GENERAL HEALTH IHealth Check Are you getting the most out of your private health insurance? t can be enough to cause you the kind of unnecessary stress that may lead to a claim down the track – but private health need not be a minefi eld of mystery or a conundrum of choice. According to the ABC’s Health & Wellbeing website, ‘simplicity’ and ‘insurance’ are two words that do not sit easily in the same sentence. Add the word ‘health’ before ‘insurance’ and words like bamboozlement, nightmare and despair spring readily to mind. However, by regularly checking your private health insurance cover, you can take control of what works best for you. This will ensure you are covered for what you need most and are not paying for a whole bunch of stuff you don’t need. Something we commonly hear is, “I have private health insurance for emergencies, but I never use it”. If you are one of these people, not only are you wasting money, but you are also missing out on some of the best benefi ts private health insurance offers. No matter what your age, the experts all agree on one thing – the benefi ts of reviewing your needs and policy every year are immense. A good time to do this is tax time. Spending an hour looking over your policy, and comparing them against others, will help you to realise what you now need or don’t need and which services you use, but forget to claim. Maximising your cover will save you money and peace of mind. By tailoring a package to your needs and not paying for what you don’t need, your premiums can be kept low. If the premium has become a concern for you, there are a number of ways you may be able to manage your policy and lower costs or even consider switching to a different fund. There’s an array of insurance comparison websites that can assist your next move. Websites such as iselect.com.au allow Story Jason Oxenbridge 30 Pindara Magazine Summer - Autumn | 2014
Pindara Private Hospital Magazine - Issue One
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