Occupations
Certain occupations have a higher risk of accidental death, disablement and/or work related stress/depression or propensity for minor illness or injury preventing work and are therefore important risk factors to be considered when underwriting your clients application.
Occupation classes
Occupation classes help determine premium amounts and the definition of disability for disability products. All occupations can be categorised into one of five occupation classes - 1, 2, 3, 4 and H01. The following table shows whether the occupation class will affect the premium and/or the definition of disability:
Occupations
| Benefit | Premium | Definition of disability |
|---|---|---|
| Life | No* | N/A |
| Critical Illness Cover (CIC) Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) | No | Yes |
| Income Protection Benefit (IPB) | Yes | Yes |
| Waiver of Premium | No | No |
| *This assumes that there are no hazardous elements to their occupation; eg working at heights | ||
Class 1 occupations are the lower risk occupations through to class 4, which are deemed to be a higher risk.
Class 1 occupations will have comparably cheaper premiums and a more lenient definition of disability, depending on benefit type.
The fifth occupation class is H01 and is applied to housepersons, students, retired and unemployed clients.
For further information refer to the Total and Permanent Disability - definition of disability and individual technical guide for IPB, Adviser Guide W12790.
An occupation class is determined at the outset of the policy and your client is not required to inform us of any subsequent changes in occupation. This applies to current policies only - some older policies do have a requirement to notify a change of occupation - refer to individual policy terms and conditions. Please refer to the PDF file: Occupation Class Guide (W7557) PDF size: 343KB for further details