A waiting period is the time you have to wait before you can claim on your private health insurance for certain services. Waiting periods will vary depending on the level of cover you choose, the service you are looking to use and your health insurance provider.
If you are considering taking out private health insurance, knowing the waiting periods for the services you’ll likely need is important, as well as understanding exclusions or limitations that may apply to your policy, to help reduce out-of-pocket expenses.
What are waiting periods for private health insurance?
While the Federal Government sets the maximum waiting periods for Hospital services, the waiting periods for Extras services are set by private health funds, with most being 2, 6, or 12 months. Typically, the waiting period you will need to serve will be based on:
when you initially take out private health insurance;
if you switch to a different level of cover within a health fund; or
if you switch to a different health fund.
When you take out private health insurance for the first time, you will need to serve the applicable waiting periods for the level of cover you choose.
If you switch health funds to a similar or lower level of cover, the waiting periods you’ve already served on comparable services will be recognised. However, if you switch to a higher cover (either within your current fund or to a new one) with services not on your previous cover, you’ll need to wait before you can claim on any part of the policy that’s new.
For example, if your current health cover includes an annual limit of $600 for general dental and you upgrade to a cover that increases this limit to $1000, you will need to wait the standard waiting period that is set for general dental services to access the additional $400 limit.
It is important to check the specific waiting periods that apply to your policy before you take out cover. For more information on waiting periods, please visit the Government website.
Why are there waiting periods for private health insurance?
Waiting periods are in place to protect health fund members. They ensure that individuals cannot simply join a health fund, make a claim right away, and then cancel their private health insurance once they have received their benefits. Doing so could impact premiums, making private health insurance unaffordable for many Australians.
Waiting periods at Qantas Health Insurance
At Qantas Health Insurance, if you’re switching from another fund, we’ll honour the waiting periods you’ve already served on comparable cover with another insurer. To check if a waiting period still applies to your Qantas Health Insurance Hospital or Extras cover, you can log into our self-service portal to see your policy details, what waiting periods still apply and the remaining benefit limits for Extras services. Any benefit limits you've already used with your current insurer or existing Qantas Health Insurance policy will carry over to your new policy. These limits will reset on January 1st of the following year. Not a Qantas Insurance member? You can check waiting periods for Hospital and Extras services in the Policy Booklet.
Choosing the right policy
If you decide to get private health insurance, it's important to choose the right policy for your needs. That’s where our Qantas Health Insurance experts can help. Call them on 13 49 30 Monday to Friday, 9am - 7pm (AET), and they’ll be happy to discuss your options with you. Alternatively, click here to get a quick Qantas Health Insurance quote today.
Disclaimers
Qantas Health Insurance is issued by nib health funds limited ABN 83 000 124 381 (nib) a registered private health insurer, and is arranged by Qantas Airways Limited ABN 16 009 661 901 (Qantas), for which Qantas receives commission. The above general information is not personal advice and individuals should consider their personal circumstances and consult an expert before making any decisions.
