Your guide to medical insurers' Covid 19 customer support options

The following is a summary of the support offered by the various HEALTH insurers for customers experiencing financial hardship due to Covid 19.

Monday, April 13th 2020, 1:12PM

by Graeme Lindsay

This guide is provided by Graeme Lindsay at Strategy Financial Services. The provisions quoted are either contained in the policy wordings or are special relief packages announced in response to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Premium Holiday: No provision

Policy Suspension: Individuals are able to suspend their policy due to financial hardship for up to six months. During the suspension period, individuals will not be able to claim but they will also not need to pay premiums.

Premium Holiday: Nib provides Premium Relief - Full cover, no premiums - for up to 60 days for members facing financial hardship.

Policy Suspension
nib provides the most generous Policy Suspension option in the market. The policy can be suspended for up to six months - no premiums, and technically, no cover. However, they offer generous reinstatement provisions which enable a member to reinstate their cover if they require medical treatment by simply paying the premium installment immediately prior to their treatment date. Cover will then be provided under the normal terms and conditions of their policy.

Partners Life

For Partners Life see this article.

Premium Holiday: No provision

Policy Suspension: Options available include being able to put your policy on hold for up to three months. During the on hold period, you will not have to pay premiums but you’re also unable to make claims. You can reinstate at any time within the three-month period if you wish.

Premium Holiday: Website indicates that Unimed may be able to help members suffering extreme financial hardship. No options published

Policy Suspension: Website indicates that Unimed may be able to help members suffering extreme financial hardship. No options published

So, advisers need to be very careful when discussing the options with clients. The various options can be quite different in the detail! Certain terms mean different things to different insurers. Advisers certainly add value in difficult times as we are currently experiencing, but need to be very careful when considering advice about clients' difficulty in paying premiums and the options offered.

Graeme Lindsay runs Strategy Financial which provides research to advisers on insurance products.

Graeme Lindsay runs Strategy Financial which provides research to advisers on insurance products. The comments in "Strategy Thoughts" outlines his view on recent product and policy changes.

Tags: Accuro nib Southern Cross UniMed