Claims

The amount you can claim back on extras services depends on your benefits (the amount you get back when you claim) and your annual limits (the maximum amount you can claim in a year).

Nearly all extras insurance policies only cover services to a limited extent, which means you'll usually pay for some of the service out of your own pocket.

What makes extras insurance worthwhile is that Medicare generally doesn't cover extras services, so without extras insurance you'd have to cover the full cost of treatment every time you receive a service.

Where your treatment is an included service on your hospital cover, your hospital costs will either be fully or partially covered depending on the type of agreement your health fund has with your specialists and hospital.

With HBF, when you’re admitted to hospital for treatment you will get 100% back for the cost of your hospital accommodation and specialists so long as you choose providers that have ‘no-gap’ (otherwise known as ‘fully covered’) agreements with HBF. Just be aware of out-of-pocket costs, which can include excess or co-payments. Please note, outpatient services are not covered under hospital insurance.

Before you book hospital treatments, contact us and we’ll help you understand what you can claim, how much you can claim, and if any excess, co-payments or waiting periods apply. To ensure we give you accurate advice, please have a written cost estimate from your provider on-hand.

When you buy extras insurance for the first time, there will generally be a waiting period you need to serve before you can claim if you haven't had continuous cover, or if you've just upgraded to a higher level of cover.

When you buy hospital insurance for the first time or after not having it for a long time, or you upgrade to include a new service, there will generally be a waiting period you need to serve before you can claim.

At HBF, waiting periods for hospital insurance are as follows

• 12 months for pre-existing conditions^* and Pregnancy and birth
• Two months for other in-hospital treatments
• Seven days for Urgent ambulance (by road)
• From the day after you join for Accident Cover^*