May 18.
A study by Monash University researchers was released recently which mapped 10 different systems of compensation and income support such as workers’ compensation, life insurance, superannuation, disability support and employer funded payments such as sick leave. The study estimated over 7m Australians received some form of income support in 2015-16, totalling around $37.2 billion. This is about $5k per recipient on average.
Employer funded payments is the largest category by far with nearly $19bn in payments. Non Life Insurance related payments averaged just over $4k per recipient, and this compared to Life Insurance funded payments (for Income Protection and so on) which averaged over $46k.
Whilst not perfectly comparable, the larger number highlights the important role the Life Insurance industry can provide in helping those who are ill or injured and lose their income as a result.
The report can be found here
