Bank of Mum and Dad backs health cover too

The Bank of Mum and Dad is often only discussed in terms of what it can do for its children looking to buy a home. In fact, Mozo research repeatedly finds the Bank of Mum and Dad to be the fifth largest home lender in Australia.

But this bank’s local branch managers will tell you their credit lines run much deeper than a home loan or deposit: education, a car, a wedding, sport or other recreational activities are commonly funded in some way by the Bank of Mum and Dad.

Arguably this bank is the most sustainable in our nation’s history. It runs without the need to meet capital requirements of an industry regulator and, by all accounts, is flexible in its approach and has a high customer satisfaction rating.

It’s no surprise, then, that 27 private health insurers are lobbying the federal government to create a rule that allows children to lean on the Bank of Mum and Dad a little more and to stay on their parent’s private hospital policy until age 30.

Data from the financial regulator APRA tells us that Australians aged between 25 and 34 are dropping their health cover in the tens of thousands. More than 20,000 health fund members in this age bracket cancelled their private hospital cover in the first three months of 2020 – and it was a similar story for the same period in 2019.

They’re dropping the cover mainly because they can’t afford it, according to research from comparison website Compare the Market. It shows more than a third (35%) of Aussies under 30 don’t have private health cover because it’s too expensive.

If you are removed from your family’s health policy, you can save money in the short term by not having private insurance. However, if you take out cover later in life, a premium will be applied on your new policy from the year you turn 31. And this decision could leave you thousands of dollars out of pocket.

So what does the Bank of Mum and Dad think about it?

According to Compare the Market’s June survey of 437 parents with a family health insurance policy, the proposed change would see three in four (78%) parents keep their children on the policy up to age 30. This means the Bank of Mum and Dad is prepared to extend its funding for a little longer and its biggest customers will likely be able to purchase private health insurance when they can best afford it.

Darren Snyder