HCF health insurance review

HCF picked up two accolades in the 2024 Finder Health Insurance Awards but its complaint record could be better.

4.0 ★★★★★ (146 reviews) Write a review

Our verdict

Pros

  • If you're looking for Gold standard hospital cover, HCF's policy is one of the cheapest.
  • HCF's Bronze Plus policy is cheaper than average, at around $91 a month.
  • HCF Bronze Hospital policy was a winner and Standard Silver Plus policy was highly commended in Finder's 2024 Health Insurance Awards.

Cons

  • If you're just looking for cheap cover, Frank, ahm and Bupa all offer lower-cost hospital cover.
  • HCF had a sub-standard complaints record in the last financial year.
  • There's no Basic hospital policy available. The lowest level of cover is Basic Plus.

HCF health insurance

HCF has a range of health insurance policies available. Remember, the best health insurance for you will depend on a range of factors so it can be beneficial to compare many options.

Name Product AUFHI-NEW Treatments Price Apply Hide Compare
HCF logo
  • Rehabilitation
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Dental surgery
  • Hernia and appendix
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Pain management
  • Gynaecology
  • Lung and chest
  • +9 other treatments covered
$78.78
per month
All treatments
HCF logo
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Ear nose and throat
  • Blood
  • Back neck and spine
  • Dental surgery
  • Eye excluding cataracts
  • Cancer
  • Lung and chest
  • +18 other treatments covered
$91.11
per month
All treatments
HCF HOSPITAL STANDARD SILVER PLUS
Silver Plus$750 excess
HCF logo
  • Lung and chest
  • Back neck and spine
  • Cataracts
  • Joint replacements
  • Blood
  • Dental surgery
  • Palliative care
  • Pregnancy and birth
  • +24 other treatments covered
$114.03
per month
All treatments
HCF logo
  • Lung and chest
  • Back neck and spine
  • Cataracts
  • Joint replacements
  • Blood
  • Dental surgery
  • Palliative care
  • Pregnancy and birth
  • +26 other treatments covered
$174.38
per month
All treatments
HCF logo
  • Cataracts
  • Joint replacements
  • Palliative care
  • Pregnancy and birth
  • Sleep studies
  • Weight loss surgery
  • Rehabilitation
  • Insulin pumps
  • +30 other treatments covered
$245.63
per month
All treatments
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Name Product AUFHI-NEW Treatments Price Apply Hide Compare
HCF AMBULANCE ONLY
Extras cover
HCF logo
  • General dental
  • Major dental
  • Optical
  • Physiotherapy
  • Chiropractic
  • Psychology
  • Remedial massage
  • Hearing aids
$4.98
per month
All treatments
HCF STARTER EXTRAS
Extras cover
HCF logo
  • General dental
  • Major dental
  • Optical
  • Physiotherapy
  • Chiropractic
  • Psychology
  • Remedial massage
  • Hearing aids
  • +1 other treatments covered
$13.16
per month
All treatments
HCF logo
  • General dental
  • Major dental
  • Optical
  • Physiotherapy
  • Chiropractic
  • Psychology
  • Remedial massage
  • Hearing aids
  • +1 other treatments covered
$17.42
per month
All treatments
HCF FLEX MY EXTRAS
Extras cover
HCF logo
  • General dental
  • Major dental
  • Optical
  • Physiotherapy
  • Chiropractic
  • Psychology
  • Remedial massage
  • Hearing aids
  • +1 other treatments covered
$29.33
per month
All treatments
HCF MID EXTRAS
Extras cover
HCF logo
  • General dental
  • Major dental
  • Optical
  • Physiotherapy
  • Chiropractic
  • Psychology
  • Remedial massage
  • Hearing aids
  • +2 other treatments covered
$35.06
per month
All treatments
HCF VITAL EXTRAS
Extras cover
HCF logo
  • General dental
  • Major dental
  • Optical
  • Physiotherapy
  • Chiropractic
  • Psychology
  • Remedial massage
  • Hearing aids
  • +6 other treatments covered
$61.86
per month
All treatments
HCF TOP EXTRAS
Extras cover
HCF logo
  • General dental
  • Major dental
  • Optical
  • Physiotherapy
  • Chiropractic
  • Psychology
  • Remedial massage
  • Hearing aids
  • +6 other treatments covered
$82.33
per month
All treatments
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Name Product AUFHI-NEW Treatments Price Apply Hide Compare
HCF MY FUTURE 750 BASIC PLUS
Basic Plus$750 excess
HCF logo
Hospital
  • Rehabilitation
  • Joint reconstructions
  • Dental surgery
  • Hernia and appendix
  • +7 other treatments covered
Extras
  • General dental
  • Major dental
  • Optical
  • Hearing aids
  • +6 other treatments covered
$101.14
per month
All treatments
HCF logo
Hospital
  • Lung and chest
  • Back neck and spine
  • Cataracts
  • Joint replacements
  • +28 other treatments covered
Extras
  • General dental
  • Major dental
  • Optical
  • Hearing aids
  • +7 other treatments covered
$207.70
per month
All treatments
HCF logo
Hospital
  • Lung and chest
  • Back neck and spine
  • Cataracts
  • Joint replacements
  • +28 other treatments covered
Extras
  • General dental
  • Major dental
  • Optical
  • Hearing aids
  • +10 other treatments covered
$232.06
per month
All treatments
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What do Australians think of HCF health insurance?

  • 4.35/5 overall for Customer Satisfaction — higher than the average of 4.13
  • 4.73/5 for Trust — higher than the average of 4.46
  • 4.24/5 for Customer Service — higher than the average of 4.17

Based on HCF health insurance scores in Finder's 2024 Customer Satisfaction Awards.

How to make a claim

There are lots of ways to claim on your HCF policy, including:

  • On the spot - Use your membership card to claim at your service provider.
  • Online - Use the online member services portal or the My Membership app.
  • In person - Visit a HCF branch to claim in-store.
  • By post - Send a completed claim form and receipts to HCF, GPO Box 4242, Sydney, NSW, 2001.

Complaints info

HCF has a sub-standard complaints record. In the last financial year, it claimed 12.5% of market share but accounted for 13.5% of private health insurance complaints lodged to the Commonwealth Ombudsman. This means it received a higher-than-average share of complaints.

Finder Awards badge

Congratulations, HCF!

HCF received the following awards in the 2024 Product Awards and the 2024 Customer Satisfaction Awards:

  • 'Health Insurance - Bronze Hospital' - Winner
  • 'Health Insurance - Silver Hospital' - Highly Commended
  • Health Insurance - Top Value Brand (Winner)
  • Health Insurance - Loved Brand (Highly Commended)
  • Health Insurance - Trusted Brand (Highly Commended)
  • Health Insurance - Quality Service Brand (Highly Commended)
Tim Bennett's headshot

"I've had HCF ambulance cover for years now, and it's given me the peace of mind that I need. There's nothing worse than having to worry about the cost of an ambulance when you need it."

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Nicola Middlemiss's headshot
Senior writer

Nicola Middlemiss is a contributing writer at Finder, with a special interest in personal finance and insurance. Formerly a business and finance journalist, Nicola has written thousands of articles helping Australians better understand insurance and grow their personal wealth. She has contributed to a wide range of publications, including Domain, the Educator, Financy, Fundraising and Philanthropy, Insurance Business, MoneyMag, Mortgage Professional, Yahoo Finance, Your Investment Property, and Wealth Professional. Nicola has a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Leeds. See full bio

Nicola's expertise
Nicola has written 240 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Personal finance
  • Personal insurance, including car, health, home, life, pet and travel insurance
  • Commercial business insurance

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