Anyone taken up the current 100k Assure Sign on Bonus

[benjy]

I signed up exactly 60 days ago and 25,000 points (on a lower premium) posted right on time, it's a miracle!

 

[WeeWillyWonka]

I see the bonus 100,000 points offer is back. To those who have churned, or were thinking about it since you last posted, do you have any comments and/or experiences to share? Any words of advice?

 

[benjy]

Not available to existing Qantas Assure, nib, AAMI, Apia or Suncorp customers, or to previous policyholders who have joined and cancelled 6 months before or during the offer period.

Based on my previous post above I guess it counts me out...

 

[Deleted member]

I seriously looked into the income protection insurance, but as it turned out it just didn't match the benefits of our existing policy. I was really disappointed, love the idea of getting points for paying insurance!

If one path are still offering QFF points. Their policies are quite good

 

[get me outta here]

Has anyone with the Doctors Health Fund done the switch? Latest Offer arrived today. I have never even thought to consider this before, but could be a good earner. I just need to be sure when to switch back. Is it 3 months that the points are coming in now? The "up to", 120K points", is a red flag.

In FY17, Qantas Assure was Australia’s fastest growing private health insurance brand when compared with the registered private health funds>. Switch before 6 April 2018 and grab hold of our biggest offer yet: up to 120,000 Qantas Points*.

On top of the great benefits that come with our Hospital and Extras cover, Qantas Assure rewards you with Qantas Points for joining, paying your premium and being active.

It’s your turn to be rewarded. Get a quote online or call 13 49 60 to make the switch to Qantas Assure Health Insurance.

With premiums rising, it's time to do a health check

Qantas Assure Health Insurance customers will receive an average premium increase of just 0.48% from 1 April 2018. Australian private health funds will increase premiums by an average of 3.95%^. Which means Qantas Assure will have a lower average premium increase than all 37 private health funds.

 

[odysseus]

Has anyone with the Doctors Health Fund done the switch? Latest Offer arrived today. I have never even thought to consider this before, but could be a good earner. I just need to be sure when to switch back. Is it 3 months that the points are coming in now? The "up to", 120K points", is a red flag.

I looked through from a separate notice.

The points are credited monthly after first month, up to 9 months. So you need to stay a member til at least month 9.

Also the 120k points applies if you take out top medical, and separate extras. Lower grade hospital policies pay out lower amounts at a fairly proportional rate.

 

[get me outta here]

Thanks @odysseus for that info. I may have come at 3 months, but not 9+ months.

 

[bwhouse]

I looked through from a separate notice.

The points are credited monthly after first month, up to 9 months. So you need to stay a member til at least month 9.

Also the 120k points applies if you take out top medical, and separate extras. Lower grade hospital policies pay out lower amounts at a fairly proportional rate.

Where did you see 9 months? The T&Cs on the home page say 60 days. I am once again considering this, I chickened out last time as I am on quite a good older plan with HCF, but 120k is very tempting.

"QFF members who purchase a Qantas Assure (QA) Health Insurance policy between 12/2/18 and 11:59pm AEST on 6/4/18 will earn up to 120,000 sign on Qantas Points. 120,000 is the maximum number of sign on Qantas Points that can be earned upon purchase of Top Hospital combined with any Extras Cover for Couples, Single Parents or Families. Each QA Health Insurance policy has a maximum number of points that can be earned upon purchase, which can be found here. Points will only be awarded to the primary policyholder after the policy has been held for 60 continuous days and will be based on the level of cover held at that time."

 

[odysseus]

Where did you see 9 months? The T&Cs on the home page say 60 days. I am once again considering this, I chickened out last time as I am on quite a good older plan with HCF, but 120k is very tempting.

"QFF members who purchase a Qantas Assure (QA) Health Insurance policy between 12/2/18 and 11:59pm AEST on 6/4/18 will earn up to 120,000 sign on Qantas Points. 120,000 is the maximum number of sign on Qantas Points that can be earned upon purchase of Top Hospital combined with any Extras Cover for Couples, Single Parents or Families. Each QA Health Insurance policy has a maximum number of points that can be earned upon purchase, which can be found here. Points will only be awarded to the primary policyholder after the policy has been held for 60 continuous days and will be based on the level of cover held at that time."

Thanks bwhouse, and mea culpa @get me outta here - I accidentally scrolled down to the next section on reading through, and picked up the 9 months from the Life Protection section instead.

Looks like it may be worthwhile reconsidering.

