Find out exactly how to switch health insurance and get a better policy for your needs. Plus, tips on avoiding gaps in your cover ahead of the switching process.
Switching health funds is easy, fast and can save you hundreds over the years you hold cover.
Any waiting periods already served will transfer over to your new fund with you.
You can benefit from sign-up offers – like gift vouchers and free weeks' of cover – without impacting your continuity of insurance.
One of the easiest ways to save money on your private health insurance is to switch to a better value policy. Health insurers tend to offer their best deals to new customers, with promotions ranging from weeks free to cashback, waived waiting periods - or even an exclusive Finder Reward. According to recent Finder research, only 16% regularly switch their health insurance to get the best value out of their cover, despite how easy and painless it is to switch.
If you are thinking about switching your health cover, here's everything you need to know.
How does health insurance switching work?
In Australia, hospital insurance is portable, which means you can easily move between health funds. Portability is guaranteed by the federal government for hospital policies, but not for extras policies.
This means hospital policies are super easy to switch, and your already-served waiting periods will transfer across. For extras, while transferring waiting periods is not guaranteed, most health funds will apply the same rules, so you'll probably have your waiting periods transferred across if you're moving to equivalent cover.
How do you switch health insurance?
1
Compare health policies
Find a new policy that offers the same or better cover, for less money. Comparing takes a little time, but we can help. You can start looking for the best health insurance for you if you scroll down.
2
Sign up online
Sign up for the new policy. You don't need to contact your current insurer; you new provider will handle all the back-end admin for you.
3
Check your account statement
About a month after switching, check your account to make sure your payments for the old policy have been cancelled. Then you're all set!
Pros and cons of switching health insurance
Switching health insurance isn't totally risk free. Whether it's worth switching health insurance will depend on your current policy, your location and your health needs. Here are a few pros and cons to consider.
Switching pros
Get a better policy. There are thousands of health policies to choose from, but they're loosely categorised into Basic, Bronze, Silver and Gold to make comparing easy.
Save money. You might be able to save money with a different fund – even if the policy inclusions are exactly the same. According to Finder research, 58% of Australians consider price the most important factor when deciding on a health insurance provider.
Sign-up offers. You'll be a new customer to your new fund, so you're eligible for sign-up deals like 12 weeks free cover, or a visa gift card.
No need to wait. If you've already served waiting periods for equivalent cover, you won't need to re-serve them – hospital waiting periods are legally required to be transferred over.
Switching cons
Changing cover levels. If you switch to lower policy, that could leave you without cover for something you need.
Extras waiting periods. While the government requires health funds to honour already served hospital waiting periods, extras vary by fund and may not transfer.
Losing a policy that's no longer available. If you switch from a grandfathered policy that's not available anymore, you won't be able to get it back.
Loyalty benefits. If you have any loyalty benefits with your current fund, you'll lose access to them.
Sign-up deals for switching health insurance
One of the best things about switching health insurance providers is that you may be eligible for some sweet sign-up deals! As long as you're a new customer to the new provider, any sign-up deal should apply to you. Here are a few live deals from Finder partners.
FINDER REWARDS EXCLUSIVE
Health Insurance - Hospital & Extras
ENDS SOON
Get $500 from Finder
Join HBF with eligible Hospital & Extras cover via Finder and earn a $500 digital Visa card. Eligible new members may also receive up to 14 weeks free on eligible Hospital & Extras policies from HBF. Offer ends on or before 30 June 2026.
T&Cs and eligibility apply.
Join HBF with eligible hospital cover via Finder and earn a $200 digital Visa card. Eligible new members may also receive 6 weeks free on eligible hospital-only policies from HBF. Offer ends on or before 30 June 2026.
T&Cs and eligibility apply.
Join Medibank with eligible combined hospital and extras cover via the Finder Comparison Service during the Promotion Period: 14 May 2026 – 30 Jun 2026.
T&Cs and limits apply.
Join Medibank with eligible hospital-only cover via the Finder Comparison Service during the Promotion Period: 17 Jun 2026 – 30 Jun 2026.
T&Cs and limits apply.
