Private Health Care Insurance Rates

Whilst all insurance companies have provisions to meet unforeseen rises in expenses, this can only help on a temporary basis. Wherever insurance companies are experiencing or expecting a continuous rise in claims expenditure, they must raise their revenues by raising contributions in order to remain economically sustainable. When your health insurance company has received an additional amount of your insurance coverage, it is obliged to inform you in written form and you will be provided with up-to-date insurance documentation with further information about the changes.

When your growth was above avarage, the funds were able to prove that the growth was necessary to meet the needs of your insurance coverage. As a rule, such rises are an indicator that the respective health insurance company politics were previously undervalued. Under the Private Health Insurance Act 2007, health insurance companies are required to provide the Commonwealth Health Minister with detail of the rate hikes they propose before they can raise rates for any of their insurance products.

Insurance companies must include in their premiums details of financing, costs and benefits in order to be able to support the increase they are seeking. Amendments will be reviewed by the Ministry of Health and the Australia Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). The APRA is the autonomous tax authority for health insurance. The APRA has the authority to ask insurance companies to submit reports on their financials and transactions, and may verify the insurers' financials separately.

The health insurance funds must obtain the consent of the minister before raising the tariff. There is no amendment to the premiums if insurance companies cannot supply enough information to prove to the Minister that an increment would be necessary to fulfil their commitments to make payments to entitled policyholders. However, your existing health insurance company or other insurance company may be able to give you a better value private health insurance that suits your needs.

Review the advantages of your current insurance and see if you need this amount and kind of protection. When it comes to health insurance, most insurance companies can provide more favourable treatment if you are willing to make a higher starting contribution (deductible or co-payment) towards the costs of hospitalisation. You should, however, be careful to fully appreciate the scope of the services and any terms or limitations before deciding on a more favourable insurance plan.

Generally, we advise you to give preference to the maintenance of high value health insurance to avoid the risks of large medical invoices. You can find out which issues you can ask yourself and which criteria you should consider when choosing a health insurance in our booklet "Choosing a health insurance policy".

"The Ten Golden Rules" offers you useful information to help you prevent health insurance hassles. "Right to change" gives you information on what to bear in mind when deciding to switch health insurance companies or insurance companies. On the website, you can browse your health insurance history to see if it is the right one for you and offers you the best value for money.

In order to review and improve your insurance coverage, please consult your health insurance company.