Bupa reveals $75 million Christmas cash boost for 2 million Australians

A major Australian health insurer has announced a $75 million cash boost to be shared between millions of eligible Aussies.

Health insurer Bupa has announced $75 million in profits that will be shared between 1.8 million policyholders just in time for Christmas.

The lucky Australians will begin receiving payments of between $47 and $344 from November. Most of the cash is expected to be doled out before December 25.

The size of each policyholder’s cash boost will depend on the details of their policy. The payments will be processed automatically, so there’s no need to apply.

Bupa will split $75 million between 1.8 million Australian policyholders. Picture: Supplied

Customers will be notified by email of exactly how much cash they’re getting, and the money will then be sent to the same bank account in which they collect their insurance rebates.

Those entitled to the payments are domestic members who held an active Bupa hospital and/or extras policy, or international members who held an active Bupa domestic extras policy, for at least 90 days between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023.

International members who held an Overseas Visitor Cover (OVC) hospital policy, Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) hospital policy, did not have a domestic extras policy or held an ambulance-only policy are not eligible.

It’s Bupa’s third profit sharing initiative this year. Picture: iStock.

It is the third profit sharing initiative to be rolled out by Bupa this year, as the company pledges to share a small portion of its profits to help its customers cope with cost of living pressures.

Earlier this year, Bupa announced $320 million cashback and, in June, it put a six-month freeze on some policy premiums, which was worth in total about $154 million.

Bupa managing director Chris Carroll said members will receive the money at a financially difficult time, when extra holiday spending meets already high inflation.

“We’re topping up our members’ cashback to a total of $395 million which we hope will support them through the current cost of living challenges, and with their health and wellbeing,” he said.

“The money will go directly into our members’ bank accounts, giving them more choice to use the money in a way that is most valuable to them.”

Mr Carroll urged customers to check that their bank details were up to date to make sure they get the cash quickly and easily.

“The money will be paid using the same bank details from the previous cashbacks, so I encourage our members to make sure their details are up-to-date with us,” he said.

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Originally published as Bupa reveals $75 million Christmas cash boost for 2 million Australians