NIB Health Insurance

In 2013, nib launched Whitecoat, Australia’s largest online directory of healthcare professionals. Whitecoat lets users recommend, rate and review healthcare providers.

What makes nib different

nib strives to offer all Australians the right level of healthcare for their needs at a fair price. Their mission is “to help people access and afford world class healthcare when and where needed.”

With a variety of health coverage plans, nib health cover can be tailored to individual needs and budget. Plans are easy to understand and easy to claim on, and the company prides itself on product innovation, value for money and top-notch customer service.

Besides offering nib health insurance cover in Australia, they offer international cover to Australian expats working and studying abroad. They also focus on supplying cover to international students and workers. Over 130,000 customers now use their private health insurance.

What kinds of cover do nib offer?

Image meta description: Build your nib health insurance plan in three levels: hospital, core extras and additional extras

nib health cover includes hospital insurance, core extras insurance and additional extras insurance packages in a ‘build-your-own’ format. At the base level, there are five types of hospital cover: Basic, Starter Plus, Standard, and Top. Basic Hospital is a budget option, which generally provides ambulance cover and emergency cover, while Top Hospital covers all Medicare-recognised hospital procedures and extends through to a lot of pregnancy services. With hospital cover, there’s also the option to choose a $250 or $500 excess².

Next on offer are two types of main extras policies; Core Extras and Core Extras Plus. Core Extras include the services people use the most – like dental, optical and physio – while Core Extras Plus includes all the same extras but with higher annual limits.

Finally, for people that want to really squeeze value out of their nib extras, there are three additional extras that can be added to a plan on top of Core Extras and Core Extras Plus. Family Extras include orthodontia, speech pathology and podiatry, Wellbeing Extras include services for overall health such as chiropractic, natural therapies, psychology, and Young at Heart Extras include services that are helpful as people grow older such as podiatry, prescriptions and hearing aids².

To build a plan with nib health insurance, first choose your desired hospital coverage, then decide if you’d like to choose an extras package as well. Finally, see if one of the tailored additional extras packages is something you’d like to add on top.

Which private hospitals does nib health insurance have an agreement with?

As with all private health insurance providers, receiving the full benefit from your hospital cover with nib health insurance depends on whether you’ve gone to one of the private hospitals your insurer has an agreement with.

nib health insurance has agreements with over 70% of the private hospitals in Australia to give you more flexibility. In fact, nib has agreements with private and day hospitals in every state. In order, the most private and day hospitals with agreements are in NSW (171), followed by VIC (123), QLD (85), SA (49), WA (35), ACT (14), TAS (7) and NT (2) ³.

Making a claim with nib health insurance

nib strives to make it as easy as possible to claim on your nib health cover by providing a number of different claiming methods. Once you’ve received medical treatment or made an eligible purchase, you can make a nib claim in a number of different ways.

At the counter you may be able to swipe your nib membership card. 20,000 Australian specialist providers provide HICAPS (Health Industry Claims and Payment Service) which allows this type of claim.

You can claim on the go with nib’s smartphone app. Once you’ve downloaded the app, make sure you’re connected to mobile data or WIFI, then take a photo of your receipt and submit the claim for payment to your bank account within five working days. It’s available on iPhone and Android.

Online, you can log into nib online services, fill in details from your receipt, enter your bank details, and receive a transfer of your benefit from nib into your bank account. Ring nib and ask customer service to process a claim, or visit a nib retail centre to make a claim in person.

Finally, if you’d like to claim by post, fill out a claim form, attach your specialist provider’s invoice and post it to nib. nib will fulfill the claim by bank transfer or cheque. When your claim is the result of a hospital visit, the hospital will usually send the bill to nib for you.

Making payments to nib health insurance

You can choose to pay your nib insurance either monthly or annually. Payment can be made in any of the following ways:

● Direct debit from your bank account or credit card
● At a nib retail centre
● Over the phone
● By post with a cheque
● Australia Post
● BPAY

In addition, customers on a nib Corporate Health Plan also have the option to pay with a payroll deduction.

How to become a member

Get nib health cover with iSelect’s secure and simple online application, or call 13 19 20 and one of our consultants will help with your application.

Make sure you compare policies with us to find the cover that’s right for your needs.

All nib cover information can be found on the nib website.

This website is intended to provide general information only and does not constitute financial advice and should not be taken as such. iSelect urges you to seek advice on your specific situation from your financial advisor before making a decision.

Sources:
1. https://www.nib.com.au/nib-news/media/2015/07/nib-reaches-magic-milestone-of-one-million-customers
2. https://www.nib.com.au/docs/nib-choosing-the-right-health-cover
3. https://www.nib.com.au/health-information/going-to-hospital/hospital-search