Dollar Saver Tip #5
Save: $400
Tip overview:
Don't have extras insurance?
That's okay, I don't either (and I'm the senior writer for insurance). If you don't use it regularly and you're relatively healthy, it's often not particularly good value.
Instead, what I do is this. When I reckon I'm due a dental check-up, I take out one of ahm's no waiting period extras policies. In most cases, I opt for the $13 per week lifestyle extras policy and I cancel it 4-6 weeks later, once I've made use of my claims.
This lets me claim benefits for a bunch of services straight away such as general dental, optical, physio and remedial massages.
Did you know?
It's often cheaper to take out hospital and extras cover with 2 separate funds.
Once you've taken out a policy, book a no-gap dental check-up with one of ahm's participating providers – this is usually Pacific Smiles. That way, the check-up won't cost you a penny (so long as you're able to avoid the x-rays).
That's already around $200 worth of savings. If you feel like getting even more value for your money, you could also get:
- $200 towards optical with a new pair of specs
- $31 off a remedial massage
- $42 off physio, chiro or osteo
- $71 off a psychology consultation
That adds up to just over $500 in savings – pretty good value when you consider it's only $13 a week or $56 a month for a policy. You can cancel at any time, so an outlay of just over $100 for 2 months could deliver $500+ in services.
