Each month we’ve be talking to you about who AIA Health is, why private health insurance is important for your clients, and provide more information about the industry in general, as well as keeping you in the loop with any of our limited time offers.

This month we’re discussing the importance of regularly reviewing your health insurance and what your clients should look out for. Over time, their needs and lifestyle may change so it’s important they make sure their private health insurance policy reflects their current situation.
 

Health insurance can often be a “set and forget” purchase, meaning your clients might be paying for cover that no longer suits them. That’s why it’s important to encourage them to review their policy every few years to make sure their policy reflects their needs.
 

Here’s some key things they should look out for when reviewing their policy:

 

 

There are multiple events in life that might change your client’s health insurance needs. They might be getting married, taking out a mortgage, starting a family, or becoming an empty nester. Encourage them to use these milestones as opportunities to review their cover to ensure they’re covered for the right things and aren’t paying for services they no longer need.
 

Starting or growing a family is the most common time to review. Some pregnancy and related services may have waiting periods of up to 12 months, so it is important that your clients update their cover as soon as they start planning for a family.

Conversely, if they’re not planning on having any more children, they could consider coverage that does not include pregnancy related services to help them reduce their premiums.
 

Your client’s health needs may change over time due to age, family history, injury, or diagnosis. This could be a prompt for your client to review their cover to make sure it continues to respond to their evolving health risks.
 

Taking up a new sport or exercise program could mean they’d like to add Extras to their policy so they can take advantage of inclusions like physiotherapy and remedial massage.  
 

3.     Tax benefits

 

We covered the tax benefits of taking out private health insurance in our February update. You can read up about Lifetime Health Cover Loading and the Medicare Levy Surcharge again here.
 

If your client only has Extras cover they may want to consider taking out a combined Hospital and Extras policy to potentially reduce the amount of tax they’re paying. If they’re winding back from work and receiving a reduced income, they may also be eligible for a higher private health insurance rebate.

If it’s been a while since your clients have reviewed their policy, encourage them to book an appointment with one of our health insurance specialists through the Adviser portal. Our team can help review their current policy, provide a comparison, and advise which AIA Health policy will best suit their needs. 

If your client joins AIA Health on an eligible combined Hospital and Extras policy before 31 May, they can get 4-weeks free as premium refund from 1 August. Plus, we’ll donate 2-weeks’ worth of their premium to the Mother’s Day Classic, to support breast cancer research. T&Cs apply.
 

To learn more about any of the above, please speak with your Client Development or Associate. You can log into the Adviser Health Portal to refer your clients using your existing AIA Australia Adviser Site username and password.