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nib health insurance review
Our verdict: nib has a good value Basic Essential Hospital Plus policy and some comprehensive inclusions on extras coverage. However, most of nib's hospital policies are more expensive than many of its major competitors.
nib's accidental injury benefit gives you access to Gold Hospital cover for 90 days after the accident – not many funds offer this.
"Basic Essential Hospital Plus" is a good value policy, covering 9 treatments from around $88.30 a month. However, Bupa's "Basic Plus Starter Hospital" is cheaper and covers 9 services.
Cons
nib's Bronze, Silver and Gold hospital policies are more expensive than comparable policies from other funds like Medibank and Bupa.
nib received proportionally more complaints than other big health funds including HBF, Bupa and Medibank.
Most of nib's hospital policies aren't among the cheapest on the market, although "Basic Essential Hospital Plus" offers good value. The extras policies that nib offers are more competitively priced, although it lacks a very basic extras policy.
nib is good if:
You want a good value Basic Plus policy that can help you avoid the LHC and MLS.
You want basic extras with decent dental. "Core Extras" gives you 60% back and no annual claim limit on preventative dental from around $37.06 a month.
nib is not great if:
You want the best value Bronze, Silver or Gold hospital policy.
You want a very basic extras policy.
Review by our insurance and innovations editor Gary Ross Hunter.
Depending on your age, you may be eligible for an
aged-based discount. This is used to estimate your
rebate.
Under 65
65 - 69
70 or older
What's your household's taxable income?
This is the combined income you and your spouse earn before tax. It's needed to calculate the correct Australian government rebate.
$93,000 and under
$93,001 to $108,000
$108,001 to $144,000
$144,001 and over
What kind of health insurance do you need?
Combined (Extras + Hospitals)
Extras
Hospital
What level of hospital coverage would you like?
You can change this at any time later.
Legend
Covered
Restricted cover, You may be partially covered for
this category.
Not covered. Optional for insurer to include.
*Prices updated March 2024, in line with Finder's
database of health insurance policies. Prices are based
on a single individual with less than $93,000 income and
living in Sydney with a $750 excess.
What extras cover do you need? (Optional)
Select as many as you want or move to the next step
Preventative & general dental
Major dental & implants
Optical
Physiotherapy
Podiatry
Non-PBS pharmaceuticals
Chiropractic
Emergency ambulance
Remedial massage
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Comparing quotes from 30+ funds...
nib health insurance complaints
We looked at the 2023 Ombudsman health insurance complaints. Here's how nib stacked up:
nib received a slightly higher percentage of total complaints (10.10%) than its market share (9.60%).
nib had proportionally more complaints than several other big health funds, including HBF, Bupa and Medibank.
Why you can trust Finder's health insurance experts
You pay nothing. Finder is free to use. And you pay the same as going direct. No markups, no hidden fees.
You save time. We spend 100s of hours researching health insurance so you can sort the gold from the junk faster.
You can trust us. We say it like it is. We aren't owned by an insurer and our opinions are our own.
nib frequently asked questions
No, nib is not a not-for-profit fund. It is a private fund with private shareholders.
nib offers an age based discount to customers between the ages of 18-29. The amount of discount you receive depends on what age you were on the Discount Assessment Date, which is 1 April 2019 or the date you first took out a policy with nib after 1 April 2019. You'll keep your discount until age 40 at which point it decreases by 2% per year. Here's what your discount will be, based on the age you were on your Discount Assessment date:
18-25: 10% discount
26: 8% discount
27: 6% discount
28: 4% discount
29: 2% discount
There are several options to choose from when you need to make an extras claim with nib:
Swipe your nib card. All you have to do is swipe your nib card when you visit your service provider to claim on the spot.
Claim online. You can use nib Online Claiming 24/7 and claim for extras services by uploading a photo of your receipt. Benefits will be paid into your account within 5 working days.
Claim via the nib app. There are iPhone, iPad and Android apps available so you can claim on the go.
Visit an nib retail centre. You can visit your nearest nib retail centre to lodge a claim in person.
Claim by mail. Download and complete an nib claim form, then mail it and your original receipts to nib health funds, Locked Bag 2010, Newcastle NSW 2300.
nib offers separate health insurance options for overseas students and working visitors.
Gary Ross Hunter was an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian and news.com.au. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 2 General Advice General Insurance certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio
Gary Ross's expertise
Gary Ross has written 725 Finder guides across topics including:
Tim Bennett is a Finder insurance & utilities expert. For over 10 years he's reported on news, politics, finance and other topics as a journalist and radio presenter. Tim's roles have included radio news reader and breakfast at the ABC, news producer for SBS and producer for Fairfax Media. Tim regularly appears as a health insurance expert on programs like Sunrise and SBS news, as well as in the Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and more. See full bio
Tim's expertise
Tim has written 115 Finder guides across topics including:
See if nib's extras only plans provide what you need.
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You pay nothing. Finder is free to use. And you pay the same as going direct. No markups, no hidden fees.
You save time. We spend 100s of hours researching health insurance so you can sort the gold from the junk faster.
You can trust us. We say it like it is. We aren't owned by an insurer and our opinions are our own.