Insurance cover from 1 October 2026

Improved ability to claim on terminal illness cover

• From 1 October 2026, you will be eligible to claim on terminal illness cover if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness likely to lead to death within 24 months (increased from 12 months).
• This gives you earlier access to your benefits and more support when you need it most.
• If you work in the energy industry, rest assured your eligibility period is also 24 months.

Change to how cancelled insurance cover can be reinstated

• If no contributions are received into your Brighter Super account for 16 months, your account is considered inactive and your insurance cover may be cancelled under Protecting Your Super (PYS) rules.
• From 1 October 2026, you will need to tell us within 60 days if you want it to continue (it will not restart automatically).
• This means you are in control of whether your insurance cover remains in place.

Simplified cover categorisation

• We are simplifying how our insurance cover is categorised by combining Type 3 and Type 4 cover (these will both be combined and referred to as Type 3).
• Importantly, there is no change to any cover or benefits received, as these two cover types are already the same.
• This is an internal update to simplify our insurance categories.

Change to how cancelled insurance cover can be reinstated

• If no contributions are received into your Brighter Super account for 16 months, your account is considered inactive and your insurance cover may be cancelled under Protecting Your Super rules.
• From 1 October 2026, you will have 60 days (instead of 30 days) to tell us if you want your cover to continue.
• This means you have more time to decide if your insurance cover remains in place.

Change to when default insurance cover is automatically applied

• Members may be eligible to receive a default level of insurance cover once they turn 25 years old and their super balance reaches $6,000.
• Currently, this default cover is automatically applied, unless you have opted out.
• From 1 October 2026 this default cover will no longer be automatically applied for members who already have personalised, underwritten insurance.

Change in the default waiting period for Income Protection – importantly, this does not apply to members who already hold Income Protection.

• From 1 October 2026 the default waiting period for Income Protection cover will change from 14 days to 90 days for members.
• While this means a longer wait before payments begin, this change helps Brighter Super keep the cost of cover lower. A 90 day period is common for income protection.
• This applies for members who:
  • work in the energy industry
  • did not hold income protection prior to 1 October 2026
  • are eligible for and receive the default level of Income Protection cover from 1 October 2026, and
  • whose employer has not selected a different waiting period.

When you joined Brighter Super, you may have automatically received insurance cover as part of your membership.

Eligible members automatically get default Death, Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD) and in some cases Income Protection (IP) cover once they meet the eligibility^ criteria, without needing to provide any medical history or complete any health checks.

The type and amount of default insurance cover you may be eligible for is determined by a number of factors including your employment arrangements, age and gender.

Please refer to the relevant Insurance Guide and Corporate Plan Summary for more information.

^Default cover is generally provided once you are at least 25 years old and your account balance is over $6,000, subject to eligibility criteria.

To make sure your cover continues to meet your needs, you can review it at any time in your Member Online account. When reviewing your cover, consider the protection you and your family may need if you became seriously ill, injured or passed away.

Everyone's circumstances are different. The amount of insurance that's right for you will depend on factors such as your age, financial commitments, family situation and personal circumstances. If you're unsure you can book a time with one of our superannuation specialists who can help you understand your options.

Importantly, if you want to increase your level of cover, you may be subject to underwriting, depending on the type of cover you hold, how you are employed and how much you want to increase your cover by.

If you decide your cover no longer meets your needs, you can make changes through Member Online or by completing the relevant insurance form at brightersuper.com.au/forms.

If you cancel your cover, it is important to be aware that if you wish to take out cover in the future you may need to go through underwriting.

Brighter Super regularly reviews its insurance arrangements to help ensure members continue to have access to the important protection you need and that the insurance remains sustainable.

Brighter Super has worked to maintain the cost of insurance cover for at least the last four years amid rising insurance costs across the industry.

Everyone has different needs, and therefore, the cost of your cover will depend on factors such as:

• the type and level of insurance cover you have
• your age and gender
• your occupational category
• whether you hold Unit-Based Cover or Fixed-Dollar Cover.

You will be able to see the updated cost of your cover in your online account from 1 October 2026.

In the meantime, to estimate what your updated cost will be, you can refer to:

• the new rate tables or
• the step-by-step instructions we have created for you in the Guide to Calculating Your Insurance Costs relevant to your account.
  • Joined Brighter Super directly or Local Government and Associated Industries cover
  • Energy Industry cover

Your occupational rating reflects the type of work you do and is used to calculate the cost of your insurance premiums. Brighter Super offers three occupational categories:

• Blue Collar – generally involves manual, trade-based or higher-risk work.
• White Collar – administrative, clerical or office-based roles where at least 80% of your time is spent performing office duties.
• Professional – qualified professionals or senior managers who meet specific criteria. Available to members who work in local government and associated industries.

Refer to the relevant Insurance Guide for more information on the criteria for White Collar and Professional occupational ratings.

When default insurance cover is applied, members automatically receive the Blue Collar occupational rating. If your occupation qualifies as White Collar or Professional, you'll need to tell us and may receive a discount on your premium.

To change your risk rating log in to your account at brightersuper.com.au or complete the relevant form at brightersuper.com.au/forms.

Insurance premiums are deducted from your super account (or may be paid by your employer). Any change to your premium may affect the amount deducted from your account for insurance cover.

While insurance premiums can reduce your super balance over time, insurance cover can provide important financial protection for you and your family if you're unable to work due to illness or injury, become totally and permanently disabled, or die. When reviewing your cover, consider both the cost and the level of protection it provides.

No. Your level of insurance cover is not changing as part of these changes.

The changes relate to the cost of cover, how insurance is administered, or how certain benefits can be claimed, rather than the amount of cover you hold.

We offer different types of insurance cover to support a wide range of financial and lifestyle needs, including:

• Death only
  Providing you with a one-off lump-sum payment in the event of death or terminal illness diagnosis.

• Death and Total and Permanent Disablement (TPD)
  Providing you with a one-off lump-sum payment in the event of death or terminal illness diagnosis or if you are totally and permanently disabled.

• Income Protection
  Providing you with regular payments in the event you are temporarily unable to work due to illness or injury.

You can find more information on the insurance cover available to you by visiting brightersuper.com.au//insurance.

If you do not currently have insurance through your Brighter Super account, these changes do not apply to you right now. However, they will be relevant if in the future you:

• receive automatic default insurance once you meet eligibility – over the age of 25 with an account balance over $6,000, or
• apply for cover.

Therefore, it is important that we help all our members – both insurance holders and non-insurance holders – understand what these changes mean.

^Default cover is generally provided once you are at least 25 years old and your account balance is over $6,000, subject to eligibility criteria.