A simpler application process for your self-employed clients

We’re excited to announce that income-related underwriting questions have now been simplified for your self-employed clients, making it easier for you to support your clients through the income protection application process.

This update is part of our ongoing enhancements to our Underwriting Rules Engine, helping you deliver quality advice with less admin.

Self-employed applicants now only need to provide:

• Income from the last tax year (most recent) and
• Income from the previous tax year.

If your client is newly self-employed and contracting back to their former employer, only the last tax year’s income is required.

We anticipate that there will be more straight-through acceptances and fewer requests for additional information.

• Faster applications: with fewer fields and simplified requirements, it’s quicker and easier to complete the application and finalise the assessment.
• Less data entry: income entered in Quote now pre-populates the ‘last tax year’ field.
• Smarter, streamlined process: enter net income (income after expenses) for each year in a single field, with depreciation addbacks still available (up to 20% of adjusted net income excluding depreciation). An endorsement will be applied to the policy indicating that a portion of depreciation has been added back as income.
• Simplified questions: income splitting questions have been removed – but you can still model these scenarios in the Income Protection Calculator.
• A more consistent experience: regardless of whether your clients are employed or self-employed.

For clients, these changes mean less time spent gathering paperwork and a quicker path to securing cover.

Don’t forget – your local underwriting team is here to help. Each state has a team of experienced underwriters who understand the nuances of pre-assessments and are ready to work alongside you.

You can find the contact email for your local team below:

NSW/ACT: preassessnsw@tal.com.au
QLD: preassessqld@tal.com.au
SA/NT: preassesssant@tal.com.au
VIC/TAS: preassessvic@tal.com.au
WA: preassesswa@tal.com.au

Use the Income Protection Calculator on the TAL Adviser Centre (TAC) – a fast, reliable tool designed to help you estimate cover amounts accurately and efficiently.

For more information about the changes to the income protection application process, please speak to your Business Development Manager.