Best Health Insurance Companies in Australia

In Australia, health insurance is a crucial component of daily living. Finding the best health insurance companies in Australia for you might be challenging because there are so many different options available. Every employer has a different set of programs, so it's crucial to weigh your options before choosing one. The price of the policy, the coverage options, and the standing of the company are a few factors you should take into account.

You may be able to avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) and Lifetime Health Cover surcharge (LHC) by purchasing an approved private health insurance policy. If you have a medical condition, want to get pregnant, have children, or are getting older and will need more medical care, you might also want to consider acquiring health insurance. Therefore, whether you need Hospital, Extras, or Combined cover will depend on your individual needs.

The state you live in, the kind of plan you want (hospital, extras, or combination), the co-payments you're willing to make, and the amount of coverage you need are just a few of the variables that will affect the premium you'll have to pay for your health insurance policy (comprehensive, medium or basic). Always keep in mind that every year on April 1st, health insurance premiums increase.

It is worthwhile to compare the below options on the Australian market if you're thinking about getting private health insurance or if you want to switch from your current private health insurance companies in Australia in order to locate the provider and policy that best meets your needs.

Phoenix

Phoenix Health Insurance is a very high-ranking provider despite having a 0.2% market share because to its high member retention rate for its hospital-only cover, the fact that 92.7% of its services have a no-gap policy, and the fact that 90% of its contributions are given back to clients.

Phoenix's hospital coverage has a two-month waiting period for the majority of conditions, which is extended to 12 months for pre-existing conditions, pregnancy, and childbirth. Nonetheless, accidental injury is covered with no waiting period and an ambulance is covered after one day.

Pros

• Rated 4.8 on Product Review
• 92.7% of hospital charges are covered nationwide
• The Ombudsman only looks into 0% of complaints

Cons

• None further discounts
• Only when purchasing hospital insurance with one of its three supplementary cover packages are they available

NIB

With a 9.3% market share, NIB is one of Australia's top five health insurance companies. Most supplementary cover services and most hospital cover conditions have a two-month waiting period, and 83.2% of all contributions are returned to clients.

Customers of NIB can continue to utilize their own preferred providers, unlike those covered by other health insurance plans that force users to go to certain and designated "member providers" for services.

Pros

• The ability for customers to select their own service providers.
• A significant percentage of no-gap services
• Has a live chat feature for client support

Cons

• No additional discounts
• Poor reviews

HBF

In terms of private health insurance companies in Australia, HBF is the best option, especially in terms of its hospital coverage. According to the most recent Ombudsman report, it also covers 94.8% of hospital expenditures nationally and has a 90%-member retention rate on hospital-only coverage.

HBF does, however, receive a lot of negative feedback, and in the most recent financial year, 17.8% of all complaints handled by the Ombudsman involved HBF.

Pros

• Accident coverage after one day
• Nationally, 94.8% of hospital expenses are covered
• After four months, new members receive six weeks free

Cons

• Bad ratings

• 17.8% of complaints that the Ombudsman looked into
• 15% of contributions from policyholders go to management expenses

St Lukes

St Lukes has a 0.6% market share of Australia's entire health insurance market, yet its services are comparable to those of some of the top providers. With lengthier waiting periods applicable to certain conditions or services, the standard waiting period for hospital conditions and supplementary coverage is two months. St Lukes is currently eliminating its waiting periods of up to six months and giving new customers six weeks of free service.

88.4% of all member donations to St Lukes's go toward providing benefits to its clients.

Pros

• Positive user testimonials
• Frequent discounts for new members
• 0% of complaints examined by the Ombudsman concern frequent discounts for new members

Cons

• No after-hours client support
• Only three extras-only policies are available
• Only Tasmania has physical customer service centers

Latrobe

With a 0.7% market share, Latrobe is a non-profit private health insurance company in Australia (equating to more than 80,000 customers across the nation). As of 2021, all of its hospital and extras policies now include emergency ambulance services. This gives its members a large number of options so they may only pay for what they need.

Latrobe spends a large part of member contributions—13.8%—on its administration expenditures in addition to having reasonable member retention and no-gap services (but significantly lower than other competitors).

Pros

• Discounts are offered for direct debit payments
• All additional insurance includes optical, physical therapy, and dental coverage
• A medical emergency ambulance is covered by all insurance

Cons

• Different wait times for different extras
• Limited hours for client service
• 13.8% of contributions go toward administrative expenses

Bupa

Bupa has a very solid reputation in the health insurance sector and, like HBF, stands out for its hospital coverage. According to the most recent data, Bupa covers 91.5% of hospital-related costs and has an 87%-member retention rate for hospital-only insurance. Bupa might not be the top option for extras, though. While it has a high number of no-gap services, several of its lower-tier additional cover policies don't include physio and optical treatments.

Pros

• Discounts up to 10 weeks free
• 91.5% level of coverage for hospital-related services
• High proportion of no-gap services

Cons

• Not all additional policies cover physio and optical
• For larger benefit returns, Members First Providers are required
• Poor review

AIA

On Product Review, Australia's top website for user reviews, AIA has one of the highest ratings among health insurance companies. AIA has a 4.7-star rating on average out of 573 reviews. It is frequently praised for its excellent value and customer service. Additionally, according to the Ombudsman's most recent report, it represents 0% of the complaints the Ombudsman has looked into.

However, AIA only covers 50.5% of general treatment services through its supplemental insurance, and it has a poor member retention rate for its hospital-only policies.

Pros

• 0% of the complaints the Ombudsman investigates involve
• Members receive cashback rewards
• Good customer reviews

Cons

• Low rate of membership renewal for hospital-only policies
• Limited hours for client service

GMHBA

Customers strongly praise GMHBA for its customer care skills, and customers give it a respectable rating on Product Review. Importantly, GMHBA offers members a live chat feature as well as phone customer assistance between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm with a callback facility to prevent drawn-out hold times.

Yet, it was revealed in the most recent Ombudsman report that 2.3% of the complaints it looked into were about GMHBA. The percentage of complaints is notably greater in proportion to GMHBA's market share of 0.4%.

Pros

• There is a live chat feature for customer service inquiries
• The current offer is $200 off for new members
• Excellent reviews

Cons

• Low rate of membership renewal for hospital-only policies
• Just 49.9% of general services are benefit-covered
• When compared to market share, the Ombudsman investigates a lot of complaints

HCF

With a market share of 11.9% as of this writing, HCF presents itself as Australia's largest not-for-profit health fund. It also returns 89.6% of its donations to its members in the form of perks and has a strong member retention rate and no-gap service percentage.

Similar to GHMBA, HBF has a higher proportion of complaints that the Ombudsman is looking into (17.8%) than its market share. Out of 592 evaluations, HCF only obtained an average rating of 2.9 stars; the reason for this low rating was frequently cited as bad customer service.

Pros

• High member retention rate
• Just 9.9% of contributions are used for management expenses
• Weekend customer service

Cons

• There is a 12-month waiting time for all pre-existing conditions (hospital and additional)
• High percentage of complaints that are looked into by the Ombudsman

There are two types of healthcare available in Australia: public and private. Medicare serves as the foundation for public healthcare. Many Australians still opt to spend money on private health insurance companies in Australia despite the country's universal healthcare system. This is so that you can receive treatment at a hospital as a private patient and help pay for healthcare requirements that Medicare does not cover.