Compare health insurance

Confused about choosing private health insurance? You're not alone. Over half of Australians said they found the process of choosing private health insurance confusing, and almost 50% said they took a week or more to make a decision. An overwhelming 68.5% said they would use a health insurance comparison website to make it easier to find the health cover they need*.

Comparing health insurance policies is a great idea to find the best health cover to suit your needs. At moneytime, we've compiled a few tips for comparing private health insurance to help make it easier:

When comparing health insurance, consider...

• the health insurance premium you're prepared to pay (consider Excess or Co-payment options to reduce your up-front health insurance premium)
• the features you want covered (remember that there are trade-offs of a higher premium for greater benefit limits and vice versa)
• the details and small print of the particular policies you're interested in (like waiting periods, benefit limits and gap cover)

Variations in health insurance policies that are not always obvious include:

• list of agreement private hospitals - if you have a preferred hospital, you should check that it is covered by your health insurance policy. moneytime allows you to see the list of participating agreement private  hospitals for each health fund on our site.
• 12 month benefit periods - benefit limits are generally available within a 12 month period, but some health funds work on a calendar year while other health funds may count 12 months from the date you begin your policy with them.
• age limits for dependant children - most health funds will cover your children as dependants up to the age of 21, but be sure to check what age your specific fund offers cover until.

How to compare health insurance

Compare health insurance premiums

The health insurance premium is the price you pay to the health fund to be covered by the health insurance policy of your choice. Obviously, the more comprehensive the health insurance policy, the higher the premium will be. There are ways to reduce the cost of your health insurance premium, including:

• choose features you know you'll claim on, rather than getting blanket cover that charges you for things you'll never use
• use Excess and Co-payment options to reduce the cost of your premium (best in cases where you can't foresee a need to go to hospital soon)
• read our full list of tips on how to save on health insurance

When comparing health insurance premiums, keep the Excess and Co-payment options in mind. In order to compare like with like, it may be worth selecting similar Excess and Co-payment amounts for different health insurance policies to see comparative value.

Compare the level of hospital cover

Consider what level of hospital cover you want:

• comprehensive plans will give you the highest level of cover available, including cover for a private room in a private hospital (if available)
• more basic plans may only cover public hospitals or limited benefit coverage in private hospitals

Check that the health insurance policies you are comparing offer a similar level of cover - for example, do they all offer private hospital cover? Do they cover a similar number of health insurance features? Some health cover policies may exclude or only offer partial cover for certain procedures in order to lower the premium. Keep these things in mind so you compare like with like.

Compare extras benefits

Different health insurance policies may show that they pay benefits for Extras features like dental, optical and physio, but exactly how much do they allow you to claim? The difference in the maximum benefits can be quite large, as one health insurance policy might offer $600 in dental benefits, while another may offer $2000. When comparing health insurance policies, be sure to check exactly how much you can claim back on the features that are important to you.

Finally, be sure to review the details of the health insurance policies you're comparing and make sure you understand any waiting periods or restrictions. If you're switching, read our article on switching health funds for more information.

Compare health insurance the easy way

The quickest and easiest way to compare health insurance  is to use a comparison website like moneytime. Not only is all the research done for you and compiled in one central location, you can 'compare vendors and offerings, and choose products and services that best fit your needs' (Nett Magazine, June 2008).

With moneytime, you can compare health insurance policies to suit your needs from amongst Australia's leading health funds:

• easy side-by-side comparison table to view policies at a glance
• compare exactly which hospital features are covered and what degree they're covered to (full, partial or not at all)
• compare benefits for Extras down to their dollar value
• compare your Excess and Co-payment options and how they affect your premium
• save money by choosing the best health insurance policy to suit your lifestyle and budget
• join online in one smooth transaction
• pay nothing for the moneytime service - it's free to use

To find a private health insurance policy that can provide the cover you need, use the moneytime comparison engine.

* Survey conducted in 2008 by News Ltd

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