Yes, you can certainly suspend your policy while travelling and we hope you have a great trip!
If you're going overseas for more than two months and less than two years, you can suspend your policy until you return to Australia.
Here's a few reasons why suspending your policy is a smart idea:
- You won't have to re-serve any waiting periods you've already served
- It won't cost you anything to suspend your policy and you won't have to pay a cent towards it while you're not in Australia
- You get to keep your length of membership
- If you're aged 31 and over and already have hospital cover in place, you won't need to worry about incurring or increasing the governments' Lifetime Health Cover Loading.
Please note that different rules apply though depending on your current membership status and whether you're a permanent or temporary resident. Here's everything you need to know about policy suspension for travel purposes:
Terms and conditions apply, please note:
- Your membership must be paid up to your departure date.
- You must have held at least three months continuous membership prior to requesting a suspension for travel purposes.
- The period between two suspension periods that were approved for the same reason shall be no less than 12 months.
- All suspension applications must be lodged on the appropriate form and submitted to HIF no later than 14 days prior to leaving Australia.
- To suspend or reactivate your membership, you must supply documentation as evidence of your travel dates. Accepted documentation includes: electronic/paper itinerary/e-ticket/booking confirmation.
- During the period in which a membership is suspended:
- The member will not be taken into account for the purposes of calculation of premiums
- Benefits are not payable for treatment received by the member, and
- The period does not count for any purpose in relation to the member, including waiting periods.
Important Information:
Are there any tax implications if I suspend my policy whilst overseas? If you are defined as a high income earner by the Australian Taxation Office you may be liable to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS) if you suspend or cancel your private health insurance whilst travelling overseas. We recommend that you contact us to query if the amount of premium you expect to save by suspending your policy so that you can compare this to the possible MLS you may have to pay. You can learn about the MLS on the Australian Taxation Office Website, or speak to your tax consultant or financial advisor.
What do I have to do to reinstate my membership when I come back to Australia? If you submitted an application to suspend your policy you do not have to do anything at all! We will look after all of this for you. Your policy will be automatically reinstated on the date you advise us on your application. Immediate cover will apply from the advised date of return to Australia and contributions will be payable from this date.
What do I do if my return date changes?
Simply contact us to let us know that your return date has changed (we will need a copy of your updated travel documents) and your policy will be reinstated from this date.
Did you know that HIF also offers travel insurance?