Unpacking singles health insurance
Are you single and ready to mingle with affordable singles health cover?
Today’s your lucky day. At Frank, we believe that cheap health insurance for singles should be simple, accessible, and suited to your needs. It’s the reason we exist.
There’s a cheap singles cover to suit you
Accident Boost Hospital (Basic) & Easy Extras
- Dental
- Physiotherapy
- Remedial Massage
- 100% back on Optical
- Emergency Ambulance Cover
- Upgraded cover in the event of an accident
- Private Emergency Department Attendance Benefit
Bronze Plus Hospital (Bronze+) & Everyday Extras
- Major Dental
- 100% back on Optical
- Health Maintenance
- Emergency Ambulance Cover
- Back, neck and spine
- Lung & Chest
Silver Hospital (Silver) & More Extras
- Major Dental & Orthodontics
- 100% back on Optical
- Health Maintenance
- Podiatry
- Emergency Ambulance Cover
- Heart and vascular system
- Implantation of hearing devices
* The price shown is per week and applies to a Single, aged 30, living in VIC. It excludes LHC loading and includes a Base Tier Government Rebate
| Extras services (when included on cover) |
|---|
| All extras benefits except as specified below. Waiting Period: 2 Months |
| Optical, home and domestic aids and medical aids. Waiting Period: 6 months |
| Major dental services (including full & partial dentures, orthodontics, crown & bridgework, endodontic services such as root canal, gold fillings, indirect restorations, surgical extractions of a tooth/teeth including wisdom teeth). Waiting Period: 12 Months |
| Health appliances including nebuliser pump, blood glucose monitor, pressure garments, sleep apnoea monitor, extremity pump, hearing aids, orthopaedic appliances (GMHBA approved), prostheses (GMHBA approved non-surgical), tens monitor, podiatry surgical procedures and orthotic appliances (foot). Waiting Period: 12 Months |
| Hospital services (when included on cover) |
|---|
| Accidents - bodily injuries resulting from accidents which occur after the date of joining GMHBA or upgrading to a higher cover. Waiting Period: No |
| Obstetrics and maternity. Waiting Period: 12 months |
| Pre-existing ailment, illness or condition (other than psychiatric, rehabilitation and palliative care). Waiting Period: 12 months |
| Any other benefit for hospital (or hospital substitution) treatment. Waiting Period: 2 months |
A pre-existing condition is one where signs or symptoms of your ailment, illness or condition, in the opinion of a medical practitioner appointed by GMHBA (not your own doctor), existed at any time during the six months preceding the day on which you purchased your hospital insurance or upgraded to a higher level of hospital cover and/or benefit entitlement.
A special waiting period applies to obtain benefits for hospital treatment for new members who have pre-existing conditions. The waiting period also applies to existing members who have recently upgraded their level of hospital cover. If the ailment, illness or condition is considered pre-existing:
New members
New members must wait 12 months for any hospital benefits (other than psychiatric, rehabilitation and palliative care).
Existing members (transferring or upgrading)
Members transferring/upgrading to a higher hospital cover must wait 12 months to get the higher hospital benefits (other than psychiatric, rehabilitation and palliative care).
Existing members (with at least 12 months membership)
Existing members with at least 12 months membership in total across their old and new cover are entitled to the lower benefits on their old cover.
Silver Hospital cover provides the same single room coverage as Gold Hospital, but co-payments of $100 per day up to a maximum of $700 per admission apply. Co-payments are not the same as hospital excess. Please note: Some private hospitals only have single rooms and co-payments will apply.
Co-payments do not apply.
Do I need hospital or extras cover?
Hospital cover
Waiting in a long public queue is the last thing you want to do when you need elective hospital treatment. We are fortunate in Australia to have a great public hospital system, but having private hospital cover gives you another option – to be covered as a private patient in a private hospital instead.
When looking at health insurance, think about any future medical needs you may have, and make sure they’re covered in your policy. For example, if you're thinking about starting a family and want to give birth in a private hospital and claim it on private health insurance, there is a 12-month waiting period for pregnancy and birth services if you need to upgrade your level of cover or are new to private health insurance. If you have a family history of heart disease, you might want coverage that includes heart-related services. It's key to ask the right questions when comparing different policies, and make sure that the policy fits with your individual health needs, lifestyle and budget.
