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Direct life insurance

You’ve already saved by choosing to buy direct from the insurer. Narrow your search with the Finder filters and click through for a direct life insurance policy quote.

By

Gary Ross Hunter

Updated

Apr 11, 2024

Fact checked

1 - 8 of 8

Name	Maximum Cover	Maximum Entry Age	Terminal Illness Benefit	Claims Acceptance Rate	Average Claim Time	Sum Insured
NobleOak Life Insurance Finder Award	$25,000,000	74	$25,000,000	96.90%	1.1 months	$24,483 million	Our verdict: Finder Life Insurance Award winner for the last 5 years in a row. Good value for money, simple application process and a high claims acceptance rate.	Get Quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Medibank Life Insurance	$2,500,000	70	$2,500,000	Data not available	Data not available	Data not available	Our verdict: Medibank offers a higher payout limit ($2.5 million) than 15 other providers. Get a 10% discount if you're already a Medibank Health Insurance member.	Get Quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
TAL Accelerated Protection Life Insurance Finder AwardBonus	No set limit	73	Not stated	Data not available	1 months	$249,285 million	Our verdict: One of Australia's leading life insurers. Automatically includes child critical illness cover. Plus, it comes with a level premium option (e.g. costs remain similar as you get older). ⭐ Current offer: Get up to 15% off your TAL Life, Trauma or TPD insurance policy for life - if you have a Body Mass Index (BMI) between 19 and 28 at the time of your application. Offer T&Cs on insurer website apply.	Get Quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
ahm Life Insurance	$1,500,000	55	$1,500,000	Data not available	Data not available	Data not available	Our verdict: ahm offers a simple application process. You can be approved online or over the phone. There are no medical or blood tests needed.	Get Quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
RACWA Life Insurance	$25,000,000	74	$25,000,000	96.90%	1.1 months	$24,483 million	Our verdict: RAC’s maximum death cover limit of $25 million is one of the highest limits you’ll find, including $5 million in TPD insurance. You can get an online quote, but you’ll need to call RAC to get trauma cover. Benefit from added peace of mind with fully underwritten insurance. RAC is also WA-based but services all of Australia.	Get Quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
AAMI Life Insurance	$1,500,000	65	$1,500,000	Data not available	3.1 months	$37,768 million	Our verdict: There’s flexibility with AAMI as you can add another adult to your cover, with a competitive limit of $1.5 million. Easy application process with no medical exams. ⭐ Current offer: Take out a new AAMI Life Insurance policy and get $100 eGift card after your first 4 months of cover. T&Cs apply. Ends June 30, 2024.	Get Quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Suncorp Life Insurance	$1,500,000	65	$1,500,000	Data not available	3.1 months	$37,768 million	Our verdict: Competitive maximum cover limit of $1.5 million. Suncorp lets you change your cover amount by up to $100,000 after a big life event, such as having a baby. ⭐ Current offer: Take out a new Suncorp Life Insurance policy and get $100 eGift card after your first 4 months of cover. T&Cs apply. Ends June 30, 2024.	Get Quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Real Family Life Cover Bonus	$1,000,000	64	$1,000,000	88.90%	2.4 months	$53,238 million	Our verdict: The application is simple; it can be done with 1 phone call and there are no medical exams. But households with larger debts may need more than a $1 million payout. ⭐ Current offer: Get back 10% of the premiums you’ve paid after 1 year.	Get Quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

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Why compare life insurance with Finder?

You pay the same price as buying directly from the life insurer.
We're not owned by an insurer (unlike other comparison sites).
We've done 100+ hours of policy research to help you understand what you're comparing.

Direct life insurance is different to traditional retail cover: it's purchased directly from an insurer, as opposed to buying through an adviser or broker. Buying direct often only requires a limited amount of medical underwriting – or none at all.

What is direct life insurance?

Direct life insurance

As its name suggests, direct life insurance is when you take out cover directly either via a comparison site or on an insurer's website. You make a purchase without having to go through an adviser.

Retail life insurance

A financial adviser takes care of the legwork for you, dealing directly with the insurer and advocating on your behalf. It can often take longer to get cover and sometimes it can cost you more as well.

Top picks for direct life insurance in Australia

We picked these policies after analysing the results from Finder's life insurance awards for 2023.

NobleOak Life Insurance: NobleOak's maximum payout for death or terminal illness is $25 million. Most providers offer cover limits of between $1 and 2.5 million. With NobleOak, you can add as much as $5 million in TPD cover – the most out of all 10 providers we analysed for the 2023 Finder Awards.

TAL Accelerated Protection: TAL's life insurance scored highly on price in the most recent Finder Awards. It was the second cheapest provider across 4 age groups – it also offers a comparatively strong policy. It pays $25,000 in funeral expenses and you have the option to add children's cover. It also offers flexibility by not setting a maximum benefit limit.

RAC Life Insurance: RAC life insurance is underwritten by NobleOak. This means it offers similar cover levels, high benefit limits (RAC goes up to $25 million) and quality add-ons. Our research team found NobleOak was more competitive than RAC on cost – by $75 per month on average (factoring in smokers and non-smokers).

Pros and cons of direct life insurance

Pros

The application process is usually quick and easy.
There's usually no medical examinations or blood tests.
There's lot's of competition which means you can often find discount offers e.g. one month free.
You can use comparison websites like Finder to compare policy features side-by-side.

