
Endometriosis, PCOS, fibroids or a pregnancy can shape what an insurer asks about income protection, life, TPD and trauma cover. We can help you set out your history, prepare an application and check any cover you already hold.





Gynaecological, breast and pregnancy history
This list isn’t complete, and the name of a condition decides nothing on its own. We’d want to hear your history and how things are now, and any decision about cover is the insurer’s.
What we advise on
How could your gynaecological, breast or pregnancy history come up when you apply for cover?
With each likely question set out first, you can gather your records in your own time and start with everything at hand.
We’ll start with your gynaecological, breast or pregnancy history, and the questions an insurer may ask about each part.
The insurer’s underwriter decides whether cover is offered, and on what terms. With a gynaecological, benign breast or pregnancy history, the questions can cover how a condition was diagnosed, any surgery or treatment, any complications and any time away from work. Each insurer sets its own questions, so we begin with your history as you describe it.
What an insurer may want to know, by condition:
Who would help with the costs for the people you love if you were no longer here?
Life insurance can be that help, paying your beneficiaries a lump sum towards the costs ahead.
We can set out what a life insurance application may ask about a pregnancy or a gynaecological history, before you apply.
Life insurance can pay a lump sum if you pass away, and the application looks at your health as a whole. During a pregnancy, an insurer can ask about any complications in this or a past pregnancy, and where there are complications, can ask your doctor for a report. Any breast or gynaecological history is answered from your records, question by question.
What we set out with you on life cover:
How could you still pay for the plans you’ve made if you were unable to work ever again?
A TPD lump sum can help those plans go ahead if you can’t work again, as the policy defines it.
We can compare TPD definitions with the work you do, including during a pregnancy or after gynaecological surgery.
TPD pays a lump sum if illness or injury leaves you unlikely to work again, as the policy defines it. Own-occupation wording looks at your usual job; any-occupation looks at work suited to your training or experience. During a pregnancy or parental leave, an insurer may assess TPD against home duties, meaning normal household duties rather than paid work, depending on when you plan to return.
What we look at with you on TPD:
Which costs would matter most to keep paying if illness or injury kept you from work for a time?
Income protection can keep part of your income going after a waiting period, so day-to-day life can continue.
We’ll read income protection definitions with you against symptoms that come and go, before you choose a waiting period.
Income protection can replace part of your income if illness or injury stops you working, subject to its waiting period, definitions and exclusions. We’ll read with you how a policy treats time off that comes and goes, and the waiting period you choose: a longer one lowers the premium, but any benefit starts later. Some policies don’t pay a claim from a normal and uncomplicated pregnancy or birth, as the policy defines it.
What we work through with you on income protection:
After a serious diagnosis, where would the money for extra costs come from?
It can come from a trauma lump sum, for a listed condition that meets the policy’s definition and isn’t excluded.
We can read a trauma policy’s wording with you, including any pregnancy complications it lists.
Trauma insurance pays a lump sum if you’re diagnosed with a condition the policy lists and meet its definition. Some trauma policies include an extra benefit for specified pregnancy complications, such as eclampsia or an ectopic pregnancy, each with its own definition. A condition you already have may be excluded, limiting cover for it and related claims according to the exclusion’s wording.
What we go through in a trauma policy with you:
Could something from years ago, like a past surgery or screening result, be easy to leave out?
Gathering your dates and letters first can help each answer match your records, with nothing asked about left out.
Together, we’ll take the health questions one by one, with surgery dates, screening results and specialist letters to hand.
Since 5 October 2021, the duty when applying for consumer life cover is to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation, which means answering the questions asked with reasonable care. If a question still says Pap smear, we’d check with you, or with the insurer, what it covers, so any cervical screening result is included in your answer.
What we confirm with you, question by question:
When is a good time to apply, and what does the process involve?
Choosing a time that suits you, with each step explained first, can let the application fit around the rest of life.
We can plan the order of an application with you, around any pregnancy, planned surgery or fertility treatment.
An insurer may offer questionnaires for a gynaecological condition, an abnormal Pap smear or cervical screening test, or a lump, cyst or growth, which may let its underwriter decide without further medical evidence. Some insurers also offer pre-assessment, which gives an indication before a formal application. If alternative terms are offered, they can be discussed with your financial adviser before you accept.
What we line up with you before applying:
Before a change of job or a break from work, is it worth checking any cover you have?
Checking any cover before a job change or a break can show what continues, and what it costs and pays.
Together, we’ll check any cover you hold, including its pregnancy wording, before parental leave, a job change or a new policy.
Cover you already hold was issued on its own terms, and the policy wording sets when they can change, so it’s worth reading before you change or replace it. We’d check the cover in your fund before any leave begins.
What we look at in any cover you hold:
Your options
| A Ryker financial adviser | Directly from an insurer | An online broker or comparison site | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type of advice | Personal advice Personal adviceAdvice tailored to you. Like most financial advice, it’s given under an Australian financial services licence.Personal, not general. General advice is a recommendation or opinion that doesn’t consider your circumstances. Personal advice is tailored to your objectives, financial situation and needs.In your best interests. When we give you personal advice, the law requires us to act in your best interests.In writing. You’ll usually receive a Statement of Advice that explains the strategies and cover recommended to you, and why.On the public register. Financial advisers who give personal advice on life insurance, super and investments must be on ASIC’s Financial Advisers Register. See our financial advisers on the register:Ray RegmiRicky (Rajiv) RegmiJack OinezaDean DesoukeyRyker’s financial advisers are authorised representatives of Synchron Advice Pty Ltd, AFSL 243313. | Usually general advice | Usually general advice |
| Advice that considers your health, family, work and goals | Yes, as part of your advice | Not with general advice | Not with general advice |
| Choice of insurers | A wide range | That insurer’s policies only | A panel of insurers, side by side |
| Help preparing your application | Yes, alongside you | The insurer’s own process | Varies |
| Advice on holding cover inside or outside super | Part of your advice | Not with general advice | Not with general advice |
| Support if you need to claim | Yes, we’re in your corner | The insurer’s claims team | Varies |
| Cost of advice | No cost for the initial conversation. Any advice after that is a paid service, with its scope and fee agreed with you in writing first. Choose: | No separate advice fee | No separate advice fee |














