Heart Surgery Cover
Comprehensive insurance that's just a heartbeat away

If you or someone you love has a dodgy ticker, it always pays to be covered for cardiac treatment. Read on to find out more about heart surgery and the different procedures available.

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What are cardiac specialists and heart procedures?

Cardiac specialists diagnose and treat conditions such as heart attacks, coronary artery disease, heart arrhythmia, valvular disease and endocarditis (infection of the heart's valves or inner lining). Heart procedures include medical or surgical treatments such as artery bypass grafts, coronary angioplasty, heart transplants, stent insertions, pacemakers and defibrillators.

Which HIF Hospital policies cover heart procedures?

We have a range of options to choose from which also include inpatient heart and vascular systems treatment, accommodation and theatre fees, plus benefits towards your anaestetist and treating doctors’ fees. View our full Hospital cover comparison table for more.

Do hospital waiting periods apply?

Whether we’re answering your call, or helping you switch from another health fund, we don’t like to keep people waiting. But unfortunately waiting periods (the time you have to wait before you can claim for treatment) are a necessity. We wouldn't be able to offer our affordable premiums and generous benefits without them.

Waiting periods exist so we can protect our members against people who simply join us, claim large amounts and then leave. But we always try to keep waiting periods to an absolute minimum. That’s why, if you join us from another health fund, we’ll take your previous membership into account, so you won’t have to re-serve waiting periods on an equivalent level or lower level of health cover.

For HIF Hospital cover, the waiting periods are as follows:

2 months: General hospitalisation
2 months: Psychiatric care, rehabilitation & palliative care (regardless of whether it's pre-existing or not)
12 months: All pregnancy and birth related services
12 months: Pre-existing conditions or ailments

Will a pre-existing condition affect my cover?

The Pre-Existing Condition waiting period applies to new members and existing members who upgrade their policy to access higher-level benefits. The test applied under the law relies on the presence of signs or symptoms of the illness, ailment or condition, not on a diagnosis (i.e. it’s not necessary for the member or their doctor to know what their condition is or for it to be diagnosed).

In forming an opinion about whether or not an illness is a pre-existing condition, an HIF-appointed medical practitioner will take into account information provided by the member’s treating doctor.

A pre-existing condition is defined as: ‘Any ailment, illness, or condition where, in the opinion of a medical adviser appointed by the health insurer, the signs or symptoms of that illness, ailment or condition existed at any time in the period of six months ending on the day on which the person became insured under the policy.’