Comparison website finder.com.au says research shows that Australians are “clueless” about their health insurance premiums, so it’s decided to do something about it by launching its own health insurance comparison service.
In response to rising health insurance costs and complexity, finder has launched its new comparison service which it says will help Australians compare policy options from all 35 health funds.
The finder.com.au health insurance service links people directly to a range of health insurance quotes from all 35 health funds using a single search, and is claimed by finder as the only Australian comparison site to show split cover options from different providers.
Users are asked to fill out search fields including ‘Who needs cover?’, ‘Type of cover’ and ‘Postcode’ and, within less than a second, they see a list of customised quotes ranked according to their needs and the policy’s comprehensiveness, competitiveness, and convenience.
{loadposition peter}finder money expert Bessie Hassan says the national survey of 2,031 Australians revealed one in five - the equivalent of 2.3 million adults – have no idea how much money they pay each month for health cover.
Hassan said the survey results were alarming given the average annual health insurance policy is set to rise from $3,947 to $4,137 on 1 April.
“Health insurance premiums are set to increase 4.8% on average this year. It’s an ambitious target, but 100% of people should know what they pay for insurance. How else would they know if they are getting ripped off?”
“It’s no wonder so many Australians are in the dark when it comes to private health insurance considering there are over 65,000 different policies and options. It’s hard to know whether you’re on the right cover or getting value for money,” Hassan said.
Hassan said that with health insurance costs jumping around 45% on average since 2010, “now is a good time to review your current policy and switch before the premium increase on 1 April”.