Cons

Your policy might not be explained clearly to you.
You need to make sure you're accurate when filling out your application or you risk voiding your policy.
Too many choices can be overwhelming – if you go through an adviser, they'll do the work for you.

Policy	30 years old	Difference	40 years old	Difference	50 years old
AVERAGE	$39.26	$10.77	$50.03	$67.31	$117.34
Bendigo Bank MaxLife Life Protect	$62.82	-$2.67	$60.15	$71.68	$131.83
Insuranceline Life Insurance	$44.64	$21.86	$66.50	$65.56	$132.06
Allianz Life Plan	$31.65	$8.68	$40.33	$59.83	$100.16
RAC FlexiCover Life Insurance	$28.65	$5.28	$33.93	$58.04	$91.97
ANZ Ezicover Life Insurance	$38.51	$9.09	$47.60	$61.35	$108.95
Zurich Ezicover Life Insurance	$38.51	$9.09	$47.60	$61.35	$108.95
AAMI Life Insurance	$44.64	$21.86	$66.50	$65.56	$132.06
Suncorp Life Insurance	$44.64	$21.86	$66.50	$65.56	$132.06
TAL Lifetime Protection	$19.52	$1.50	$21.02	N/A	N/A
AHM Life Insurance	$40.82	$11.18	$52.00	$71.34	$123.34
Medibank Life Insurance	$42.96	$11.78	$54.74	$75.08	$129.82
NobleOak Premium Life Direct	$23.11	$4.26	$27.37	$46.83	$74.20

Policy	30 years old	Difference	40 years old	Difference	50 years old
AVERAGE	$27.50	$12.09	$39.59	$52.01	$91.60
Bendigo Bank MaxLife Life Protect	$36.06	$15.06	$51.12	$54.09	$105.21
Insuranceline Life Insurance	$30.69	$22.32	$53.01	$61.85	$114.86
Allianz Life Plan	$23.49	$7.82	$31.31	$40.86	$72.17
RAC FlexiCover Life Insurance	$18.85	$5.27	$24.12	$44.48	$68.60
ANZ Ezicover Life Insurance	$29.76	$7.96	$37.72	$40.39	$78.11
Zurich Ezicover Life Insurance	$29.76	$7.96	$37.72	$40.39	$78.11
AAMI Life Insurance	$30.69	$22.32	$53.01	$61.85	$114.86
Suncorp Life Insurance	$30.69	$22.32	$53.01	$61.85	$114.86
TAL Lifetime Protection	$12.07	$4.18	$16.25	N/A	N/A
AHM Life Insurance	$31.22	$9.16	$40.38	$48.53	$88.92
Medibank Life Insurance	$32.86	$9.64	$42.50	$51.10	$93.60
NobleOak Premium Life Direct	$15.20	$4.26	$19.46	$35.88	$55.34

We calculated the average monthly cost of a life insurance policy with $500,000 in cover for a non-smoker, office worker living in NSW. Prices generated in March 2022 and are subject to change.

Which method of buying cover is right for me?

How to decide

Here's how buying direct compares to the options you have:

How they compare?	Direct policy	Policy provided with advice
Medical questions	No detailed medical examination, just simple questions	Fully underwritten - you will need to go through a detailed medical and lifestyle questionnaire
Occupation	Not asked for	Full disclosure
Is advice provided?	No	Yes
Is a statement of advice provided?	No	Yes
Will an adviser advocate for me in the event of a claim	No	Yes
Can you claim with more than one policy from the same insurer?	No, premiums will be refunded for an extra policy	If disclosed, additional cover can be included
Exclusions	Direct policy	Policy provided with advice
Suicide or intentional self-inflicted injury or illness	Excluded	Excluded in the 13 months
Under the influence of drugs or alcohol	Excluded (unless under the direction of a medical practitioner)	Not excluded
Working underground or over 10 metres	Excluded	Maybe excluded (details are assessed when you apply)
If you mountaineer, rock climb, scuba dive or participate in dangerous activities.	Excluded	Maybe excluded (details are assessed when you apply)
Flying an airplane	Excluded (unless as a passenger on a regularly scheduled flight).	Not excluded

_{Note: The table above is purely for illustrative purposes and not indicative of a real policy. Source: Life insurance Industry Submission 64}

Should I consider an adviser?

_{'71% less likely' was calculated using figures from ASIC's Report 498: Life Insurance Claims: An Industry Review. The report states that the average declined claims in a non-advised policy is 12% in comparison to an advised policy at 7%. 12% (non-advised) is 1.71 times the amount of 7% (advised) hence a 71% less chance of an advised policy claim being declined.}

Why you can trust Finder's life insurance experts

We're free

You pay the same as buying directly from the life insurer. Better still, we regularly run exclusive deals that you won't find on any other site – plus, our tables make it easy to compare policies.

We're experts

Our team of life insurance experts have researched and rated dozens of policies as part of our Finder Awards and published 250+ guides to make it easier for you to compare.

We're independent

Unlike other comparison sites, we're not owned by an insurer. That means our opinions are our own and we work with lots of life insurance brands, making it easier for you to find a good deal.

FAQs about direct life insurance

Thank you for your feedback!

Gary Ross Hunter

Gary Ross Hunter is an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian and news.com.au. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 2 General Advice General Insurance certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146).

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Direct life insurance

You’ve already saved by choosing to buy direct from the insurer. Narrow your search with the Finder filters and click through for a direct life insurance policy quote.