Extras cover
When it comes to extras, cheap health insurance for singles doesn't mean settling for bad coverage. There's plenty of health cover options for singles, which means you’ve got plenty of choice.
Extras offer benefits for treatments and services outside of hospitals, such as dental, physiotherapy, chiropractic care, and optical. Frank's extras range makes it easy for you to choose between getting the same fixed benefit amount – or a set percentage – back each visit, up to your annual limits. We recommend doing your homework to understand which treatments are covered by each of our extras policies, as well as the relevant waiting periods.
Once you’ve done that, look at the annual limits and try and work out what treatments you think you’ll use the most. From all this, you should be able to figure out which of our extras cover suits you best.
The benefits of singles health cover
Super flexible
As a single, you have the flexibility to choose health insurance just to suit yourself. Do you want to get new glasses every year? No worries. Don’t need a high level of hospital cover? You can get cover for only the level that you need. Frank has a wide range of hospital only, extras only, or combined covers to suit your health needs and your budget.
Affordable hospital premiums
Frank’s Entry Hospital (Basic+) cover starts at just $19.35* per week. That means you get a basic level of hospital cover for the cost of about four cups of coffee (or maybe one plate of smashed avo). As a single, you can obviously scale this higher if you’re keen, from Bronze+ to Silver or even Gold.
*Price based on Single, aged under 31, living in VIC and earning $97,000 or less, base tier Australian Government Rebate. Excludes any applicable LHC loading. Prices and displayed products can change if details vary. Price correct as of 1 April 2024.
Extras! Extras!
Our Freedom Flexi-Bundles (combined hospital and extras cover) feature one flexible limit on included extras services each year, and the longer you stay with us, the more you can claim. You get an extra $50 to spend on your freedom limit each full calendar year, with a maximum of $200 after 4 years of continual cover.
We also have a range of extras-only cover, if you decide you don’t need hospital protection. You can choose between fixed benefits or percentage back (for example, with Lots Extras 50% Back, Frank pays 50% back from what your provider charges, up to your annual limits).
Frank benefits
As a Frank member, you get access to a range of extras benefits. Depending on your policy, these can range from cheap optical, to dental savings, to telehealth consultations.
If you’re under 30 and taking out hospital cover, you could be eligible for the age-based discount as well.
Hassle-free claims
Health insurance can be a pain – and jumping through hoops to claim doesn’t help. But with Frank, you can manage your health cover through our free app. Check your cover, make extras claims, or order a new member card. Easy peasy.
How to pick the right singles health cover
Health insurance doesn’t have to drain your wallet. When it comes to health insurance for singles, value means different things to different people, and simply going for the cheapest policy may not actually give the best bang for your buck.
The trick is to choose the singles policy that suits both your needs and your budget.
Ask yourself a bunch of questions first:
- What are your health needs – now and down the track?
- What’s your lifestyle like?
- What do you want to get out of having private health insurance?
- How soon do you need to use the cover?
Once you have the above in mind, if you’re looking at hospital and extras cover, consider waiting periods, excess, annual limits, hospital inclusions and exclusions, out-of-pocket expenses, and also dive into the details of the treatments on offer. This will give you a head-start in finding real value.
The cost of health insurance for singles in Australia
How much does singles health cover cost? The price of singles health insurance will depend on your level of cover, as well as extras like optical, dental and physio. The price will vary depending on what you need. You can compare the cost of all our singles health cover by getting a quote online.
While previous health issues (known as pre-existing conditions) may impact the waiting period required before you're able to claim on your cover, it does not affect the price of the cover itself. Private health insurance in Australia cannot discriminate against members based on health status, age or claims history. This is called Community Rating and is a requirement of the Australian Government.
Premiums for singles
Your singles health insurance premium is the ongoing cost to have private health insurance. You can pay weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, six-monthly or annually by direct debit. It’s up to you. There may be other costs involved, in addition to your regular premium. Which brings us to…
Explaining out-of-pocket expenses
Out-of-pocket costs can occur in a few ways:
- For hospital cover, the excess on your hospital policy has to be paid upfront prior to admission. There could also be costs for additional services like partner meals or phone calls, or for outpatient services (when you’re not admitted into hospital) that aren’t covered by private health insurance, such as pathology or the cost of any pharmacy items you're given when leaving hospital. Learn more about hospital out of pocket costs.
