Singles Health Insurance

What is Singles Health Insurance?

Simply put, whatever age you are, Singles Health Insurance is health cover for one person, rather than multiple people, as you might find on a family or couples policy. Obvious, yeah? Well, the good thing about that is, you can make sure your policy is suitable for you, and only you, whatever your individual requirements may be.

Should I get singles cover while I’m young?

There could be a number of reasons a singles health insurance policy might be worth considering, this includes:

• Waiting times for surgery: You’re young, so you’re probably not going to be suffering the same type or amount of health issues as oldies, right?

That could be true, but you will possibly have different or less urgent, problems. Because they’re less urgent, Medicare may well have a long waiting list for treatment. Which can be a pain, literally. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare , 50% of patients waited at least 39 days for admission (in 2019/20) from elective surgery waiting lists. Say you broke your knee throwing the footy around with your mates, and the surgeon recommends a knee investigation. With Medicare you may have to wait, but with suitable singles health cover you may be able to get the job done faster.

• Take advantage of extras: extras cover for singles cover could cover some of the things which aren’t covered at all by Medicare. That’s things like dental, chiro, physio and optical. ifyou’re going to use them, it could well be worth the extra premium.
• Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS): If you don’t have hospital cover, you may have to pay the MLS if your taxable income is over $90,000.

You also should consider taking out hospital cover before the age of 31, then you could avoid the Australian government’s Lifetime Health Cover loading, which can increase your premium by a percentage each year after the age of 31 (depending on your circumstances).

What are the different types of Health Insurance for singles?

Broadly speaking, there are two types of Singles Health Insurance, hospital cover and extras cover.

You can choose a policy which offers hospital and extras combined. Or if you’re not someone who’s likely to get much value back for things like dental or optical, then hospital cover could be a more suitable option for you.

It’s all about balancing out your needs and your budget. So let’s have a more detailed look.

What is ‘hospital cover’ and how could singles benefit from it?

Hospital cover can help you avoid public waiting lists if you need treatment for something classified as elective surgery. That is generally defined as something that will improve your quality of life but that isn’t life threatening.

With the a suitable level of cover, you may be able to have the privacy of your own hospital room when admitted into hospital for treatment.

What about ‘extras cover’ for singles?

As mentioned earlier, extras cover provides you with insurance for some health services not covered by Medicare. From the obvious ones, like dental, physio and optical, right through to more personalised options like remedial massage therapy. It’s worth considering what extras you will regularly use and how much you will spend on them each year versus what your extras premium will be. That way, you may find that having extras cover can save you money.

What is combined cover?

Most of the time, you’ll find that health insurers offer policies which combine both hospital and extras cover.

A combined policy is the most popular choice for those with singles cover. According to The Private Health Insurance Membership and Benefits publication, 2,658,182 singles are insured this way.

How to find Singles Health Insurance to suit your life stage

It’s all about getting a good deal. That means, the cover you want balanced against your budget.

With extras, choose the policy that make sense to your lifestyle. Covering physiotherapy is probably good if you play a lot of sport, optical cover if you’re a glasses wearer.

But for help finding a suitable policy for your needs, speak to one of our team members and they’ll help you compare Health Insurance for singles that suits you from our range of providers*.

Last updated: 29/09/2021