Life insurance for police officers can give you peace of mind and financial security should something go wrong. You can also select how much you want to be covered for, so you know you'll be leaving your family with enough to pay off mortgages, loans and other debts.
Can police officers get life insurance?
Yes. But the type of life insurance you can get will depend on the type of police work you do and whether or not you are considered high-risk. Generally, though, life insurance is available to most police officers and shouldn't come with any special conditions.
That doesn't mean that your premiums won't be more expensive than other jobs, because being a police officer is considered to be more high-risk than other occupations. Your premiums will increase the more high-risk your job becomes.
Occupation
Rating
Police – air wing or bomb disposal
Non-insurable
Police – other – officers including motorcycle police or special operations group
Non-insurable
Police – special operations group
Non-insurable
Police – dog squad
High risk
Police – superintendents
White collar
Railway worker – railway police, shunter, track laying or maintenance
High risk
Diving – professional, military (no bomb disposal) or police
Non-insurable
What kind of insurance should police officers think about getting?
Fortunately, there are a few different insurance types out there which can provide financial peace of mind if you're a police officer. These include:
Life insurance. Most police officers can get life insurance, which pays your family (beneficiaries) a lump sum when you die. However, hazardous police roles like special operations and bomb disposal may need to look at getting life insurance with a provider that specialises in high-risk applicants, as you may find it much harder to get cover.
TPD (total and permanent disability) insurance. This pays you a lump sum if you become permanently disabled and unable to work again. TPD insurance is usually only available to police officers that are not working in a high-risk role. You'll also find that you can only get "Any Occupation" cover. This means that you will only be covered if you can never work again in any occupation – not just as a police officer.
Income protection insurance.This pays you a monthly income if you're sick or injured and need to take some time off work. Considering that there are a lot of small things that could go wrong as a police officer – such as a broken bone or sprain – it can be a particularly helpful type of insurance. It's usually only available to police officers that work in less high-risk roles though.
Trauma insurance. Trauma insurance pays you a lump sum if you're diagnosed with a critical illness or suffer a life-changing injury. Most police officers can get access to this type of insurance.
Do police officers need life insurance?
It's definitely worth having if you want to have enough money to pay off all your debts and allow your family to continue having the same quality of life that you provided them with when you were alive. You will probably also find that any work benefit or "group protection" plan that you are currently enrolled in isn't enough to do this. While there's no one-size-fits-all answer to how much life insurance you need, it's recommended that you have at least 10 times your annual salary.
Are police officers covered for death, illness and disability without insurance?
You may be covered for death, illness and disability without insurance through WorkCover. Workers compensation is provided by employers and can pay police officers a benefit if they get sick or injured from a work-related cause. In some cases, it can also provide disability benefits, death benefits and missed wage replacement.
However, the workers compensation that you are entitled to can differ depending on when you joined the police force and what state you work in. Unlike life and income protection insurance, there is also no guarantee that it will be enough to cover all your debts and expenses. Some other rules you should be aware of include:
The benefit period is usually capped at 130 weeks unless you are totally incapacitated.
It only covers you for work-related injuries and illnesses.
When won't a police officer be covered by life insurance?
Police officers will generally find it hard to get covered by life insurance if they work in any of the following areas:
Motorcycle police
Bomb disposal
Special Operations
Search & Rescue
Diving
Wingman
Pilot
Is life insurance more expensive for police officers?
If your job is classified as high risk, your premiums are likely to be more expensive. High-risk roles can include the following:
Railway police
Traffic and highway patrol
Dog unit
Mounted police officers
Bicycle unit
These aren't the only factors that can prevent you from getting cheap life insurance. Other important things that can affect the price of your premiums include:
Your age. Premiums go up as you get older.
Your health. Healthy people without medical problems pay less.
Your lifestyle. The healthier your lifestyle, the lower your premiums tend to be.
If you smoke. Smokers pay much more than non-smokers.
Level of cover. The higher your benefit payout, the larger your premiums.
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.
Bottom line
As a police officer, you put your health and safety on the line every day at work. While it may be normal for you, there are some risks you simply can't legislate for and there are people that depend on you. If you want to get life insurance, you can compare policies and buy it here.
FAQs
WorkCover is generally provided by insurers that operate as scheme agents on behalf of the government. If you buy any other life insurance policy, though, it's not usually government-funded.
Yes. Police officers are able to get private health insurance. There are several health funds set up specifically to provide cover for police officers and their family.
Yes. You can buy life insurance from a number of private funds.
Gary Ross Hunter was 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). See full bio
Gary Ross's expertise
Gary Ross has written 646 Finder guides across topics including:
Find out what cover is on offer from Zurich Life Insurance and receive a secure quote for cover. Zurich offers a Life, Income, TPD, Trauma, and Child Cover with additional options to tailor cover further.
Compare Life Insurance and Income Protection policies from Real Insurance and get cover in place with no medical or blood tests.
How likely would you be to recommend Finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Important information about this website
Finder makes money from featured partners, but editorial opinions are our own.
Finder is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We are committed to our readers and stand by our editorial principles.
We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labeling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.
We make money by featuring products on our site. Compensation received from the providers featured on our site can influence which products we write about as well as where and how products appear on our page, but the order or placement of these products does not influence our assessment or opinions of them, nor is it an endorsement or recommendation for them.
Products marked as 'Top Pick', 'Promoted' or 'Advertisement' are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options.
Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment when you click on those buttons or apply for a product.
When products are grouped in a table or list, the order in which they are initially sorted may be influenced by a range of factors including price, fees and discounts; commercial partnerships; product features; and brand popularity. We provide tools so you can sort and filter these lists to highlight features that matter to you.
Please read our website terms of use and privacy policy for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.