- Medical gap fees are another possible expense. Medicare pays 75% of the scheduled Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) fee for services in hospital and your health insurer pays the remaining 25%. If your specialist charges more than 100% of the MBS fee, you’ll end up with a gap fee to pay.
- For extras cover, an out-of-pocket cost simply means you will pay the difference between benefits paid out from your Frank extras cover and what the provider charges for the service.
How the level of cover affects the cost
In general, when it comes to private health cover, the more you pay, the more you’re covered for. This works across both hospital cover and extras cover. Different levels of cover come with substantially different costs. For example, Frank’s Bronze+ cover starts at just $23.65* per week, but top-tier Gold hospital will set you back $63.25* per week.
*Price based on Single, aged under 31, living in VIC and earning $97,000 or less, base tier Australian Government Rebate. Excludes any applicable LHC loading. Prices and displayed products can change if details vary. Price correct as of 1 April 2024.
How to find cheap singles health insurance
You can find a suitable policy by browsing Frank’s health insurance cover or by giving us a call to chat through your options. We’ll help you find the right level of cover for your needs, so you’re not paying a higher premium than necessary.
What’s my age again?
For many of us, pushing past 30 can sometimes mean we need more use of health services. There's a bunch of tax incentives and penalty factors that apply to hospital cover only.
The government created the Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading, which results in a 2% penalty loading on top of your hospital premium for every year that you don't hold hospital cover after 1 July following your 31st birthday (this is capped at 70%). Learn more about the LHC.
The good news is that the Australian Government wants as many people as possible to take out private health insurance to reduce strain on the public system. They offer a rebate for taking out cover – this applies to hospital, extras and combined hospital and extras covers.
Insurance for singles under 30
Still under 30 and enjoying the warm glow of youth? You could be eligible for an age-based discount on your hospital cover.
Happy members, happy health fund
Want to know what people are saying about Frank’s single health cover? You won’t find any smoke and mirrors here - you can read the reviews directly from our members on ProductReview.com.au
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to get couples insurance, or two singles policies?
If you want to consolidate things onto the one policy, you can always upgrade to couples cover.
You also need to factor in things like the Australian Government rebate on private health insurance, the Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading and Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) on hospital cover. Combining your two policies into one is certainly easier for life admin.
If you and/or your partner are aged 18-29, you could be eligible to receive a discount on your hospital cover called the age-based discount. When you’re on a couples or family policy (excluding dependants), the discount percentage is averaged out across the policy.
Alternatively, if you want to be on two different levels of cover, it might make more sense to stick with singles health cover. Always seek professional financial advice if you’re unsure.
When do I need to leave my family’s insurance policy?
With Frank, children (also known as dependants) are automatically covered on their family cover until they turn 21, regardless of their employment or study status. From 21, you can stay on your family policy if you’re studying full-time or completing an apprenticeship or traineeship. If you’re not studying full-time, however, you would need to take out your own policy. The maximum age a dependant can remain on a Frank policy is 25. Learn more about dependants.
Do I need singles health insurance after 30?
That’s up to you! Remember, for every year you don’t have hospital cover after you turn 31, you’ll pay an additional 2% on your premiums under the government’s Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading. Depending on how much you earn, you may also have to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge.
If you’re unsure if this applies to you, it’s always a good idea to speak to a financial professional first. These factors mean that it’s generally a good idea to get hospital cover before you turn 31 (and hang onto your cover).
Do I need hospital cover, or just extras?
That’s a choice that comes down to your health needs, and how often you think you might need in-hospital treatment. Remember though, to avoid the LHC loading, and the Medicare Levy Surcharge, you’ll need either hospital cover on its own or combined hospital and extras cover. Extras only policies won’t exempt you from these penalties.
Get one month free* when you join on combined cover by January 15*
*For new members who have not been a member during the last 12 months, joining on combined hospital and extras cover, paying by direct debit. Must pay first month to receive one month free. Offer only available via Frank website or phone joins. Not available with any other offer or Frank OVHC. Offer ends 15 January 2025.
