Publication: Courier Mail

Date: 17 March 2008

Section: Money & You

HEALTH CHECK

Article excerpt:

It is something that around 45 per cent of the population currently have, although few of us actually want to be in a position to use it. Health insurance is often a contentious item in the household budget and never more so than when premiums are increasing.

With an average increase of 4.99 per cent set to take place from April 1, now may be a good time to review your current health fund to ensure that you are getting value for money.

Article summary:

• Use an online broker. 'Using online comparison sites is very much par for the course in many countries,' says David Miller, managing director of Moneytime. 'We provide information to educate users about their options and we allow them to compare the features of the participating funds.'
• Use a face-to-face broker. 'Health insurance is a very complicated and often confusing insurance, with many different funds and products that have restrictions and differences in service,' says Tracy de Vries, sales manager for John Small Health Advisory (johnsmallhealth.com.au). 'We often find people are in completely the wrong product for their needs.'
• Do it yourself. 'There are 38 (private health insurance) funds in Australia and most brokers only deal with a few of these,' says Gayle Ginnane, chief executive of the Private Health Insurance Administration Council (PHIAC). She recommends that consumers compare funds via the government's health fund website: privatehealth.gov.au.

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