Is your client looking to take a break from work for more than four weeks? Perhaps to study, raise a family or travel overseas? If they’re injured after the first four weeks of unpaid leave, they’re not automatically eligible for compensation for lost earnings. ACC TimeOut is optional income protection cover for self-employed people and earners who are looking at taking an extended break from work.
ACC TimeOut at a glance
- ACC TimeOut is for clients who are intending to take a break from employment and want to be eligible for earnings-related compensation should they be injured
- If your client is injured and unable to return to work, they get access to weekly payments of up to 80% of the average weekly earnings during the 12 months prior to their break starting
- Clients must apply for cover, and applications must be made while they are still in employment or up to one month after the start of the break period
- Cover can be purchased in monthly blocks up to three months. For cover greater than three months, it is purchased in three-monthly blocks up to 24 months
- Compensation for your client’s loss of earnings applies for a maximum of five years from the date they become unable to work
- ACC TimeOut is not available for overseas travel if your client remains outside, or intends to remain outside, New Zealand for longer than six months
- Underwriting conditions apply.
Eligibility for ACC TimeOut
Anyone who is:
- Presently employed or self-employed (and has been continuously for 12 months prior to their break); and
- Aged 16 or over.
ACC TimeOut levies
ACC TimeOut levies are based on the circumstances of the person insured, and take a number of factors into consideration. These include:
- Age and gender
- Duration of cover
- Amount of income covered
- The risk factors associated with the person’s usual occupation and their proposed activities during the period of cover.
How to apply for ACC TimeOut
Your client can apply for ACC TimeOut by:
- Contacting the ACC Business Service Centre on 0800 222 991 to let us know of their intended break from employment; or
- Complete the ACC1488 ACC TimeOut application form (PDF 52K) and send it to us, along with the supporting information outlined in the ACC5431 ACC TimeOut fact sheet (PDF 1.5M).
Last updated: 31 March 2011