Can health insurance waive waiting periods?

Yes, there are 2 cases in which health insurers sometimes waive waiting periods: If you already have a hospital policy and you're switching to a similar level of cover with another fund. As a sign-up incentive, some insurers let you skip waiting periods for extras treatments such as dental, chiro and optical.

Can you use health insurance straight away?

You cannot typically use hospital insurance straight away. You will need to wait 2 months before you can claim. If you're seeking treatment related to a pre-existing condition, you will need to wait 12 months. However, some extras (out of hospital) policies let you claim straight away.

Can I get dental insurance with no waiting period?

Yes. You can skip waiting periods for general dental with ahm. It has a $500 annual general dental limit with no waiting period and 2 no-gap check-ups. Remember: You may be able to get no waiting period dental with more funds if you take advantage of sign-up deals or offers. Check them out here.

Is it possible to get pregnancy waiting periods waived?

Pregnancy and childbirth hospital services come with a 12-month waiting period. The only way to get this waiting period waived is if you've already served it with another health fund. Be aware though. Even if you've been with a fund for years, it won't count that time unless you've held a policy that covers childbirth. So, if you have a bronze-level hospital policy for 10 years and upgrade to gold so you're covered for childbirth, you'll still have to wait another 12 months before you can claim. This means you should lock in gold-level cover before you start trying to have a baby. Otherwise, you won't be able to take advantage of those benefits. However, there are some pregnancy benefits you may be able to access without serving a 12-month waiting period – but only out-of-hospital services. Some extras policies include benefits for prenatal and postnatal services, such as birthing classes, lactation consultants and visits from a registered midwife.

Can I switch funds without losing my waiting periods?

Yes. Even if you switch funds halfway through a waiting period, you won't start from scratch for treatments you've already served. That means if you serve 6 months with 1 fund, you'll only have to serve 6 months with another in order to earn your 12-month waiting period.

What happens if I have a break in cover?

If you have a small break in cover, you won't necessarily lose your served waiting periods. However, this break can usually only be a couple of weeks or months at most – after that, you'll have to serve the waiting periods again.

Is a qualifying period the same as a waiting period?

Yes. Both refer to the amount of time you need to wait before health insurance benefits become available.

Which health insurance has the shortest waiting period?

Health insurance for hospital cover always has a waiting period of at least 2 months. Health insurance for extras cover is the only type of health insurance with flexibility around waiting periods. ahm's extras policies have a range of services that are available without a waiting period. These include common needs like general dental and optical.