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Managing an existing policy

If you’re with HBF, find out more about how to make changes to your policy.

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Frequently asked questions

Find quick answers to our members' most commonly asked questions.

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Each year, all Australian health insurers review their premiums to make sure they can continue to serve their members’ needs.

Factors that influence premium changes can include:

  • Rising cost of health insurance claims
  • An increase in chronic health conditions
  • More complex and costly medical procedures
  • More people using the healthcare system
  • Inflation

Yes. We can accept a manual payment of up to 18 months’ premium (from the date you make the payment) at the 2024 rate, provided the payment is received by us on or before 31 March 2025. If you have already paid past 1 April 2025, we can still take a manual payment at the old rate, if it is received by us on or before 31 March 2025.

Please be aware if you currently have a direct debit or corporate discount applied to your premium payment, this will need to be removed to make the manual payment as these discounts only apply to automatic payment processes. Payment frequency discounts will still apply.

If you would like to make a pre-payment, please call us on 133 423 and we will be happy to assist.

Your premium is calculated based on the cover you hold and your membership type. Private health insurance offers cover for yourself, you and your partner or for your whole family. Generally, there are four categories of membership:

  • 1 adult (Single)
  • 2 adults (Couple)
  • 2 adults and any number of dependants (Family)
  • 1 adult and any number of dependants (Single Parent)
  • Members on the same product but a different membership type may pay slightly different premium amounts.

If this doesn’t reflect your current situation, or you would like to find out more information about your membership type, please call 133 423. We’ll be happy to talk through your options.

To calculate a premium, we use claims and service cost data from previous years and forecasted future costs to estimate the amount we’ll need to spend in the coming year. This is adjusted across each State, so we can safely cover the estimated costs.

We calculate your premium based on your cover’s premium change, your Australian Government Rebate , and if applicable, any Lifetime Health Cover loading. If you receive a direct debit, corporate, or other discount, this will also be applied to your premium calculations.

To keep premium increases down we have taken a proactive approach, looking for opportunities to reduce costs.

We’ve contained administration costs through contract negotiations with healthcare providers and we’ve focused on reducing claims fraud and overcharging.

Our priority is to remain a sustainable, member-focused organisation that continues to provide competitive and valuable health insurance products for all our members.

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