Just trying to understand the difference between term life insurance inside super and term life insurance outside super is difficult enough. So when you add in the time it takes to read at least five 70-page Product Disclosure Statements, it is little wonder that many people sign up without doing their due diligence on a life insurance policy!

Today we check out some important facts about AMP Insurance's 'Flexible Lifetime - Protection' cover, one of the most popular life insurance products in Australia. These go beyond the marketing hype and the jargon, and tell you what you really need to know.
Please note, while these facts represent what is in AMP Insurance's Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), it isn't an exhaustive list. We still recommend that you read through the PDS if you're interested, to identify anything that is relevant to your situation.

1. If you have more than one 'Protection' product, you need to choose your structure
   
   If you have more than one type of AMP Insurance cover, you'll need to choose how to structure your 'account'. You can either have the policies linked to get a lower premium - in this case, if a claim is paid under TPD cover, your Death cover or Trauma cover lump sum will reduce by the amount already paid. Or you can keep policies separate, so one claim doesnt affect the other amounts entitled - but doing this costs more per month.


2. You can get a Financial Planning Benefit
   
   AMP Insurance will pay you $2000 towards financial planning expenses after a life insurance claim is paid, if your adviser is qualified, and you provide their receipt. Bonus!


3. There are ideal times to increase the policy amount
   
   You wont have to re-do your medical exam to increase your AMP Insurance life cover benefit if you do it in conjunction with a marriage, a divorce, the birth of a child, your child starting school, buying a first home, getting a Bachelor's degree, becoming a carer or getting a pay increase of $10,000 or more per annum.


4. You can only increase cover up to 200% of the original value
   
   When you're setting your original life insurance cover amount, keep in mind that you can't increase it in the future by more than the original cover amount. For life insurance, there's an additional maximum increase of $1 million.


5. Some Trauma conditions have a 3 month waiting period
   
   If you have Trauma cover under AMP Insurance's 'Flexible Lifetime' plan, there are some conditions with a 3-month wait for payments. These include cancer, stroke and heart attack as well as some other common conditions and procedures. Please refer to the PDS for full details.


6. You may not get the product you applied for
   
   This is actually common to all life insurance companies. Life insurance is handled differently to car or home insurance - after the medical examination, AMP Insurance might choose to offer you a different level of cover, or alter your premium based on your application of medical history.