It's no April fool's joke, from 1 April, private health insurance premiums are set to increase by at least 6 per cent.
Did you know that half a million Australians dropped or downgraded their private health insurance in the last financial year? The Federal Health Minister said that 40,000 Australians responded to a recent survey with "the majority raising concerns about the affordability of their premiums and the value for money they received from their policies".
Here are some suggested ways to beat the health insurance price rise:
Prepay the annual cost with the old rate before 1 April 2016
You can call your private health insurance and arrange payments before 31 March 2016 and lock in your current 2015/2016 rates for another year.
We estimate that a family with a monthly health insurance payment of $380 that chooses to prepay their health insurance for the next year:
- and with a saving bank account interest rate of 2.5% p.a. can save $209.
- or with a home mortgage interest rate of 4.8% p.a. can save $151.
Increase the excess fees of hospital cover
When it comes to most hospital cover there are several levels with higher excess fees and lower rates of insurance. So if you think your chance of going to hospital in the next year is low then it is worth taking the risk of opting for a higher hospital cover excess.
Tailor your health needs with the proper cover
Some of those optional extras can really increase your health insurance costs.
Shop around
As the saying goes, let your fingers do the walking, and why not see who is offering you the best deal on health insurance? Like all business models that rely on monthly commitments they work best when customers 'forget' about it and the deductions just appear on your monthly bank statement. Let the price rise motivate you to get the best deal for yourself.
Any other suggestions
If you have a good suggestion, then why not send us an email and we will add it to the list.