What is single parent health insurance?
Single parent health insurance is a type of private health insurance designed specifically for one adult and their child or children. It differs from singles, couples, and family health insurance policies, in that it provides cover specifically for one adult and their dependant child or children. It typically offers the same type of hospital and extras cover as a family policy, but is designed for households with one parent. This means you can access benefits for both yourself and your children—without paying a family policy price.
What are the different types of single parent health insurance policies?
There are three different types of health insurance you can purchase in Australia:
- Hospital cover: This type of cover allows you to be treated as a private patient in a private or public hospital. You’ll typically find four standardised ‘tiers’ to choose from when purchasing a hospital cover—Gold, Silver, Bronze and Basic.
- Extras cover: An extras cover can help cover your out-of-pocket expenses for other health services, or ‘general’ services, such as dental, physiotherapy and optical (glasses and contact lenses).
- Combined hospital and extras cover: This includes both hospital and extras cover in the one policy.
How to find the best single parent health insurance?
There’s no one-size-fits-all policy when it comes to health insurance. The ‘best’ option for you will depend on your lifestyle, budget, and the level of cover you need. Here are a few key things to consider when comparing single parent policies:
- What kind of cover you need: Decide whether you want hospital cover, extras cover, or a combined policy. Hospital cover helps with in-patient care, while extras cover can include things like dental, optical, and chiropractic visits.
- Consider whether you need ambulance cover: Not all policies include ambulance services. When comparing options, think about whether you need additional cover for emergency or non-emergency medical transport.
- Review the annual limits: Some single parent or family policies have shared annual limits for extras, which means the total claimable amount is shared between you and your dependents. Other policies may offer per person limits, so it’s worth reading the fine print to make sure these limits match your family’s needs.
- Check how long your children can stay on the policy: Many health funds let children stay on your policy until they’re 31, depending on whether they’re studying or financially dependent on you.
- Look for added incentives: Some insurers may also offer added perks like no-gap dental check-ups or, say, discounted glasses for kids. These extras can offer good value depending on your child’s age and needs. When taking out insurance, you could even ask the provider if they are willing to waive any of the two and six-month waiting periods on extras for you.
Remember, different health funds offer varying levels of cover and features in a health insurance policy. Taking the time to compare options can help you find a policy that best suits your needs. It can also help to read the Private Health Information Statement (PHIS) carefully to avoid any surprises at a later stage.
Check out Canstar’s latest Health Insurance Star Ratings and Awards to see which insurers have delivered ‘outstanding’ value to customers across Australia.
