Bupa has good news for its policyholders who are on the COVID-19 JobKeeper and JobSeeker support packages of the Federal Government.
The health insurer announced that, for the above mentioned customers, Bupa will be deferring for a further six months the premium increase scheduled to take place on October 01. The April premium hike was previously deferred for all Bupa policyholders as part of measures in light of the coronavirus crisis.
“This year has been an incredibly challenging one as Australia deals with the effects of COVID-19,” said Bupa health insurance managing director Emily Amos. “Everyone’s doing it tough and we simply want to help our customers as much as we can.”
Amos highlighted that a price rise is the last thing someone who has lost their job or had their wages cut needs at this time. “That’s why Bupa will defer the premium increase for six months for any customers eligible for JobKeeper or JobSeeker,” she said.
Meanwhile, the deferred April increase will be applied in October for those who are not experiencing financial hardship. The premium adjustment, according to Bupa, will cover rising healthcare costs so the insurer can continue to offer its products and services to all policyholders.
Amos noted: “For the 36,000 Bupa customers that have already received financial hardship relief, they won’t need to do anything to make this [deferral] happen. We will automatically apply the delay to their policy. Other customers on JobKeeper or JobSeeker can contact us to apply for the deferral.”
Bupa policyholders who are not on JobKeeper or JobSeeker but need assistance can also apply for a possible three-month premium suspension.
