We've helped hundreds of Australian workers win their TPD and/or income protection claims. These success stories have been life-changing for our clients. We can't write about all of them but, from time to time, we select stories and cases that demonstrate some of the challenges faced when trying to access your TPD or income protection insurance. This page details some of those stories.
This blog explains how even difficult TPD claims that have been declined multiple times can sometimes still result in a successful outcome with the right legal advice and advocacy.
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Kate was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2012 and hadn't worked since 2013 - but had no idea five of her superannuation accounts carried insurance cover she could still claim. Here's how Berrill & Watson recovered over $880,000 in TPD and income protection benefits on her behalf.
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This blog explains how an insurer wrongly assessed our client’s future work capacity, why the medical evidence did not support a return to employment, and how a detailed IDR complaint ultimately led to the TPD claim being accepted.
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In this success story, we explain how insurers cherry-pick medical evidence to assess disclosure obligations. Our legal strategy relied a lot on clarifying the medical evidence, which helped our client overturn a denied TPD and income protection claim.
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Case review: This blog explains how three TPD claims for the same client were strategically prepared, why the medical evidence was critical, and how a $2 million outcome helped rebuild his future.
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We secured a significant TPD payout for our client after years of pain, delays and two trustee rejections. This article highlights how strong medical evidence, persistence and experienced legal guidance can shift an insurer’s position.
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Underinsurance is a silent trap that catches many business owners off guard – especially during times of crisis. In this win, we helped a café owner recoup losses from their insurance broker after demonstrating that the broker failed in their duty of care when advising on and arranging our client’s business interruption insurance, including annual renewals.
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Richie (a pseudonym) had purchased a mortgage protection insurance policy when he took out his mortgage. He lodged a claim on that insurance due to his inability to work due to illness, but that claim was rejected. We were asked to review the rejection of the mortgage protection insurance claim.
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Roger (a pseudonym) came to us in early 2025 for help with his income protection (IP) claim, after experiencing long delays in his insurer’s assessment of the claim. Two months after meeting with Roger, we secured back-payment of the outstanding income protection benefit.
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Although there are similarities in TPD definitions across funds, there are also differences that can impact whether your insurance benefits will be paid. One common definition is called an ‘own occupation’ TPD definition. These TPD insurance policies enable you to claim if you cease work and are permanently unable to return to your own occupation.
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We’ve run and won many TPD claims with significantly complex and tricky hurdles to overcome. In this blog, we review just one of those success stories which delivered our client $1.25 million dollars in TPD benefits that may ordinarily have been lost to them.
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Our client told us that her multiple sclerosis meant that she had to cease work as a school teacher. She lodged a trauma insurance claim and was paid an insurance benefit of $10,000 based on the category of disability the insurer determined. We worked with our client and her doctors to eventually deliver a $250,000 payout.
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John (a pseudonym) came to us in October 2024 after his insurer made allegations that he had fraudulently failed to disclose certain medical conditions during his application for disability insurance cover back in 2012. John was seeking a payout on multiple insurance policies, including for terminal illness, TPD, income protection and trauma insurance.
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With disability insurance claims, there are often complications around policy definitions, medical opinions, timing of claims and pre-existing conditions. In this case review, we were absolutely delighted to secure a successful TPD claim and income protection benefits for our client.
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Our client had submitted a death benefit claim under her late brother’s mortgage insurance policy. The insurer had indicated to her that they required all her late brother’s medical records and may decline the claim on the basis that her late brother’s drinking problem was a pre-existing medical condition.
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Jessica (a pseudonym) lodged a TPD claim for a shoulder injury from 2014, which was rejected. After many years and further injuries and illness, she finally sought legal advice and assistance, which resulted in a successful TPD claim payout of $700,000.
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We provided Brendan and his wife with advice and assistance in relation to his income protection entitlements and an entitlement to a terminal illness payout. Unfortunately, there was little we could do with the income protection claim, however, with diligent and persistent work, we secured $1,200,000 in terminal illness benefits for Brendan’s wife.
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Trevor (pseudonym) came to us at the end of 2021 because he had tried to return to work after a period of being unable to work due to mental illness and drug addiction. He was ultimately unable to hold down a job. His mental health eventually led to his incarceration. We helped Trevor claim on his TPD and income protection insurance, years after he stopped working.
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We take on the complex and complicated cases that other firms won’t. And that’s precisely what we did for our client’s claims related to mental illness, securing $2.6 million in well-deserved benefits.
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We’ve run and won many TPD and income protection claims with significantly complex and tricky hurdles to overcome. In this success story, we delivered our client $1.5 million dollars in TPD and income protection benefits that may ordinarily have been lost to them.
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Jeremy was referred to Berrill & Watson by his Financial Counsellor. The Financial Counsellor was working with Jeremy to help him establish a budget to make his Disability Support Pension go a bit further. In doing this work, the Financial Counsellor recognised that Jeremy might have a Total and Permanent Disability (“TPD”) claim.
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