Health and Medical Insurance

From our experience most people don't get value from the 'dollar swap' insurance policies, where you pay a premium to cover yourself for doctors visits, pharmaceutical costs, opticians or dental costs, but you may be the exception.

Most of our clients choose to put in place Major Medical and Specialist insurance cover.  This pays for the big bills - if you have to go into hospital to have surgery, and don't want to wait for a long time on the public waiting list, or if you want to have a colonoscopy or MRI without waiting for months, to make sure that there is nothing wrong with you (hopefully!).

There is a big difference in the quality of health or medical insurance cover, and the quality is continuing changing.  There is a big difference in the quality of health and medical insurance cover, and that quality continues to change over time. Policy wording, benefit limits and exclusions matter, particularly when you actually need to claim. 

Many people choose policies that include cover for Non-Pharmac approved drugs and have guaranteed policy wording that cannot be changed unilaterally by the insurer. These features can make a material difference to both treatment options and certainty of cover over time.

It is important to choose a good policy at the outset. Once a condition has arisen, it is generally treated as pre-existing, which can make it difficult to change insurers. That condition may not be covered by a new policy, but should continue to be covered under your existing one.

ou can reduce the cost of health insurance by choosing an excess. A higher excess generally lowers the premium, but you need to be comfortable funding that excess yourself if you claim.

The cost of health insurance tends to increase with age, particularly from around age 65. Deciding whether to retain health insurance in retirement, or to self-fund medical costs, is an important part of retirement planning.

Employer-provided health insurance is one of the most commonly valued employee benefits in New Zealand. These policies often allow family members to be included and may cover some pre-existing conditions, depending on the scheme design.