If you've missed a payment on your health cover or your premiums in arrears, it's not the end of the world. In lots of cases, if you pay within 2 months of falling behind, your account won't be cancelled.
But there are a few exceptions. We've listed the different arrear conditions below.
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In your fund rules document, you might come across wording similar to this:
A membership (other than a suspended membership) is "in arrears" or in "a period of arrears" whenever the date to which premiums have been paid is earlier than the current date.
So, what does this mean? Membership arrears refers to falling behind on your premium payments for private health insurance cover. In order to take advantage of cover for medical and hospital expenses provided by your private health fund, you’ll need to make regular premium payments to cover the cost of your insurance.
But if you fall behind on your payments, your health fund won’t cover the cost of hospital treatment or ancillary services you receive. And if you’re two months or more behind on premiums, the fund can cancel your policy.
Not only does this mean that you will no longer be able to enjoy the benefits of private health insurance, but also that you may need to serve waiting periods when you rejoin.
| Health fund | Penalties for falling into arrears and conditions for termination | Find out more |
|---|---|---|
 | If your policy is not financial, which means you are in membership arrears or a period of suspension, you won't be able to claim any benefits until you rectify the situation. Approval from HIF management is required to re-activate a membership.
| More info |
 | Benefits are not payable for treatment provided to a member during a period of arrears. A policyholder or principal member may regain an entitlement to benefits for such treatment by paying all outstanding premiums as agreed with ahm, and the minimum amount of advance premiums relevant to the policyholder or principal member.
| More info |
 | If your membership falls into arrears or is suspended, Australian Unity will not pay your claims during that period.
| More info |
 | GMHBA will not pay any benefits while your membership is in arrears or is suspended.
| More info |
 | Claims for goods and services you received during any period where your payment is in arrears, your policy is not financial or your membership is suspended will not be approved.
| More info |
 | If your policy falls into arrears, you and all other persons listed on the policy will be ineligible to lodge claims.
| More info |
 | Transport Health will not cover your claims for goods and services received during any period where your payment is in arrears or your membership is suspended. | More info |
For a full list of health funds and their terms relating to being in arrears, please refer to the table at the end of this article.
It’s your responsibility to ensure that you make your premium payments on time and retain cover in place, so keep the following tips in mind to avoid falling behind:
There are also several steps you can take to manage your policy better and avoid getting in arrears, including:
Another way you can avoid getting in arrears is to take advantage of the many discounts provided by funds. These discounts result in more affordable premiums and can include:
Speak with adviser about your health insurance options
| Health fund | Penalties for falling into arrears and conditions for termination | Find out more |
|---|---|---|
 | Benefits are not payable for treatment provided to a member during a period of arrears. A policyholder or principal member may regain an entitlement to benefits for such treatment by paying all outstanding premiums as agreed with ahm, and the minimum amount of advance premiums relevant to the policyholder or principal member.
| More info |
 | If your membership falls into arrears or is suspended, Australian Unity will not pay your claims during that period.
| More info |
 | If you fail to make your premium payments by the due date your policy will be considered to be in arrears and may render you unable to claim for goods and services during that period.
| More info |
 | If your premium payments fall into arrears CUA reserves the right to suspend your benefit entitlements until you rectify the situation.
| More info |
| GMHBA will not pay any benefits while your membership is in arrears or is suspended.
| More info |
 | To claim benefits your policy must be financial and not in arrears at the time of incurring the expense for the service or treatment.
| More info |
| GU Health | If you fall into arrears and your policy ceases to be financial, your benefit rights may be suspended until you settle your debts.
| More info |
 | If you do not pay your premiums due by the premium due date, HBF will not pay benefits towards any treatment received after the premium due date until the arrears have been cleared and accepted.
| More info |
 | Benefits are not payable for treatment if your contributions are in arrears and do not cover the date(s) you received the treatment.
| More info |
 | If your premiums are overdue and no arrangement has been made with Health Partners, your membership will be considered to of lapsed.
| More info |
| If your policy is not financial, which means you are in membership arrears or a period of suspension, you won't be able to claim any benefits until you rectify the situation. Approval from HIF management is required to re-activate a membership.
| More info |
 | Latrobe Health Services require membership fees to be paid at least one period in advance. Failure to make payments may result in suspension of your ability to make claims.
| More info |
 | Benefits are not payable for treatment provided to you during a period of arrears.
| More info |
 | If your membership contributions are in arrears Mildura Health Fund will suspend your benefit entitlements until they are cleared.
| More info |
 | Benefits are not payable for treatment provided to you during a period of arrears. This rule may be waived depending on your circumstances, so it's advisable to contact onemedifund immediately if you think you will be unable to fulfil your payment obligations.
| More info |
| If your policy falls into arrears, you and all other persons listed on the policy will be ineligible to lodge claims.
| More info |
 | If you are on a monthly, quarterly, half yearly or yearly payment plan and your drawing is returned or dishonoured by your financial institution, Peoplecare will write to you informing you of an alternative deduction date. Weekly and fortnightly payers will have a double deduction taken on their next payment date.
| More info |
 | If your payment contributions are overdue and you have not made any special arrangements with Phoenix Health Fund your membership my lapse.
| More info |
 | Failure to make your membership contributions before the due date will cause your benefit entitlements in your policy to cease until you settle your arrears.
| More info |
| Transport Health will not cover your claims for goods and services received during any period where your payment is in arrears or your membership is suspended. | More info |
 | No benefits will be paid for services rendered to you during the period in which your policy is in arrears. Benefit entitlements will only be restored upon the settling of outstanding payments.
| More info |
 Restricted fund* | Benefits are not payable for treatment provided to you if your policy is in a period of arrears. ACA Health may waive this fund rule at its discretion. If you fall into arrears for a period of two months and pay such arrears before the end of that period you can restore your entitlement to benefits for services rendered during that period.
| More info |
 Restricted fund* | CBHS will not pay any benefits for your claims on goods or services rendered to you during a period in which your membership is in arrears. Your benefit entitlements will be reinstated once you have paid all premiums owing and CBHS has accepted them.
| More info |
 Restricted fund* | Defence Health will suspend your right to benefits if your premium payments fall into arrears.
| More info |
 Restricted fund* | Benefits will be deemed not payable if you are in a period of suspension or when your membership is in arrears.
| More info |
 Restricted fund* | If your payments in arrears for two months your ability to claim benefits may be suspended.
| More info |
 Restricted fund* | If you fail to keep up-to-date with policy payments, your membership will fall into arrears and no benefits will be paid to you or any other persons included in your policy.
| More info |
 Restricted fund* | Unless you are paying by salary deductions, you are obligated to pay all your contributions in advance depending upon your payment schedule. Failure to do this will result in your ability to lodge claims being suspended until the situation is resolved.
| More info |
 Restricted fund* | If you are on a monthly, quarterly, half yearly or yearly payment plan and your drawing is returned or dishonoured by your financial institution, Reserve Bank Health Society will write to you informing you of an alternative deduction date. Weekly and fortnightly payers will have a double deduction taken on their next payment date.
| More info |
 Restricted fund* | Benefits will not be paid for services rendered to you during the period in which your policy is in arrears. Full payment of outstanding contributions will be required for your benefit privileges to be reinstated.
| More info |
 Restricted fund* | In order to lodge claims TUH requires you to be up-to-date with your premium payments. Failure to do so will result in immediate suspension of claiming rights.
| More info |
*Restricted funds only provide cover to members of specific industries, groups and organisations. In some cases family members may also be eligible to join.
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