. Even worse, it can take a long time for your estate to be finalised, creating extra stress for your family at an already difficult time. With an estate plan in place, you can rest easy knowing your affairs will be taken care of in accordance with your wishes.
With just a few simple steps, you can get your finances on track for an enjoyable summer and a happy new year.
| Posted in:News |
 "Treasurer moves to regulate cryptocurrency")
Marion Rae
(Australian Associated Press)
A plan for cryptocurrency regulation and an overhaul of digital payments has left some sceptical and others welcoming Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s ambition.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies would emerge from the shadows under a financial licensing scheme for crypto exchanges, he announced on Wednesday.
With more than 220 million participants, global cryptocurrency assets are worth more than $US2 trillion ($A2.8 trillion).
“Australia has an opportunity to be among the leading countries in the world in leveraging this new technology,” Mr Frydenberg said, joining fellow Liberal Jane Hume who said crypto was “not a fad”.
“Recent surveys have found that up to 17 per cent of Australians currently own cryptocurrency, with that figure likely even higher among young Australians.”
Early next year, he will begin talks on a licensing framework for digital currency exchanges that will regulate the purchase and sale of cryptocurrency assets, and on a custody regulatory regime for businesses that hold crypto assets on behalf of consumers.
BTC Markets chief executive Caroline Bowler welcomed the timeline and “ambitious scope” of the changes.
“It would be a crushing shame to not have our regulation keep pace with international peers such as Singapore, Canada and Britain,” she said.
Consumer advocate Gerard Brody said it was less clear how these changes would protect against scam losses.
Mr Frydenberg is also looking at a central bank digital currency (CBDC), with advice on a pilot due before the end of 2022.
But advocates for the cash industry said an Australian CBDC should not replace physical banknotes and coins.
“Some Australians will never be able to use and access digital dollars and they will be largely excluded,” said Jason Bryce, a spokesman for CashWelcome.
The Reserve Bank’s Project Atom, a pilot for a wholesale “token” to be used by banks, reported success after being trialled by Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Perpetual and ConsenSys.
Funding, settlement and repayment of tokenised syndicated loans was trialled on an Ethereum-based platform.
Project Atom demonstrated the potential for a wholesale CBDC to make financial market transactions safer and more efficient, assistant governor Michele Bullock said.
“De-banking” is another problem for individuals and businesses that the treasurer wants to tackle. It occurs when a bank declines to provide a banking service.
Almost half of Australians make payments using their mobile phone and COVID-19 has accelerated the use of digital wallets.
About 55 million non-cash payments worth about $650 billion are made in Australia every day, from shopping online to digital pay packets landing in a bank account or a tap and go payment for a coffee.
Regulators will be tasked with looking at taxation, fees, transparency and competition in the market.
Mr Brody, chief executive of Consumer Action, said the treasurer also had an opportunity to protect people from debt and financial stress from buy now, pay later services.
At odds with decentralised finance that tries to take back control from institutions, the treasurer says centralising oversight of the payment system will give the government a greater leadership role, including new powers for him to intervene.
Westpac chief executive Peter King said Australia needed a system fit for the digital age.
“Modernising our payments infrastructure and its regulation, including cryptocurrency regulation, will strengthen our financial system and improve protections for customers,” he said.
“Today’s announcement is good news.”
The Commonwealth Bank already has plans to roll out crypto services to customers next year.
Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers said no action would be taken on payments or cryptocurrencies before the next federal election, which must be held by May.
“This is just a commitment to consult on the government’s last consultation.”
| Posted in:News |
 "Treasurer to lift growth in budget review")
Colin Brinsden, AAP Economics and Business Correspondent
(Australian Associated Press)
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the government’s forecast for economic growth next year will be stronger then predicted in the May budget when he hands down his mid-year review later this month.
The treasurer confirmed last week the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook will be released on December 16.
Last week the national accounts showed the economy contracted by 1.9 per cent in the September quarter as a result of the COVID-19 Delta lockdowns in the nation’s two largest states, NSW and Victoria.
It was the third largest quarterly contraction on record.
But Mr Frydenberg said the economy is coming back strongly with 350,000 jobs added to the workforce since the start of September and retail sales rebounding with more than $5 billion spent at the recent Black Friday sales alone.
He also told the ABC’s Insiders program that a stronger growth forecast will come as a result of having one of the highest vaccination rates and lowest mortality rates in the world.
He also noted that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development now expects Australia to grow by 4.1 per cent in 2022 and the Reserve Bank of Australia is predicting 5.5 per cent growth.
In May, Mr Frydenberg had forecast growth of 4.25 per cent for the 2021/22 financial year and 2.5 per cent for 2022/23.
“We’ll make those upgrades to our forecasts in MYEFO,” the treasurer said.
New predictions come at a time of uncertainty surrounding the new coronavirus Omicron variant.
“It’s too early to make any conclusive decisions or estimates about the economy as a result of Omicron,” Mr Frydenberg said.
He said what is known is that it is highly transmissible but there are also early signs it may be less severe than the Delta variant and no evidence as yet that the vaccines currently being used are not a defence against it.
“I don’t think we should be panicking,” he said.
“I think everyone should keep their heads and we should be calmly and safely reopening as we have been.”
| Posted in:News |
Boutique financial consulting, advisory firm
SP Financial Advice Pty Ltd as trustee for The S&NP Investment Trust ABN 60 597 526 905 trading as SP Financial Advice is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 462691) of Matrix Planning Solutions Limited ABN 45 087 470 200 AFS Licence No. 238256.