Medical / Health  Insurance

Medical Insurance - How the New Zealand Health System Works

Ever Considered Health and Medical Insurance?

In New Zealand we have available both public and private healthcare. The public system provides care for acute conditions, which can hit all of us without warning. Unfortunately the public health system does not receive enough funding to provide treatment for everyone on demand. Therefore non-acute conditions must first be assessed before treatment can be offered. This includes such conditions as hip/knee replacement, hysterectomy, heart surgery, cancerous tumor, cataract removal and diagnostic services such as MRI and CT scans, colonoscopy, laparoscopy etc. Waiting times for such procedures can often take up to a year or longer, if eligibility for treatment is accepted. A condition left untreated can cause unnecessary long-term suffering and worry.

Medical Insurance is therefore designed to give you peace of mind with expert medical treatment where or when you need it. You are not at the mercy of the New Zealand public health systems or long hospital waiting lists.

Affordable Health Insurance

Access to affordable health insurance is essential given the spiraling costs of medical treatment today. The important thing to remember in keeping your insurance premiums affordable is to shop around before you buy, and then shop around again if you have any concerns about premium costs or the service you receive from your insurance company.

We can help you with that today. Whether you need individual health insurance for yourself or as a couple, family health insurance which will give you cost-effective coverage for your whole family under a single policy, or low-cost student health insurance, we have the contacts and the systems to help you find affordable health insurance in no time at all.

Free Health Insurance Quotes

To obtain free health insurance quotes, simply enter your zip code in the box above. This will enable you to compare quotes from a number of competing insurers, so you can choose the most cost-effective plan with the best level of coverage for your particular circumstances.

• Compare quotes.
• Compare coverage.
• Quick, easy and free with no obligation to buy.

Are You Paying too Much for Your Health Plan?

If you already have coverage, obtaining free quotes is also a great way to see if your current policy is competitive, or if, like many people, you are paying too much.

Questions to ask your financial adviser

• What are the exclusions?
• What level of cover is right considering my circumstances?
• Is there a compulsory or voluntary excess?
• Does this policy build up a no-claims discount?
• Should I go for a moratorium or a fully-underwritten policy?
• Have you checked the whole of the market before recommending this to me?
• How much commission will you receive for this policy, and how does this compare with other suitable 

Why do I need Medical or Health Insurance?

In emergency situations (like a car accident for example) the New Zealand public medical/health system usually does an excellent job. However for “non-urgent” situations, which can even include major health issues like cancer, treatment in the public system can involve long and difficult waiting lists. 

Health insurance is the only to avoid waiting lists, and access top medical care when and where you need it. 

How does it work?

With health insurance you can access treatment in a private hospital, and your insurer will pay (they can either reimburse you or pay the health provider directly). This means that you won′t need to join a public hospital waiting list, and it also usually means that you have a wider range of treatment options, hospitals, and medical specialists available to you. 

What is covered?

A good health plan will cover 100% of your major medical expenses, minus any “excess” (the part of the hospital bill that you pay). This includes things like surgery, hospital charges, etc. 

It′s also common for plans to cover specialist and test costs both before and after your treatment in hospital. In addition, plans will often pay for a range of “major diagnostic” costs (like MRI scans, CT scans, angiograms, etc), even if you don′t need treatment in hospital.  What extra cover is available?

Usually you can choose an extra “Specialists and Tests ” add-on. This means that specialist and test costs are covered, even if you don′t need to go to hospital (for example a referral by your GP to have a test done or have a consultation with a specialist). This can be a good add-on to have because multiple specialist visits or tests can be quite expensive. 

Some plans also offer add-on cover for day-to-day medical costs, like GP visits and Dental charges. Usually our recommendation is to avoid this type of add-on, as they tend to be poor value for money. Our advice is to focus on what′s really important - getting a plan that provides great cover for large costs (like hospital treatment) and then get the “Specialists and Tests ” add-on if you′d like extra cover. 

NZ Health Insurance Companies

Research and compare health insurance providers

To compare insurance carriers and find out about their track records, make use of some online resources. New Zealands laws will have some bearing on consumer ratings and overall company ratings. To help you further understand the insurance quotes you'll receive, review the data you find.

Determine what coverage options you need

Things like your health status, comfort with risk and budget will all be factors in deciding how much coverage you need and depending on your needs, you might require more coverage than someone else, or less.  As such health insurance is more complicated than you might think but is easy to work out what is right for you if you obtain quotes and review them. 

Some might limit your coverage to emergency visits, or simply office visits and so some health insurance policies cover only "necessary" coverage and could exclude "extra" services such as laboratory services, x-rays, MRIs, CT scans, and visits to specialists. Compare the coverage you wish to receive with the limitations and extents of the insurance quotes you receive.