Surgery Dates and Gynaecology Letters Gathered
Any surgery dates, scan reports and specialist letters brought together with you before an application is lodged.
An Application Order Set Around a Pregnancy
If you’re pregnant or planning a pregnancy, the order of applying for each cover talked through with you.
Return-to-Work Plans Set Out for the Insurer
Your work, hours and any return-to-work plans described clearly for an application made during a pregnancy.
Definitions Read Against Symptoms That Come and Go
How a policy defines being unable to work, read with you against how often any symptoms affect your work.
Pregnancy Wording in a Policy Explained
What any income protection or trauma policy says about pregnancy and childbirth, explained in plain terms before you decide.
A Fresh Look at an Exclusion After Surgery
A request for the insurer to review any gynaecological exclusion after treatment such as a hysterectomy, with reports attached.
Fund Cover Looked At Before Parental Leave or a Break
Any insurance in your super checked with you before parental leave or a career break begins.
An Income Protection or Trauma Claim Lodged With You
An income protection claim, or a trauma claim for a listed condition, lodged with you and followed through.

You know your own body and your own history better than anyone, and that’s where we begin. We listen as you tell it, in your own words and at a pace that suits you, and every part of it is taken seriously. There’s no need for medical terms or a neat timeline before we talk. Once we understand where things are and what you’d like to protect, we help you look at cover that suits the life you’re working towards.
Telling your story once is enough for us to start. From there, we bring the letters, dates and results together with you and explain what each one is for, so the detail is gathered in one place rather than pieced together form by form. You’re welcome to bring someone along, or to come on your own. Each step is explained before it happens, and every choice, from whether to apply to whether to accept any terms, stays yours.

Every financial decision impacts the next
Great advice starts with understanding the bigger picture. Every stage of life presents new opportunities and challenges, from buying property and changing careers to growing your family, planning for retirement and protecting what matters most. At Ryker, we help connect every piece of your financial world into one clear strategy.
Your
Wealth