Join Medibank with eligible extras-only cover via the Finder Comparison Service during the Promotion Period: 17 Jun 2026 – 30 Jun 2026. Excludes Healthy Living Extras when sold as a standalone product.
T&Cs and limits apply.
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If you're not happy with your current health insurance, you have two options: switching to a different policy under a new brand or having a look at other policies available from your health fund.
Switching to a different policy with your health fund
In some cases, you may find there is another policy that's cheaper and fits your needs better. It's also going to be less admin to stick with the same provider, which is a plus.
However, if you change policies with the same provider, the cons of switching health funds still apply. For instance, if you go to a higher level of cover, you'll need to re-serve waiting periods and you may lose a grandfathered plan. You also won't get access to sign-up offers that you would if you switched to a new provider.
Switching to a new health insurer
If you are interested in switching health insurers completely, it's important to be aware of the waiting period rules when joining a new policy. Whether or not you will be subject to reserving waiting periods depends on two factors: the level of cover you're switching to and length of your break from cover.
For Australians looking to switch health insurers but maintain the same level of cover, you generally don't need to reserve the waiting period, as it will be recognised by your new insurer. Depending on where you're at with your cover, you may just need to serve the remainder if applicable.
If your previous cover has lapsed and you switch to a new policy within 30 - 60 days, you may be able to skip waiting periods. Extended breaks in cover can trigger the Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading, which may impact how soon you can use your benefits. However, it's recommended to check with your new insurer, as each provider has its own "break in cover" criteria.
Customers looking to upgrade their cover (like switching from a silver policy to a gold one), will be expected to serve out the waiting period for the "upgraded' services.
Waiting periods when switching health funds
Waiting periods are treated slightly differently for hospital and extras cover. Let's go through them both:
Hospital waiting periods
Hospital is guaranteed portable, so waiting periods you've already served will transfer across. However, if you increasing your hospital tier, you'll need to serve waiting periods for your new treatment categories. Those waiting periods will be 2 months for most categories, or 12 months for child birth or pre-existing conditions.
For example, if your new policy covers pregnancy but your old one didn't, you'll have to wait 12 months.
Extras waiting periods
The portability guarantee does not apply to extras. That means your new insurer has the right to make you wait again. This doesn't happen very often though. Health funds want you to switch to them, so most of them will honour your previously served waiting periods when you're switching to equivalent cover.
To make sure you have consistent coverage, it's a good idea to call any prospective health fund ahead of time, to see if they'll honour your previous waiting periods.
Maintaining Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) status in Australia — what is it and what do I need to do?
The Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) is an Australian Government initiative designed to encourage people to take out private hospital cover earlier in life and maintain it over time. It directly affects how much you pay for your private health insurance premiums.
LHC applies to hospital cover only (not extras). If you take out eligible private hospital cover before 1 July following your 31st birthday, you lock in a 0% LHC loading. This means you avoid paying any additional premium purely based on your age when you joined.
If you join after this date, a loading of 2% is added to your hospital premium for every year you are over 30 when you first take out cover. This loading can increase your premium by up to 70%.
Are breaks in cover allowed?
Yes. You are allowed a total of 1,094 days (approximately 3 years) of cumulative breaks in hospital cover over your lifetime without affecting your LHC status. This includes time spent overseas or periods where you choose not to hold hospital cover. If you exceed this allowance, LHC loadings may apply when you take cover again.
How long do LHC loadings last?
If a loading does apply, it's not forever. Once you have held eligible hospital cover for 10 continuous years, the LHC loading is removed.
Once you have eligible hospital cover, maintaining your LHC status simply means keeping continuous cover. If you cancel your hospital cover or drop to a policy that doesn't meet LHC requirements, you may lose your protected status and risk having the loading applied (or increased) when you rejoin.
What do I need to do to avoid the LHC?
Take out eligible private hospital cover before 1 July following your 31st birthday (if you haven't already)
Keep your hospital cover active to avoid unnecessary loadings
Be mindful of extended breaks in cover
Check that any policy changes you make still meet LHC requirements
Why switch health funds?
