Pregnant mums opting for singles health cover to slash health insurance bills

HEALTH fund members are downgrading their cover, switching health funds and mums are opting to buy pregnancy cover as a singles policy as they try to cope with record premium rises.

Health insurance brokershave been deluged with inquiries from health fund members after Health Minister Sussan Ley announced a 6.2 per cent average premium rise last month.

A News Corp investigation has found many health fund members are being slugged with premium rises nearly three times the 6.2 per cent average announced by the government, some facing rises of up to 16.9 per cent.

HCF’s Top Plus cover increased by 16.9 per cent Medibank’s Blue Ribbon Hospital cover increased by 11 per cent, BUPA’s Top Hospital with everyday extras rose by 9.2 per cent, the Queensland Consumer’s Association says HCF’s 16.9 per cent premium rise shows consumers should not assume that their premium is increasing by the fund average and should work out the percentage themselves.

“Consumers looking for better value for money should shop around to get the best deal with their existing fund, or other funds, before or after 1 April,” association spokesman Ian Jarratt said.

One option for some consumers is to avoid any increases entirely by paying a year’s premiums before 1 April, he said.

Even before the premium rises were announced 2.5 million Australians had dumped or downgraded their health insurance policies in the two years to December 2014 health fund lobby group Private Healthcare Australia says.

I Select chief Matt Cumming says as Australians try to cope with premium rises of up to $282 a year they are splitting their hospital and extras cover across multiple funds to meet a given price point.

And couples are taking out multiple singles policies to meet a given price point.

“For example, a male will purchase a basic level of hospital cover for tax purposes while the female will take out a singles policy that covers pregnancy costs without the male having to pay for that as part of a couples policy,” he said.

Top hospital cover for couples costs around $381 a month but men can buy basic singles health cover for as little as $66.50 a month while a top hospital cover package to cover a pregnant women costs around $190.

Couples who structured their insurance this way would save $125 a month in premiums.

Another insurance broker Compare the Market says customers’ first choice tends to be to increase their excess in order to bring down their premiums.

“Some customers are choosing to downgrade their level of cover to save money; typically their hospital cover (from top to basic) as opposed to their extras cover,” Compare the Market spokeswoman Abigail Koch said.

“People seem much more willing this year to switch funds if it means they can pay a lower premium without compromising their level of cover,” Ms Koch said.

In March last year iselect received inquiries from 250,000 Australians about their health insurance, up 50 per cent on the previous year and inquiry volumes are growing again, Mr Cumming said.

Health Minister Sussan Ley said other health funds were offering average premium increases as low as 3.98 per cent and the best thing for consumers to do was shop around if they were unhappy.

“We have a strong competitive health insurance market in Australia and it’s important consumers don’t underestimate their buying power if they think they’re being taken for a ride. The best place to get commission-free comparisons is www.privatehealth.gov.au.”

Opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King said under this government “health fund members have had to endure the two biggest average premium rises in a decade”.

“Both of the rises so far approved by the Abbott government exceed ANY of the rises approved under Labor and have cost families in excess of $200,” she said.

News Corp is supporting the Big Health Insurance Switch campaign which aims to register 40,000 consumers who want discounted health insurance to unlock an exclusive offer from a health fund and drive competition in the industry. The campaign is free to join and has already attracted over 81,000 members.

For more details visit https://www.onebigswitch.com.au/ and moneysaverhq.com.au. News Corp Australia and One Big Switch will earn a commission from people who accept an offer.