Health Insurance
New Zealand Health Insurance
Although New Zealand has a well regarded publicly funded health system, an increasing number of Kiwis are choosing to take out health insurance. In this article we examine the reasons for doing so, what health insurance has to offer, different plans available and how much they cost.
Why get health insurance in New Zealand?
The public health system in New Zealand is the first point of call for any emergency or acute treatment; that is, when you suffer a critical or life threatening injury. If you present to a hospital with such a condition in New Zealand you will be treated immediately. However, for other health issues, even very serious ones like cancer treatment or heart surgery, to use the public health system may mean months or even years on a waiting list. Waiting lists for non urgent surgery are the number one reason many New Zealanders (over 1.3 million) have chosen to take out a New Zealand healthcare insurance plan. Other reasons include the ability to choose a time and a place for your treatment, and of course the peace of mind that comes with knowing your private health care bills will be covered.
What does NZ health insurance have to offer?
Health insurance will cover the costs of private health care for non urgent procedures. It removes the nasty choice of either waiting on a list for elective treatment, or paying for private health care, which can be prohibitively expensive. There are two main types of health insurance policies available in NZ; let's take a look at them now:
- Comprehensive care policies: this type of health insurance policy covers all surgical and hospital costs, as well as regular medical bills such as doctors visits, prescriptions, physiotherapy appointments and dentist visits. A comprehensive policy will be relatively expensive but will mean in most cases all your bills are covered, giving you certainty and peace of mind.
- Major medical policies: this type of NZ health insurance policy covers all health problems that require hospitalisation. Ensure any health insurance policy that you take out has this cover as a minimum. Also check the fine print to see if non-surgical hospitalisation is covered, as some policies do not cover this area adequately. A major medical policy will generally not cover diagnostics and specialist expenses before and after treatment (check to see whether the policy can be upgraded to include this). Regular medical bills will not be insured under a major medical policy.
Other things to think about when considering health insurance in New Zealand
A pre-existing medical condition will affect the terms of your health insurance cover in New Zealand. There are three ways in which an insurer will treat this; they will either not cover that condition under your policy, cover that condition only after a set time period has elapsed (usually a few years), or increase your premiums to cover the condition. Make sure when taking out a health insurance policy that full disclosure is made to the insurer; otherwise, you may not be covered under the contract.
Cost of New Zealand health insurance
The costs of a health insurance policy will be calculated by the insurer, according to your perceived level of risk. Factors that will increase this risk, and therefore raise your premiums, include age (premiums go up as age increases), pre-existing medical conditions, whether you smoke or not, and many other factors. Many health insurance premiums are based on age bands, eg. 30 - 40, so your premium will stay relatively stable as you move up within this age bracket.
Premiums vary widely, so it pays to:
- Get health insurance quotes from several NZ health insurance providers.
- Save on health insurance cost by increasing the excess on your policy (excess being the amount of the claim you have to pay personally when any claim is made). The higher the excess, the lower your health insurance premiums will be.
- Purchase private health insurance in New Zealand while young and healthy. It may not seem necessary at the time, however this will much more sensible in the long term. If you wait until you develop a medical condition or become sick, you will find the overall cost to be a great deal higher.
Looking for more information? Find New Zealand health insurance in the NZS.com directory.
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