As the cost of ambulance services in Australia isn’t covered by Medicare1, you may have to pay a fee2 if you need to be transported or treated by ambulance, and you don’t have private health insurance.
Although this fee depends on which State you live in (with some State governments covering the amount2), it can be costly—in fact, nib found the average emergency ambulance claim amount for their customers for the 2022 financial year was a hefty $9723.
Having ambulance cover included as part of your Private Health Insurance means you may avoid the fees involved, if you find yourself needing emergency ambulance services.
nib is one of Australia’s fastest-growing health insurers, providing a range of private health insurance solutions to over 1.5 million Australian and New Zealand residents4.
In addition, nib provides private health insurance to more than 180,000 international students and workers in Australia, as well as cover for Aussie travellers overseas4.
nib provides emergency ambulance cover5 across all its Hospital cover options6, as well as all its Extras cover options.7
This means if you choose nib Hospital cover (whether as a single, couple, family, single parent family, or overseas student/visitor/worker), you’ll have emergency ambulance cover within Australia included in your policy. This applies to the following nib Hospital cover options available through iSelect6:
Similarly, if you opt for any one of nib’s Extras options (with or without Hospital cover), emergency ambulance cover will be included as part of your policy7. This applies to all of nib’s Extras cover options, including but not limited to the following which are available through iSelect8:
Keep in mind that if you’re a resident of Queensland or Tasmania, then you won’t be covered for ambulance services under these policies. This is because the ambulance services in these states are provided by a State Ambulance Scheme5.
When you take out Hospital or Extras cover with nib, emergency ambulance cover will be included in your policy, regardless of which level of cover you choose.
This means if you need immediate medical attention and can’t be transported in another way due to your condition, you’ll be covered for9:
The following are not covered by nib ambulance cover11:
Ambulance transportation not described by the provider as an ‘Emergency’.
The waiting period for nib ambulance cover is 1 day, so you can use your cover almost immediately5.
If you live in the following states or territories, you might be able to get unlimited emergency ambulance cover with nib11:
State or Territory |
Emergency Ambulance Cover |
VIC |
✓ |
NSW |
✓ |
ACT |
✓ |
SA |
✓ |
NT |
✓ |
WA |
✓ |
QLD |
X |
TAS |
X |
We’ve got good news for you—in most cases, your ambulance bill will automatically get paid by nib. However, even if you end up receiving a bill, you’ll only need to make a claim for nib to cover the costs. You can do this by:
To make a claim, you’ll also need to upload the receipt for your ambulance service. If you end up paying the bill, you can also contact NIB on their phone line and they’ll reimburse you5. However, this won’t apply if you’re a resident of Queensland or Tasmania, since you’re already covered by a State Ambulance Scheme.
Unless you live in Queensland or Tasmania (where the cost of ambulance services is covered by the State government), or are exempt from paying ambulance fees in your State, you could benefit from taking out ambulance cover - as this means you won’t have to pay the cost of emergency ambulance services.
For example, residents of Victoria may have to pay over $1,358 for emergency road transport and even more for air transport12—so nib ambulance cover in Victoria could prove to be a valuable investment.
If you’d like to find out more about purchasing private health insurance - including ambulance cover with nib, call the iSelect team now on 1800 784 772. We can help you compare policies from our range , and help you choose the cover that’s suited for your needs*.
Sources:
1 PrivateHealth.gov.au - What is covered by Medicare?
2 PrivateHealth.gov.au - Ambulance
3 nib - How much does it cost to call an ambulance?
4 nib - About nib
5 nib - Emergency ambulance claiming
6 nib - Hospital Cover
7 nib - What Extras Benefits do I get with nib?
8 nib - Extras Cover
9 nib - Policy Booklet (Page 35)
10 nib - Ambulance
11 nib - Emergency ambulance claiming
12 Victoria State Government | Department of Health - Ambulance Fees