Phone call saved Sophie Elsworth hundreds on health cover

HEALTH insurance premiums seem to go up and up, but you will be surprised how easy it is to get on the phone and make yours come down.

SHOPPING around for private health insurance will inevitably leave you with a sore head trying to understand all the inclusions and exclusions on your policy.

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A couple of years ago I decided to jump insurers and increase my level of cover, which I must admit, was quite a painful process.

Trying to compare apples with apples was almost impossible and deciphering which policy would actually leave me with the best cover and financially better off.

So earlier this year after seeing out 12 months with my latest insurer I decided to shop around again and see if I could save myself some money.

I got offered a better deal with a rival insurer — or at least I think I did — so this gave me great bargaining power with my existing insurer.

When I phoned them up to explain I was leaving to go to their major rival suddenly they couldn’t do enough for me.

Within a short phone call they offered me multiple discounts on my cover and even threw in extras cover at no additional cost, this was only because I said I was ditching extras because it wasn’t worth the cost.

The power of the words “I’m leaving” can work you absolute wonders and in most cases the financial service provider will scramble to get you to stay.

It’s also important give them an example of a deal that’s cheaper than what they are offering you — this usually results in them having to match that price or offer you something even better.

I also paid my full year’s cover before the April 1 price hikes kicked in which meant I skipped being slugged by the hefty rises this year round.

By simply getting itchy feet and making a couple of phone calls, I’ve made what I think is savings of a few hundreds dollars.

Worth the time and effort I say.

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@sophieelsworth

Originally published as Phone call saved Sophie Elsworth hundreds on health cover