Australian women are choosing to stick with the same private health insurance providers for 11.6 years, and new research suggests this is probably longer than they should.
A survey by financial comparison website finder.com.au also found women are about as clueless as men when it comes to knowing how long they’ve been with their health insurance provider, with 13 per cent of women unaware of how long it’s been, compared to 14 per cent of men.
It’s concerning given that health insurance premiums have been rising annually on April 1, for the past decade.
In fact, this year marks a 50 per cent increase since 2010, a cost that many Australian women can’t afford.
Premium prices are set to rise on average by 4.84 per cent in just under two weeks, so it’s more important now than ever to review your cover and consider switching providers to avoid this increase.
So what can you do?
Firstly, stop being loyal!
Either you’re expecting rewards from your health insurance provider or you haven’t been bothered to conduct a regular review of your policy.
Either way, the cost of not switching can definitely add up.
This is why shopping around and even dare I say it using comparison sites are so useful, because they can provide you with a bird’s eye view of price variations and value for money.
Another thing to consider is paying your premium annually and upfront, before the April 1, deadline.
This means you won’t be vulnerable to the price increase for this year and you’ll have the luxury of not having to think about paying for insurance for another 12 months.
Also, if you do decide to pay upfront, bear in mind that you can switch providers or policies at any point and be eligible for a full refund.
Financy more on private health and why insurance premiums keep going up? Here’s a video that insurer HCF is promoting – perhaps it will shed some light from the providers point of you… you decide.