 

[Jack_OC]

I see the bonus 100,000 points offer is back. To those who have churned, or were thinking about it since you last posted, do you have any comments and/or experiences to share? Any words of advice?

So I've just experienced the first challenge as a result of churning. I left Qantas Assure a few months ago, then went to BUPA to get the Velocity bonus, and then changed again once I got the initial instalment of bonus points from BUPA after 3 months (I wasn't willing to pay inflated premiums for 12 months to get the remainder of the Velocity bonus). As there were no further points offers available I then switched to another fund.

Anyway, I just got new glasses and tried to claim, but got knocked back as I haven't met the 6 month waiting period. I phoned to explain that I have held relevant insurance for years without a break, so I should definitely be covered. The agent said they only recognise waiting periods served with the fund you are switching from, not periods served with funds before that. I said I'm pretty sure that's incorrect, and got put on hold for ages. It ended up with me being asked to submit a manual claim form along with clearance certificates for my previous two funds, and they "will see" what they can do.

I'll report back if/when resolved, but for now be warned that churning could result in a bit of hassle when claiming, and potentially even make you ineligible to claim for certain services for a period of time (although I'm still pretty confident that is not the case).

 

[Pushka]

I

So I've just experienced the first challenge as a result of churning. I left Qantas Assure a few months ago, then went to BUPA to get the Velocity bonus, and then changed again once I got the initial instalment of bonus points from BUPA after 3 months (I wasn't willing to pay inflated premiums for 12 months to get the remainder of the Velocity bonus). As there were no further points offers available I then switched to another fund.

Anyway, I just got new glasses and tried to claim, but got knocked back as I haven't met the 6 month waiting period. I phoned to explain that I have held relevant insurance for years without a break, so I should definitely be covered. The agent said they only recognise waiting periods served with the fund you are switching from, not periods served with funds before that. I said I'm pretty sure that's incorrect, and got put on hold for ages. It ended up with me being asked to submit a manual claim form along with clearance certificates for my previous two funds, and they "will see" what they can do.

I'll report back if/when resolved, but for now be warned that churning could result in a bit of hassle when claiming, and potentially even make you ineligible to claim for certain services for a period of time (although I'm still pretty confident that is not the case).

I’ve just moved from BUPA to assure but did not qualify for 100,000 points just 60,000 I think. Just took out Hospital. Ive been with BUPA for a long time. And I was still antsy I’d get all the qualifying issues right.

I don’t think points are worth enough to me to risk not qualifying for a claim especially if a very large one so this is one issue I’d never try churning.

 

[rock86]

So I've just experienced the first challenge as a result of churning. I left Qantas Assure a few months ago, then went to BUPA to get the Velocity bonus, and then changed again once I got the initial instalment of bonus points from BUPA after 3 months (I wasn't willing to pay inflated premiums for 12 months to get the remainder of the Velocity bonus). As there were no further points offers available I then switched to another fund.

Anyway, I just got new glasses and tried to claim, but got knocked back as I haven't met the 6 month waiting period. I phoned to explain that I have held relevant insurance for years without a break, so I should definitely be covered. The agent said they only recognise waiting periods served with the fund you are switching from, not periods served with funds before that. I said I'm pretty sure that's incorrect, and got put on hold for ages. It ended up with me being asked to submit a manual claim form along with clearance certificates for my previous two funds, and they "will see" what they can do.

I'll report back if/when resolved, but for now be warned that churning could result in a bit of hassle when claiming, and potentially even make you ineligible to claim for certain services for a period of time (although I'm still pretty confident that is not the case).

I completely agree with you.

Everything that I have read is that you only have to have held the same (or higher) level of cover for waiting periods to be waived when transferring to a new insurer - it has never said anything about you have to hold it with a single insurer. If you get knocked back I'd be going to the ombudsmen about it.

 

[rock86]

This is from the ombudsmen website.

If you transfer from one health insurer to another without a break in cover, you do not need to re-serve hospital waiting periods you have previously completed. However, if you are adding or upgrading your hospital cover, you do need to complete waiting periods for the new or upgraded items.

But it would seem Extra's cover isn't governed by the same law as hospital cover.

If you transfer from one health insurer to another, most health insurers will not require you to re-serve many waiting periods again. However, loyalty limits and accrued benefits don’t necessarily transfer between insurers so check with the individual insurer. Holding a general treatment (extras) policy does not count towards waiting periods for a hospital policy.

I'd suggest in your case to read the extra's policy T&C's.

