As of 1 April 2019, insurers can offer people aged 18–29 years discounts of up to 10 per cent of their private health insurance hospital premiums. People will retain that discount until they turn 41, when it will be gradually phased out.

As of 1 April 2019, insurers can offer people aged 18–29 years discounts of up to 10 per cent of their private health insurance hospital premiums. People will retain that discount until they turn 41, when it will be gradually phased out.

The allowable discount is 2 per cent for each year that a person is aged under 30, to a maximum of 10 per cent for 18 to 25 year olds.

The age-based discount does not apply to people aged 18-29 years who are covered as a dependent on a family or single parent policy. A person can either have their own policy and be eligible for an age-based discount, or be covered as a dependent, but not both. 

If a policy offers age-based discounts they are available to both new and existing policy holders.

What if I change policies or insurers?

If you are transferring between policies or insurers, you should ask your insurer if your existing discount will continue to apply to the new product. You should confirm this prior to changing so you know whether your discount is transferred.

Insurers can choose whether their age-based discounted products honour existing age-based discounts when a consumer transfers between discounted products and insurers.

What are the discount rates per age?

If you are on a couple or family policy, your discount is calculated as an average between the individual discount of the two adults. For example, if one person has a 10% discount and the other person has a 6% discount, the total discount applied to the policy is 8%.

* as a transitional arrangement for existing policy holders, their age when their insurer first introduces age-based discounts to their product. For example, a consumer who is 28 on 1 April 2019 could receive a 4 per cent discount, even if they first purchased hospital insurance when they were 26 years old.

How is the discount phased out?

When you turn 41, the discount is reduced by 2%. So if you had an existing 10% discount, this reduces to 8% when you turn 41. For each further year, the discount is reduced by a further 2% until it reaches 0%.