What will a 5% rise in health insurance premiums look like?
Check our full roundup of how fees are likely to change.
Since the deadline for private health insurers to submit their premium increases closed on 16 January, we've been playing the waiting game for the announcement for exactly how much more we will be paying for our health insurance in 2017.
All indications point to an industry average increase of roughly 5%, which would be the lowest increase in the last seven years. But what does that mean for your hip pocket?
Last year we did an analysis of policies offered by providers and worked the average cost of each funds combined, hospital and extras policies for a single person. While these figures are from 2016 and only averages, the chart displays how much the average policy would cost with each fund if premiums were to rise by 5% across the board.
These figures are averages and will vary depending on the level of cover you have and the state in which you live.
The average policy costs $3,947.46 per year, which if premiums were to rise by 5% in April, would go up to $4,144.83. This means that if you paid your premiums upfront you could save yourself $197.37.
For hospital, the average price would jump from $4,885.19 to $5,129.45, an increase of $244.26. Paying your extras premiums up front could save you on average $123.87, as the price of a policy would jump from $2,477.37 to $2,601.23.
Unfortunately, if you are looking to switch to save some money, you will need to pay your entire premium for the year up front to lock in that price. If you choose to pay month-to-month, the rate change will change your premiums come April.
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