"When I was switching health funds, my main motivation was to save money. I have access to some great public hospitals near me, including a $2bn university hospital, so I have health hospital cover for absolute worst-case scenarios and to save money on tax. I made sure I compared apples with apples and switched to a fund with the lowest premiums I could find."
A lot of people will review their health insurance because they're planning on having a baby. This is as good a time as any to make sure you're on the right policy, but you do have to time it right.
If you're planning a baby you'll need health insurance that covers child birth at least 12 months ahead of time. Pregnancy has a longer than normal waiting period, so make sure you switch with enough time. If it's already too late, you'll need to give birth in the public system.
If you've just had a baby you'll probably want to switch to a family policy to cover your newborn. You don't need to do this until they're born, but you should do it as soon as you can after that. If you're on a couples policy, you can upgrade to a family policy. If you're on a single policy, you can upgrade to a single-parent policy. And yeah, you can do this with your current health fund, or use it as an opportunity to switch.
If you're done having babies then you might want to consider switching to a lower tier hospital policy that doesn't cover child birth. If you can find a policy that covers everything you still need without including child birth or IVF, then you'll probably save money. Just make sure you're definitely done having kids!
No, you generally do not need to contact your old insurer when you switch health insurance providers in Australia. Your new health fund will typically handle all the administrative tasks including cancelling your old policy.
It is generally not advisable to switch health insurance if you are currently undergoing medical treatment, as your new policy may not cover pre-existing conditions or ongoing treatments immediately. New underwriting terms would likely apply, meaning previous conditions may not be covered.
No, switching health insurance providers will not affect your Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading in Australia, provided you maintain continuous hospital cover. Your LHC loading is tied to your individual health insurance history, not a specific insurer.
No, there are generally no fees charged by Australian health funds specifically for switching policies. However, some insurers may have early exit or cancellation fees if you cancel a policy mid-year so it is advisable to check with your current provider.
Switching health insurance providers is most often a quick and painless process. You can use our health insurance quiz to compare health funds that align with your needs. The actual transfer of your policy and administration is handled by your new insurer and typically takes a few weeks to finalise, during which time your cover remains continuous.
To switch health insurance, you will typically need details of your current policy such as your existing health fund, membership number and the level of cover you have. Having an idea of your health needs and budget will also assist in finding a suitable new policy.
Yes, but portability rules still apply. If your old and your new policies both include pregnancy cover, you'll receive credit for any waiting periods you've already served (and will need to serve the remainder if necessary). If your old policy didn't include pregnancy cover and your new one does, you'll have to start from scratch. The waiting period for child birth is 12 months.
If your life circumstances call for a downgrade in coverage, by all means switch. Just make sure you keep enough cover to avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge, who don't have enough private health insurance.
Your portability guarantee lasts for 7 days, so don't wait too long or you risk having to re-serve all your waiting periods. Any gaps in your cover can also affect your Lifetime Health Cover, a loading that you go without health insurance. After 1,094 non-consecutive days without health insurance, your loading will start over again.
The whole point of portability is to give you the freedom to switch insurers whenever you want. That means there is no such thing as being "locked in". It's possible to negotiate a discount in return for paying your entire annual premium in one up-front sum. If you've done that with your old insurer, they are obligated to refund any unused premium when you switch, but you may have to pay back any discount you received.
The best time to switch is when your life circumstances require it or you haven't reviewed your current policy for a while. However, health insurers often offer sign up incentives throughout the year so it's always worth and offers that may be available. It's also worth reviewing your price rise every April 1 to see if you're still getting value for money from your current policy.
Sources
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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by
Angus Kidman
as part of our
fact-checking process.
A seasoned journalist with over 10 years of experience in news, politics and finance reporting, Tim has previously held roles at the ABC, SBS and Fairfax Media. Tim’s expert insights have been quoted in The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and more. He regularly appears on TV and radio, and has been interviewed on 7 News, Sunrise, SBS News, ABC Local, 3AW and 5AA. Tim is passionate about simplifying complex insurance topics for Australian consumers. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Politics) from Macquarie University and a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification, which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146).
If you’re interested in a media interview with Tim, please reach out to our PR team at aupr@finder.com.
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