Singles health insurance

Private health insurance for singles and others is split into two main products: hospital and extras cover. You can purchase either of these types of cover on their own or combine them into one policy. Hospital policies pay for your treatment as a private patient in a hospital, while extras policies cover out-of-hospital treatments such as general dental, chiropractic and physiotherapy.

Because health insurance is community rated, your base premium will never increase because of your age. However, it’s not always that simple. Here are a few ways your age could impact what you pay in premiums:

• Lifetime Health Cover Loading. If you hold and maintain a hospital insurance policy by 1 July following your 31st birthday, you’ll avoid the Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading. If you don’t, you’ll pay 2% more in hospital cover premiums for every year you choose not to take out cover over the age of 30, up to a maximum of 70%. For example, if you take it out at age 40, you’ll pay 20% more in premiums.
• Australian Government rebate. The amount you can get back from the government’s private health insurance rebate will depend on both your age and income. The highest rebate tier is 32.158% for those over 70 earning less than $105,000 annually. However, the Australian government plans to reduce the rebate for older Australians to 24.118% from 1 April 2027.
• Age-based discount. If you take out a hospital health insurance policy from 18 to 29 years of age, you can get an age-based discount of up to 10% off on eligible policies. Maintaining an eligible policy means you can keep your discount into your 40s.

Couples insurance typically isn’t cheaper than two single policies as premiums are generally calculated per person. Depending on your eligibility, you and your partner may be able to receive a larger rebate from the government as a couple and it may also be easier to manage one policy.

You may choose to switch to a couples policy when you begin a relationship and then to a family policy if you choose to have children. Be aware that pregnancy and birth-related services have a 12-month waiting period for coverage, so be sure to plan ahead. Policies for single parent families are also available.

Unlike other types of insurance (such as life or car), health insurance doesn’t take your sex into account when setting your premiums. Therefore, the average cost of health insurance won’t be heavily influenced by whether you’re a single man or a single woman. In fact, the only difference based on sex that you might find in health insurance is policy benefits, since men and women have different health care needs and seek different cover options.

Getting the chance to avoid public hospital waiting lists is one of the more compelling reasons why singles can benefit from private health insurance. You can avoid public hospital waiting lists for specific elective procedures, depending on your level of cover and clinical eligibility.

Another plus is that you’ll get a private room (if it’s available) while waiting for and recovering from your elective surgery, and you’ll generally have a choice of doctor.

Ambulance cover helps pay for emergency ambulance transportation. In some states, you can subscribe directly to the state’s ambulance service or choose to cover it with private health cover. Qld and Tas residents and Department of Veterans’ Affairs cardholders typically don’t need to pay for ambulance trips.

You can still include eligible extras and hospital benefits in your cover that relate to your pre-existing conditions at no extra premium, though you’ll have to wait 12 months before you can claim on relevant hospital services.

Health insurance is community-rated, which means providers can’t charge you a higher base premium based on your age, occupation, gender or health conditions.