Do super fund insurers pay claims? What the 2026 figures show
Mostly, yes. In the 12 months to June 2026, group super insurers accepted 98.5% of Death claims, 96.2% of income protection claims and 88.5% of TPD claims they finalised. TPD is the weak spot, and acceptance varies a lot between insurers.
Claims statistics are the closest thing to a report card for insurance, and they're easy to misread. Here's what the latest ones say.
The headline figures
APRA and ASIC publish claims data for every life insurer. The latest release covers the 12 months to 30 June 2026 and was published on 16 October 2026. For group super (the insurance that comes with a fund), across all insurers:
| Cover | Claims finalised | Accepted | Average time to decide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Death | 12,434 | 98.5% | 0.8 months |
| Income protection | 23,112 | 96.2% | 1.4 months |
| TPD | 21,884 | 88.5% | 3.7 months |
"Accepted" means the claim was paid. "Finalised" means it was decided in that period. Claims withdrawn are counted separately.
Why TPD is different
Death is binary. TPD asks the insurer to judge the future, which is far more open to dispute: whether you're unlikely ever to work again, in any job you're suited to. TPD claims also arrive with more medical evidence to weigh and more ways to fall short of the definition. Here's how the test works.
It matters which insurer
Each fund generally uses one group insurer, so the insurer's record is a proxy for the fund's. TPD acceptance for group super ranged from 78.4% at the lowest insurer to 93.0% at the highest. For income protection, 90.9% to 97.6%. Those are big gaps for a product where the whole point is whether it pays.
We show each fund's insurer and that insurer's record beside its cover in the comparison, so you can check before you choose.
Group versus advised
Insurance bought through an adviser outside super looks different. Over the same period the individual advised channel accepted 97.1% of Death claims, 94.3% of income protection and 81.1% of TPD. So the TPD gap isn't a super-only problem. The two channels cover different people on different definitions, so the figures aren't directly comparable.
How to read these numbers
- A high acceptance rate doesn't mean a good insurer. It can also mean the insurer's definitions screen out risky customers before they claim.
- A low rate doesn't mean bad faith. It can reflect a tough definition, such as "any occupation", or a mix of older, sicker members.
- Insurers have small samples. APRA masks figures that aren't statistically reliable. We show those as not available.
- It's one year. Trends over several years are more telling than one release.
- Speed matters. A claim accepted after nine months, while you can't work, is still hard.
If a claim is declined
Ask for the decision and the reasons in writing. Then use the fund's internal complaints process. If you're still unhappy, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) is a free external service for disputes about super and insurance. Keep every medical report and letter. Disputes are common enough, in the figures above, that this isn't unusual.
Sources
- APRA and ASIC, Life insurance claims and disputes statistics, June 2026, published 16 October 2026. Group super and individual advised channels. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU.
- ASIC MoneySmart, Life insurance claims comparison tool
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General information only, not personal advice. Fund rules and premiums change, usually on 1 July or 1 October. Check the fund's current insurance guide before relying on a figure here.