9. Built-in Suspension of Premium Benefit
having a child (by birth or legal adoption);
becoming married or entering into a civil union;
A life assured can suspend their cover under this Essential Living Assurance Benefit appendix for up to 12 months if they:
becoming legally separated, divorced or the dissolution of the life assured’s civil union;
go on parental leave;
financially supporting a dependent child through a first course of full-time tertiary education; the commencement of secondary school for the first time by a child of the life assured; taking out or increasing a home loan because the life assured has purchased a new home, a new residential investment property, a vacation home, or a bare block of land zoned as residential, or is making extensions to a residential property or residential investment property owned by the life assured;
go on leave without pay for any reason;
become unemployed or redundant;
experience at least a 20% reduction in pay (comparing the most recent payslip against a previous payslip from the same year); or if self-employed, experience a 30% reduction in revenue (by comparing one month’s revenue against the same month for the previous year),
provided that:
becoming responsible for the full-time care or payment for long term care of a close relative ;
you notify Sovereign within three months of one of the above listed suspension events occurring, and provide evidence to Sovereign of the suspension event; and
receiving an annual salary increase (this special event is not available to a life assured who is self-employed); or
Sovereign acknowledges in writing receipt of that notification.
experiencing the death of a spouse or de facto partner,
you may write to Sovereign asking us to increase the Essential Living Assurance Benefit for that life assured.
Cover for the life assured will be suspended from the date set out in Sovereign’s written acknowledgment.
What is the maximum cover that can be added?
No premium will be payable during the period that the cover is suspended.
The maximum increase for each special event cannot exceed the lower of: 50% of the original Essential Living Assurance Benefit for the life assured; or
No claim under this Essential Living Assurance Benefit appendix will be payable for any condition that occurs during the period that the cover is suspended. A claim may only be payable if the life assured first meets the criteria for an eligible claim under this policy after their cover is reinstated. Cover under this Essential Living Assurance Benefit appendix may be reinstated at the end of the suspension period in accordance with this Section without the need to provide further medical evidence, provided that the benefit has been suspended for no longer than 12 months.
$250,000.
The total of all increases made under this Facility cannot exceed the lower of: 100% of the original Essential Living Assurance Benefit for the life assured; or
$750,000.
In the case of taking out or increasing a home loan, the individual increase cannot exceed the amount of the home loan or the increase in the home loan. In the case of an annual salary increase, the individual increase cannot exceed five times the annual salary increase. The maximum increases outlined above each apply in respect of all Living Assurance Benefits, Progressive Care Benefits, and similar benefits for that life assured across all Sovereign policies .
At the end of the suspension period, the benefit will be automatically reinstated for the life assured.
Cover for the life assured will be reinstated from the date set out in Sovereign’s written acknowledgement.
The premium payable for the reinstated benefit will be based on Sovereign’s premium rates at the time of the reinstatement.
10. Special Events Increase Facility
Both of the following maximum sum assured limits also apply across all Sovereign policies for each life assured:
What is the Special Events Increase Facility?
(a) the total of the sum assured for all Living Assurance Benefits, Progressive Care Benefits, and similar trauma benefits (combined), including increases under this Facility must not exceed $2,000,000; and
On each occasion when one of the following circumstances occurs for a life assured on the Essential Living Assurance Benefit:
803 TCP-LAE version 14 Effective 12 May 2026
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