In what is considered an industry first Self Super Insurance has launched cover for self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) trustees with the aim of protecting individuals from liabilities incurred in the process of running their own retirement savings structure.
Self Super Insurance director John Kelly said SMSF trustees may have taken out audit insurance and other general insurance in relation to their funds but ignored other critical areas of liability.
"There is also exposure to ATO (Australian Taxation Office) investigations and prosecutions, trustee disputes, and exposure to loss of documents which is often overlooked. So it seemed liked an opportunity to develop a different type of cover for the SMSF space," Kelly told InvestorDaily.
The product can be taken out regardless of whether the SMSF is controlled by a corporate trustee or an individual trustee.
It offers protection from nine types of risk faced by trustees, including audit fees, losses arising from claims made against the trustees or the SMSF, civil penalties incurred by the trustees, defence costs arising from official investigations of the fund, and certain legal costs in pursuit of a compensation claim against a third party.
"The cover is underwritten by QBE and you can quote, bind, and pay online," Kelly explained.
The cost of the cover is approximately $175 per year for SMSFs that have been established for six months or longer, and approximately $206 per year newer funds.
"We feel we've developed a good balance between having a pretty broad product that is very competitively priced," Kelly said.
