We might be small, but we’re still making a big difference to Kiwis affected by health issues. In the last financial year, we have helped our clients claim over $480,000 in medical insurance. This was part of the record-breaking $1.454 billion medical claims lodged from March 2017 to March 2018.
Approximately 1.39 million Kiwi’s have health cover, and the number is growing. In 2017 alone, 20,000 people signed up for health insurance—the biggest growth in a decade. As of March 2018, the number of people insured is set to surpass this.
Nearly three-quarters of new people insured fell into the 20-64 age group—the working population. However, the biggest increase was in the 25-39 age group, which saw 11,000 (over half) new policies taken out.
More and more Kiwi’s are opting to get medical insurance policies that include elective surgeries. There has also been a slight increase in the number of policies that also include minor medical cover, such as dental, GP consultations, physiotherapy and glasses and contact lenses.
As a result of the growth in policies that include elective surgery, claims for elective surgery have also surged. At the end of 2017, the total amount claimed sat near $100 million.
“This is a record level of elective surgery which illustrates the sizable and growing contribution private health insurance makes to New Zealand healthcare,” says Geoff Annals, Chairman of Health Funds.
Figures from Sovereign suggest that after elective surgery (and other non-categorised claims), the next biggest claim areas are genito-urinary, sense organ (eyes and ears) and musculoskeletal. Interestingly, more serious health claims, such as cancer and cardiovascular, are the two least-made claims overall. However, if we exclude the 0-39 age groups, the number of these claims jump significantly higher. Cancer in particular, jumps to third in the 40-49 bracket and climbs higher to second in all age brackets above 50.
While we can’t draw concrete conclusions from one set of data, we can confidently say that the number of healthcare policies being taken out in New Zealand is growing.
“Claims are increasing both in volume and size for us and insurance companies,” says BRAVEday’s Claims Manager, Tania Young. “Our biggest claims are musculoskeletal, and we also have a lot of claims in the digestive and genito-urinary systems.”
Every health insurance provider has different rules and benefits that cover surgery, cancer treatment, tests and specialist appointments. To help you see what the major differences are, we’ve created this handy medical insurance comparison chart, so you can make an informed decision about protecting your health.