Advice Reimagined: Rethinking TPD for modern clients

Content Partnership

19 July 2026

As Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) premiums rise and claim trends continue to shift, advisers are having broader conversations with clients about risk, affordability and what good long-term outcomes look like. Those conversations are driving an important evolution in the way the profession, insurers and clients think about TPD.

At Lifespan Financial Planning, Chief Executive Eugene Ardino says innovation has an important role to play in delivering better outcomes for clients, with some insurers rethinking product design and support options in response to rising TPD premiums and shifting claims trends.

“Innovation is positive if it helps to reduce premiums for clients. But innovation can also contribute to the long-term viability and sustainability of TPD as a product,” he says.

“You expect premiums to go up, but when they go up at current rates, that raises concerns about affordability, because clients buy into a life insurance policy as a long-term thing.”

Through his extensive conversations with advisers and licensees across the country, Scott Hoger, National Manager, Education and Partnerships at TAL, says one thing has become clear – the profession is asking important questions about the future of TPD.

Advisers navigating clients’ changing health and risks

For Hoger, a former financial adviser, the discussions are rarely about product features. Instead, advisers are exploring broader questions about client outcomes, changing risks and what acting in a client’s best interests looks like in an evolving insurance environment.

Hoger says this reflects a profession focused on helping their clients navigate these challenges.

His discussions with advisers are dominated by two themes: the number of mental health-related claims and the challenge of rising premiums.

TPD was historically designed for severe physical illnesses or injuries that permanently prevented someone from working, and until recently, pricing was generally stable in line with claims volumes. That has changed.

As mental health and conditions with uncertain recovery outcomes are increasingly the reason for TPD claims, advisers are considering whether traditional approaches to disability insurance continue to meet the needs of their clients today, and deliver the right support over the long-term.

TAL’s response has been to introduce the TPD Support Option (TSO), designed specifically for mental health, fatigue and functional conditions where recovery outcomes can vary significantly.

Clients who choose this option receive 20% of their TPD sum insured where the injury or disability is contributed to or caused by a TSO condition and meet the any occupation-based eligibility criteria. A further 20% is paid every 12 months, provided they continue to meet the ongoing TSO claim requirements at each annual review. This payment structure provides ongoing financial support where recovery is possible, with the certainty that if they’re unable to return to work, they’ll receive their full TPD sum insured over time. Claims for all other health conditions are paid as a full lump sum, if the claim is successful.

The structure of the TSO is expected to improve the long-term sustainability of the TPD benefit and deliver value back to the customer through lower premiums, while giving customers a different option designed for the reality of how some conditions evolve over time.

“We’ve deliberately leaned into mental health with TSO, focusing on how we can better help clients in the event of a claim. We’ve built a product designed to provide protection, while supporting a pathway to recovery, where it’s possible. That’s the outcome clients want,” says Hoger.

Hoger is encouraged by the number of advisers having broader conversations to understand their clients’ risk profile.

“Health and work have changed, more advisers have clients who have had to make a mental health-related claim. One of the shifts we’re seeing is more advisers having meaningful conversations about mental health with clients, not just at underwriting or claim time, but as part of understanding the risks they face more broadly and how it could impact their ability to work in the future,” says Hoger.

Ardino believes innovations such as TSO may also help improve client outcomes.

“This can be a great outcome because it improves affordability while supporting people through recovery and giving them the opportunity to return to work where that’s possible,” he says.

“Nobody wants to see a client experience a mental health condition, but when recovery can occur, that’s a positive outcome for everyone involved.”

As new product designs emerge alongside more traditional approaches, advisers are increasingly reconsidering how best interests should be applied in practice, with rising premiums adding a layer of complexity to advice conversations.

For many advisers, this raises an important question – how should best interests be assessed when affordability is becoming an issue?

“The Code of Ethics requires advisers to act in their client’s best interests, but sitting alongside that obligation is the need to provide appropriate advice. That includes considering not only what is right for a client at the time advice is provided, but what is likely to deliver the best outcome over time.” says Hoger.

Historically, best interests duty may have been viewed primarily through the lens of product comprehensiveness. Increasingly, advisers are balancing that against a client’s ability to maintain cover over the long-term.

“We are working with advisers to build awareness of new products and sustainability as part of the client conversation. We want to support advisers to help clients maintain their insurance, so they have cover if they need it,” says Hoger.

Hoger believes the future of products such as TSO will not be shaped by insurers alone. Advisers play a critical role in understanding how these products work in real world advice scenarios, including how they resonate with clients and determining where they fit within evolving advice frameworks.

“As the market continues to evolve, their client relationships, professional judgement and real-world experience will help shape how products such as TSO are adopted and how the next generation of TPD solutions develop,” says Hoger.

For more information on how the TPD Support Option works, please visit: https://adviser.tal.com.au/products/tpd-support-option

Content Partnership sponsored by TAL 

This information has been prepared for use by licensed advisers in their professional capacity only and is not intended to be used by clients to make a decision. Any financial product advice is general in nature only and does not take into account any person’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on it, the appropriateness of the advice for any person should be considered, having regard to those factors. Persons deciding whether to acquire or continue to hold life insurance issued by TAL Life should consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) available at www.tal.com.au. The Target Market Determination (TMD) for the product (where applicable) is also available at this website.