Managing an existing policy

You need to contact us within two months of returning to Australia to re-activate your cover. You will need to provide us with proof of travel in the form of e-tickets or boarding passes detailing the dates for both your departure and return flights into Australia. We may request an International Movement Record, this is available from the Department of Immigration.

If your policy isn't reactivated within the required time frame or fails to meet the resumption requirements, your suspension will be cancelled, and we’ll offer a new membership where all applicable waiting periods will apply.

If you're going overseas for an extended period of time, you can suspend your health policy until you return to Australia. By suspending your cover before you leave Australia, you'll keep your length of membership benefits and won't have to re-serve any waiting periods when you return. Different suspension periods apply for HBF products so be sure to read our full conditions below.

When you return to Australia, you'll need to:

• Contact us within two months of arrival to resume your cover.
• Provide proof of the dates you left and returned to Australia. We accept boarding passes or an international movement record.

To be effectively covered, your premium will commence on the day you arrive back in Australia, not the day you resumed your policy.

See the full conditions of suspending your cover

We can only suspend your cover for a maximum period of three years. If you are unable to resume your policy within this time period, the suspension will be cancelled.

If your cover isn’t resumed within the required time period, we may not be able to grant your full length of membership benefits and your suspension will be cancelled. A new membership may be offered and you will need to re-serve waiting periods.

Also, if you don’t resume your cover, every day from the day you return will count towards the Australian Government’s Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading.

LHC loading is an extra cost applied to the price of hospital cover. Each year you wait to get hospital cover after the age of 31, you’ll pay an extra 2% for your cover.

While you are suspended there may be changes made to your health insurance product, HBF membership rules or the way in which you claim or use your cover. If your product is no longer available when you resume your membership, we will offer the health insurance product most closely approximating your current product.