 

[Jack_OC]

I

I’ve just moved from BUPA to assure but did not qualify for 100,000 points just 60,000 I think. Just took out Hospital. Ive been with BUPA for a long time. And I was still antsy I’d get all the qualifying issues right.

I don’t think points are worth enough to me to risk not qualifying for a claim especially if a very large one so this is one issue I’d never try churning.

I know where you're coming from, but bear in mind that most extras are subject to a waiting period of just 2 months, and you have to stay with Qantas Assure or BUPA for at least 3 months to get bonus points, so churners would at least meet those 2 month waiting periods when moving on.

Longer waiting periods only apply to major dental, optical and a few things I would never expect to use (e.g. various monitors, pumps and appliances). With my policy, the limits on most of those services are very low ($100-300). Major dental is the only exception, at $1,500 per year.

Clearly I wouldn't be happy if I missed out on $1,500. However, to provide context, in the past year I have collected >170,000 points by churning, and those points are easily worth more than $1,500.

This is from the ombudsmen website.


But it would seem Extra's cover isn't governed by the same law as hospital cover.


I'd suggest in your case to read the extra's policy T&C's.

Thanks - very useful. The website states that "Waiting periods apply to: ....... Members who transfer from another health fund who have not fully served the required waiting and/or benefit limitation period for equivalent benefits". I think that means I'm ok.

 

[Pushka]

I know where you're coming from, but bear in mind that most extras are subject to a waiting period of just 2 months, and you have to stay with Qantas Assure or BUPA for at least 3 months to get bonus points, so churners would at least meet those 2 month waiting periods when moving on.

Longer waiting periods only apply to major dental, optical and a few things I would never expect to use (e.g. various monitors, pumps and appliances). With my policy, the limits on most of those services are very low ($100-300). Major dental is the only exception, at $1,500 per year.

Clearly I wouldn't be happy if I missed out on $1,500. However, to provide context, in the past year I have collected >170,000 points by churning, and those points are easily worth more than $1,500.




Thanks - very useful. The website states that "Waiting periods apply to: ....... Members who transfer from another health fund who have not fully served the required waiting and/or benefit limitation period for equivalent benefits". I think that means I'm ok.

Sure, its all part of your risk profile. I'm old enough to have seen where health stuff can go down the toilet unexpectedly and very quickly.

 

[Jack_OC]

Sure, its all part of your risk profile. I'm old enough to have seen where health stuff can go down the toilet unexpectedly and very quickly.

It certainly can, but my point is simply that you won't be able to claim a large amount on most extras policies even if your health does go down the toliet!

Anyway, clearly it's a personal decision, but for what it's worth, hospital cover is far more likely to pay out large amounts than extras cover.

 

[ozflier]

It certainly can, but my point is simply that you won't be able to claim a large amount on most extras policies even if your health does go down the toliet!

Anyway, clearly it's a personal decision, but for what it's worth, hospital cover is far more likely to pay out large amounts than extras cover.

I currently have an Assure policy and am considering transferring to another provider with a lower coverage.
Does Assure offer a QFF bonus if i continue my policy - it might make the difference for me.

 

[Awesom Andy]

For those who have done this before (or switched in general), if I decide to switch to Assure, would I need to contact the current insurer to cancel my current policy or will Assure looks after everything?

 

[Pushka]

For those who have done this before (or switched in general), if I decide to switch to Assure, would I need to contact the current insurer to cancel my current policy or will Assure looks after everything?

Theoretically Assure (and all other companies) do all the notifications. They have to contact them anyway to check on waiting periods etc.

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

I’ve recently been doing a bit of comparative research on Health cover as I’m sick of MediBank Private (sorry, bad pun...).
Given the points earning potential I naturally included the Assure product in the list.
The Assure product is an NIB policy under the QF branding.
Being of a certain age... I use APIA for some of my insurance needs. It turns out that the APIA Health product is also a rebranded NIB policy.
For our family circumstances (couple with student dependant, top hospital, top extras), the Assure & APIA PDS docs looked exactly the same (other than branding & a few slightly shuffled tables) - unless I missed something, but I don’t think that I did.
BUT... the Assure price quote was about $1500 a year higher than the APIA price quote!

In the end I went with Defence Health as I preferred their policy & price. But for anyone looking at taking out the Assure product, it may be worth your while shopping around a bit to see what your ‘free points’ are really costing you...

I’m not a lawyer, or a financial specialist, or an insurance professional, (or anything really). This is not advice (except to the extent that it often pays to shop around). Look right & left before you cross the road. Don’t run with scissors. Etc.