Can I get insurance in super with a pre-existing condition?
Usually yes, in part. Default cover in super is issued without health questions, so a condition doesn't stop you getting it. But it's often limited cover for a while, which won't pay for the condition you already have. Applying for more cover later means health questions, and a formal decline can follow you.
Having a health condition makes insurance harder, not impossible. The route you take decides how much harder.
The route that asks no questions
Most funds start new members on default cover once they're 25 or older, hold $6,000, and an employer contribution arrives. No health questions are asked. If you've had a diagnosis, this is the cheapest way to get cover you couldn't otherwise buy.
The catch is limited cover. It pays for new illnesses and injuries but not for what you already had. If your condition caused the claim, it wouldn't be covered until the limit ends. At most funds that means being at work for some days, and at one of the 18 funds we compare, 24 months passing is enough.
Adding cover afterwards
Funds set an automatic acceptance limit: an amount you can add with few or no health questions, often $200,000 or so for Death and TPD at some funds, with a once-only offer. Above that you're underwritten, which means the insurer sees your history. It can accept at standard rates, add a premium loading, exclude a condition, or decline.
Typical patterns, as a rule of thumb:
- Controlled blood pressure or cholesterol often gets standard or a modest loading.
- A single resolved episode of anxiety or depression is often accepted, sometimes with a mental-health exclusion on income protection. Ongoing or recurrent mental health conditions are more likely to bring exclusions or a postponement.
- A back injury that settled long ago may be accepted with a back exclusion on income protection and TPD.
- Cancer depends on the type, stage and time since treatment. Skin cancers fully removed are treated very differently from a recent melanoma.
Our pre-assessment tool turns your answers into a likely outcome for Death, TPD and income protection. It's an indication from standard underwriting practice, not an insurer's decision.
The risk of a formal decline
Application forms ask whether you've ever been declined, or had a loading or exclusion. A formal decline can make later applications harder, and you have to disclose it. That's why many people ask a broker to approach insurers informally first: a broker can describe your situation, often without your name, and report back on likely terms. Nothing is recorded as a decline.
Honesty on the application
When you apply, you have a legal duty to take reasonable care not to misrepresent your health. Leaving something out to get a lower price risks the insurer refusing a claim later. If you're unsure whether something is relevant, say so, or ask the insurer.
If you're already unwell
If you have a serious diagnosis, check three things in your existing cover: whether you're on limited cover, what a terminal illness benefit pays, and whether you can increase anything without a new assessment, such as a life-event increase. Don't cancel or change anything before you've got it in writing.
Sources
- Fund insurance guides (automatic acceptance limits and limited cover rules) as at 22 October 2026, via the miadvice fund comparison
- Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) s 21 (duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation)
- Outcome patterns reflect common Australian underwriting practice and are indicative only
Check how a condition is likely to be treated
Free, no sign-up. Uses each fund's published rates and rules.
General information only, not personal advice. Fund rules and premiums change, usually on 1 July or 1 October. Check the fund's current insurance guide before relying on a figure here.