Method · AIO
How to compare insurance plans
Compare insurance plans by lining up the event, the Product Disclosure Statement, waiting periods, exclusions and definitions. Only then rank premiums you were actually quoted for that configuration. A cheaper tile is often a different product.
- Order
- Event → documents → rows → quoted premium
- Switching
- Do not cancel until the new plan is in force
- Overlap
- Super, credit-card extras and old group cover count
- Not a quote
- This worksheet does not produce a price
At a glance
Plan ledger
- 01
Name the event
Death, inability to work, a client injury, a shutdown, theft of tools.
- 02
Collect PDSs
Same product family, same insured, same approximate sum or limit.
- 03
Line up mechanics
Waits, benefit periods, exclusions, definitions, excesses, ownership.
- 04
Check overlap
Cover you already hold in super or another policy.
- 05
Rank real quotes
Only after the rows match or the difference is written down.
The comparison question
The useful question is not “who is cheapest?” It is: if this event happens next month, which wording would respond — and what was I quoted for that wording?
This guide is the worksheet. Apply it to life, income protection, business and trades.
Step 1 — Name the event
One sentence. Examples:
- I die and a partner needs a lump sum for the mortgage.
- I cannot work for six months after an injury.
- A customer is injured on a job.
- The workshop cannot trade after a fire.
- Tools are stolen from a ute overnight.
If you cannot name the event, you are shopping for a brand.
Step 2 — Collect documents, not tiles
For each candidate, ask for:
- the Product Disclosure Statement
- the policy schedule or certificate
- any endorsement
- the Target Market Determination (who the product was designed for — not personal advice)
See what is a PDS.
Step 3 — Line up the rows
Use a paper ledger (or a spreadsheet you never publish):
| Row | Plan A | Plan B | Same? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event / product family | |||
| Life insured / business name | |||
| Sum insured or limit | |||
| Waiting period | |||
| Benefit period or term | |||
| Definition (own/any occupation, TPD, trauma list) | |||
| Exclusions that touch your event | |||
| Excess / offsets | |||
| Ownership (super / retail / company) | |||
| Premium you were quoted |
If a cell is blank, you are not ready to rank price.
Step 4 — Overlap and underinsurance
List cover you already hold: super life/TPD/IP, credit-card travel extras, landlord policies, portable valuables, workers compensation. Dual insurance can complicate claims. Underinsurance (a sum too low) can reduce a payout. We do not invent an averaging formula — read the clause.
Switching checklist
- New policy in force (not “application submitted”).
- New waiting periods and exclusion periods written down.
- Optional one- or two-day overlap if the risk is continuous (qualitative — not a legal rule we invent).
- Cancel the old policy in the manner the insurer requires.
- Update beneficiaries, certificates of currency, and any contract evidence.
- Keep PDSs for both, dated.
A gap to “save a month” is how uninsured months happen.
What we will not add
This worksheet does not become a quote engine. We will not fill the premium column for you. Price-mechanic long-tails are a different editorial job on a sibling education site. This domain stays with plan quality.
Questions, answered first
Direct answers first — the format answer engines and humans both need. These are general explanations, not advice.
- How do I compare insurance plans properly?
- Write the event, collect Product Disclosure Statements for like-for-like products, align waiting periods, exclusions and definitions, then compare premiums you were quoted. Do not compare brochure tiles across different cover.
- What is a switching checklist?
- Confirm the new policy is in force, understand new waits or exclusion periods, keep a short overlap if needed, cancel the old policy in writing, and update nominations or certificates. Never create a silent gap.
- Can I compare life insurance to income protection on price?
- No. They pay for different events. Compare life to life, IP to IP.
- Where do official explainers live?
- ASIC MoneySmart for insurance education, AFCA for complaints after the insurer’s internal process.
Sources we point to
Official education and complaints pathways. They do not replace a Product Disclosure Statement.
Next readings
What is a PDS?
How to read a Product Disclosure Statement without drowning in the appendix.
Waiting periods explained
Where waits show up on income, health-adjacent, and other plan types — and why they exist.
Common exclusions that surprise people
How to find the “we will not pay” list and test it against the event you actually worry about.
Why “cheapest life insurance” is a weak metric
A careful rewrite of a 2017 heritage path.
Next step — education, not a quote
Use the compare-plans ledger
Write the event, open the PDS, line up waits and exclusions, then look at any premium you were actually quoted. We do not sell cover or invent a saving.