Jump ship and save

The time is right to switch private health insurers, writes Sophie Elsworth

HEALTH insurance headaches are commonplace for members trying to decipher their latest annual statements and determine if they are getting a good deal.

But many private health insurance members are missing out on potential savings by sticking with what they know and failing to jump insurers.

Funds rely on inertia among their member base, and for many Australians, the latest annual statements have gone unnoticed, being dumped into the “too-hard basket.”

Members have less than two weeks left to compare, switch, scale back or drop their health cover altogether before all premiums rise on April 1.

Financial services firm Canstar quizzed 1500 private health insurance members and found 60 per cent would switch cover just to get a better price, and on average people are coughing up $211 per month on their cover.

Australian Unity’s chief executive officer of retail, Matt Walsh, is urging consumers to take time to compare funds now because it can result in better cover at a cheaper price.

“Providers introduce new policies to tailor for certain needs. Consider new health insurance policies which can provide additional value,’’ he said.

And for those who do have some spare cash in the bank, he suggests paying a year’s premium in advance prior to April 1 to avoid the upcoming premium hikes, which are on average 3.95 per cent this year.

“If you are able to pay your annual premium before 31 March, it allows you to lock in your current rate for another year,’’ Mr Walsh said.

When reviewing cover, consumers need to be wary of waiting periods, exclusions and excesses, so read the fine print.

Medibank subsidiary AHM’s general manager Jan O’Keefe said determining your life stages now was critical to picking the right cover.

“Think about what you are covered for today and what you need to be covered for,’’ she said.

“Sometimes you might know what you are covered for but you don’t know what you are not covered for.”

The best place to compare the entire health insurance market is privatehealth.gov.au.