Today (April 01) would have marked the annual premium increase for Bupa customers, but the largest health insurer in Australia has decided to delay the adjustment for six months.
“We recently announced $50 million of financial hardship relief for customers most impacted by the economic fallout of COVID-19,” noted Bupa Australia & New Zealand chief executive Hisham El-Ansary. “We recognise that all our customers are being impacted in some way, and the decision to delay the annual premium increase by six months, provides further relief.
“This will give us all time to draw breath and assess the impact of the suspension of non-urgent elective surgery on hospitalisations, as well as the take-up of newly introduced tele-health services.”
The six-month premium hike freeze applies to all Bupa policyholders, who won’t need to take any action as the company will be updating customer accounts in their systems accordingly.
“Australians are hurting, and we all need to play our part,” stated El-Ansary, who added that applications for financial hardship assistance remain open.