Ryker’s financial advisers are licensed to give personal advice under Synchron Advice’s Australian financial services licence (AFSL 243313). We start with you: your women’s health condition, your family, work, income, assets and goals. Then we recommend the types and amounts of cover that suit your life.
With a financial adviser, you also have:
Going directly to an insurer can mean no separate advice fee, but you’ll only see that insurer’s policies, and you’ll generally receive general advice only, which doesn’t consider your personal circumstances.
Going through an online comparison site or broker, you may see more options side by side, but they also generally provide general advice only, which doesn’t consider your whole financial picture.
When we give you personal advice, the law requires us to act in your best interests, which we take personally. The insurer still decides whether to offer cover and on what terms.
We’re invested in your long-term success. What we do is personal, and we take it personally.
Your financial decisions connect, so we consider the parts of your financial life that are relevant to the advice you need:
This is how we help you make decisions today with your longer-term goals in view.
Everybody’s situation is different, so we listen first, understand what matters to you and explain your options clearly before we make a recommendation.
We’d need to learn about your situation before anything is said about cover. An application can be offered on standard terms, with a premium loading, with an exclusion for a named condition, deferred for a period, or declined. The insurer decides.
With endometriosis, PCOS, fibroids, a breast or screening result or a past pregnancy complication, the questions can cover how a condition was diagnosed, any surgery or treatment and any time away from work. We’d go through those details with you first, then explain what applying for income protection, life, TPD or trauma cover would involve.
The questions can cover how it was diagnosed, such as by scan or laparoscopy, any complications, any surgery, including a hysterectomy or ovary removal, any treatment and how any symptoms affect your work. Each insurer words its questions in its own way.
Income protection can replace part of your income if illness or injury stops you working, subject to its waiting period, definitions and exclusions. With symptoms that come and go, we’d read how a policy defines being unable to work, and the waiting period you’d choose, against how often any symptoms take you from work. If alternative terms are offered, such as an exclusion or a higher premium, we’ll explain them before you decide.
We’d want to understand how PCOS affects you, any treatment and any related blood sugar or blood pressure results before anything is said about cover. Jean Hailes says polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), though an application’s questions may still use the older name or ask about the ovaries in general.
We’ll go through each question with you, with the answers taken from your own records and given as each question asks. Your doctor explains your results, and the insurer makes the cover decision.
We’d want to understand your situation before saying anything about cover. During a pregnancy, an insurer can ask about any complications in this or a past pregnancy, and where there are complications, can ask your doctor for a report. For income protection and TPD, your work, hours and plans for returning to work are part of what can be considered, and an insurer may assess TPD against home duties.
The order of applying for each cover is something we’d talk through with you, and the insurer makes the decision on any application. If you’d also like help planning the household side of parental leave, that’s part of our Growing Families advice.
It depends on the policy’s wording. Some income protection policies don’t pay a claim from a normal and uncomplicated pregnancy or birth, as the policy defines it, and a complication is read against the policy’s own definitions and exclusions. Each policy sets out its terms in its PDS.
If you hold income protection, we’ll read its pregnancy wording with you before any time away from work, and explain what it means for your plans. Any claim is lodged with you and assessed by the insurer.
An application can ask about an abnormal breast check or Pap smear result, and an insurer may offer questionnaires for screening results and for lumps, cysts or growths. The Cervical Screening Test replaced the Pap test in 2017, so if a question still says Pap smear, we’d check with you or the insurer what it covers, and any cervical screening result is included in your answer. We’d want to understand what any result said and any follow-up since.
If a result is still being followed up, the timing of an application is something we’d talk through first. Cell changes such as CIN, and carcinoma in situ, are part of our page on life cover with a cancer history.
If you’re offered alternative terms, the insurer explains what they are, how long they’re meant to apply, and that you can ask for a review if your circumstances change (Life Code 2025, insurers that subscribe). Treatment such as a hysterectomy or other gynaecological surgery is a change worth raising.
We can ask the insurer to review an endometriosis, fibroid or gynaecological exclusion with you, with reports from your specialist attached. The insurer decides whether the exclusion changes, and we’ll go through its decision with you.
Buying online can be quick, and it suits some people. If an insurer doesn’t ask for your medical history, it may mean the policy has more exclusions or narrower policy definitions (Moneysmart).
With advice, your surgery dates, screening results and specialist letters are gathered first, and a policy’s pregnancy and gynaecological wording is read with you as you compare options. Whichever way you apply, answering every question with reasonable care stays your duty. We go through any terms offered so the choice stays yours.
Your accountant and financial adviser bring different expertise to the same decisions. Your accountant can advise on tax reporting, structures and consequences; we help you plan how cashflow, debt, super, investments and protection work towards your goals. We can coordinate before important decisions.
What an accountant does
What a financial adviser does
Professional roles and authorisations matter. We provide financial advice within our authorisations and work with your accountant for specialist tax advice and lodgements.
Where they work together
Always. You can start with a single question about endometriosis, a pregnancy or an exclusion letter, and we’ll take it from there.
There’s no cost for the initial conversation. Any advice after that is a paid service, with its scope and fee agreed with you in writing first. We’ll start with what you’d like to protect and any cover you hold, then explain what an application could involve for your history.
Whether to go further is always your choice.
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