Private health insurers nib and HCF have postponed premium increases as customers continue to face the mounting cost of living pressures.
Australia's Federal Health Minister Mark Butler and the Department of Health and Aged Care approve industry-wide, annual private health insurance (PHI) premium increases, effective from April 1.
In a recent statement, nib said it will defer its 2.72% premium increase for five months to September 1, 2023, the second-lowest annual premium rise in 20 years and below the industry average of 2.90%. The move also makes it the third time the insurer has postponed its annual premium increase since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nib CEO and managing director Mark Fitzgibbon said the premium increase was deferred in response to the continued slow pace of claims, which remained below pre-COVID-19 levels for hospital treatment, and as part of its goals to make PHI more affordable for members.
“Householders are facing very strong cost of living pressures,” Fitzgibbon said.
“nib's premium increase is below the industry average, much lower than inflation, and less than the price rises we have experienced in many parts of the health sector.
“We also anticipated claims would be back to pre-COVID levels by now, but we have not seen that yet.
“We're conscious of containing premium increases, in line with our commitment not to profiteer from the COVID-19 pandemic, and with an ongoing focus on value for members.”
The deferral brings nib's Group COVID-19 support package to more than $175 million, with the most recent giveback announced in September 2022. Aside from implementing premium deferral and givebacks, nib has increased the maximum age of non-student dependents in PHI to provide more families with peace of mind and keep health cover affordable and accessible.
HCF has announced that it will defer its upcoming premium increase to later this year to assist its members with the mounting cost of living pressures.
“We understand that members are feeling financial stress when it comes to the cost of living expenses, which is why we have kept premium increases as low as we can and deferred the rise until later in the year,” HCF CEO Sheena Jack said.
“As a not-for-profit health fund that returns 90 cents in every dollar back to members, more than any other insurer, we understand a lot of people are doing it tough, which is why we want to keep the impact on members' health insurance costs to a minimum.”
HCF members will continue to have access to free GP, mental health, dental, chiropractic, physiotherapy care, and a second opinion on health conditions.
“While we don't want to increase premiums at all, they are necessary to enable us to ensure we can continue to deliver in a financially sustainable way to our members,” Jack said.
Like nib, HCF gave back COVID-19-related savings to its members. It also increased the age of adult dependents on family policies to make insurance more affordable.
