If you are diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, it is possible that at some point you will be forced to cease working either temporarily or permanently due to the impact of the illness on your work capacity. If you do stop work, you may be entitled to TPD benefits or income protection benefits you hold in an insurance policy (for example, in your superannuation fund).
The severity of the symptoms you suffer if you are diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease can vary widely; from a minor tremor to more serious and frequent involuntary movements, which can impact every aspect of your life. Treatment often takes the form of medication or surgery which can be effective. Even if effective, debilitating side-effects of the medication or surgery can impact your cognition and work capacity.
Insurance options if you have to cease work due to your illness
If you are battling with Parkinson’s Disease and need to take time away from work for treatment or surgery or you are considering stopping or reducing your work hours due to Parkinson’s Disease, you should consider if you have any insurance in your superannuation account. If you’re unsure about any insurance you may have, visit “How do I know if I have insurance cover in my superannuation?” for more information.
If you do have insurance cover, you should check what impact reducing your work hours or changing your work patterns might have on your entitlements.
Claiming TPD or income protection
Claims for income protection (IP) and even total and permanent disability (TPD) can be successfully made if you suffer from Parkinson’s Disease.
A successful claim for TPD or Income Protection relating to Parkinson’s Disease will require that you show that the symptoms of your illness have caused you to cease work doing the work that you are qualified to do (or in some limited cases, work that you are qualified to do or could be retrained to do) and you are permanently unable to return to that work.
Usually, to support your claim, we rely on medical evidence from your treating doctors. In the case of Parkinson’s Disease, where a neurologist is usually involved in your treatment, it is best to seek an opinion from your neurologist and from your GP about your work capacity now and in the future.
Get help from a TPD lawyer
If you have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and are struggling with work, or are considering ceasing work, we recommend that you get in touch for some free advice.
Importantly, reducing or changing your work hours or patterns, prior to ceasing work altogether because of illness, can have a negative impact on any insurance claim for income protection or TPD. For this reason, it’s important to get advice early to make sure that you do not make decisions that impact on your entitlements.
We are experts in helping people to bring superannuation and insurance claims and we will give you advice about what impact changing your work duties or hours will have on your insurance benefits.
We help you find what super insurance you have; for FREE
We can help you find all of your superannuation funds and confirm if any insurance claim can be made on those funds. We do this for free. If we work out that you are entitled to bring a claim, we can help you with the claim on a 'no win, no fee' basis and with no upfront fees.
You can contact us directly by phone or email for free. It costs you nothing to find out what your rights and entitlements are.
Contacting Berrill & Watson
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