Private health insurers are leaving it to the last minute to notify customers of premium rises
SNEAKY health insurance funds are leaving members with little time to review their policies before they are slammed with prices rises on April 1.
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SNEAKY health insurance funds are leaving members with little time to review their policies before they are slammed with prices rises on April 1.
Some of the nation’s largest insurers including Medibank and Bupa are still in the process of notifying customers of the upcoming hip pocket hits to their premiums which could add hundreds of dollars a year to their policy charges.
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Medibank confirmed one in five customers have yet to be sent correspondence of their premium changes to determine how it will impact their bottom line.
While rival insurer Bupa said the last of its member letters regarding the price increases will be issued by Monday.
Health insurance funds can notify members anytime before April 1 about their price rises but must allow between four to six weeks if there are “detrimental changes” to the policies.
Consumer group Choice’s spokesman Tom Godfrey has attacked insurers for not giving members enough time to digest their policy information and weigh up their options before April 1.
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“Insurers need to release premium increase data earlier so consumers have the information to switch, upgrade or downgrade cover,’’ he said.
“Unfortunately by failing to disclose individual policy changes early enough insurers are making it harder for consumers to save.”
Australian Unity said all members have been sent their premium increase information while NIB said all customers will be notified by the end of the week.
Families are set to be slugged an additional $200 a year with the average premium increases of 3.95 per cent.
Insurers have rolled out a mixture of enticing deals from activewear to six weeks’ free cover to flybuys points to lure new members.
Nationally 11.6 million people have private health cover — or 45.6 per cent of the population — a fall of about 17,000 in just 12 months.
Financial services firm Canstar’s spokesman Josh Callaghan said many insurers were leaving members in the lurch over their premium price hikes.
“For a decision that is important as it is for health insurance and what you are covered for only having a few days to do it isn’t sufficient,’’ he said.
“People need to consider whether to change the type of policy they have with their fund or they need to change their fund altogether.”
He also suggests members consider paying one year’s cover in advance before the April 1 hike to avoid the upcoming price increase.
Comparison website Finder.com.au analysis revealed two in five Australians admit they get sucked in by promotions and specials on health insurance.
sophie.elsworth@news.com.au
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