Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) insurance pays a lump sum if you become permanently unable to work. The need is broader than life insurance — beyond clearing debts and funding family expenses, you also typically need to fund home and vehicle modifications, ongoing medical and care costs, and replace lost income for the rest of what would have been your working life. Where life insurance might be 5-12x annual income, TPD typically lands at 8-15x to capture all of these.

The big variable is the definition of disability. 'Any occupation' TPD requires that you be unable to work in any reasonable occupation given your education, training, and experience. 'Own occupation' TPD requires only that you be unable to do your specific occupation. Own-occupation is much easier to claim on but materially more expensive — and it's not available via super (the law restricts super-held insurance to any-occupation since 2014). Specialised professions (surgeons, pilots, lawyers) often need own-occupation cover; generalist roles can usually live with any-occupation.

Most working-age Australians have some default TPD cover via super (typically $100-300k), which is enough to clear modest debts but rarely enough to fund modifications + lost income. The cover gap calculator above sums up your need and subtracts existing cover, super balance, and savings — what remains is the additional cover to consider.

TPD claims are notoriously slow (often 6-18 months to settle) and have high decline rates. Pair TPD with income protection (which pays during the assessment period) and consider trauma cover separately for conditions that don't quite cross the TPD threshold. See our Income Protection Calculator and Life Insurance Calculator.