iSelect Review - Part Three

By Sandy Naidu | October 1, 2009

If you have missed earlier two posts, here are the links:

Part One Of iSelect Review
Part Two Of iSelect Review

In this post, I am going to review the health insurance comparison features of iSelect. I had written a post on this very same topic a year ago but things have changed a lot since then. And so I decided to revisit the health insurance options from iSelect and write a new detailed review about this topic.

Choosing the right health insurance cover is never easy - there are way too many options and too many insurers. And once we decide on one, keeping up and making the best use of everything we are covered for is never easy.

iSelect really does an excellent job of comparing the various benefits, options, features and recommends a few that best suits your needs and requirements. Since my last year’s visit to this site, the comparison tool has been improved even further.

iSelect’s Health Insurance Comparison Tool

The first step is to select the cover type and membership type. The options under ‘cover type’ are:

Budget Cover
Intermediate benefit cover
Cover to avoid tax and penalties
Overseas visitor centre

‘Cover to avoid tax and penalties’ is the basic cover to avoid medicare levy surcharge. It is the minimum cover you need to avoid paying the surcharge. ‘Overseas visitor centre’ is the health insurance you need when you are traveling. I wish they had a better name for this last cover type, because I think it might confuse a lot of people.

The membership type is where you select a single female, family etc etc.

Step Two is where you select/enter basic information - date of birth, excess etc.

Step Three is selecting your policy preferences (Hospital and Extra Options). It is all laid out in a very easy format - no confusion at all. Every option is in plain English - no jargon.

Step Four is where iSelect displays the results for your review - again clean cut comparison. You can apply right from that page.

Comparing all the cover types is exactly the same process - except for ‘Overseas visitor centre’. For this one, you need to fill in your contact details and an iSelect consultant will get back in touch with you.

Participating Insurers

Here is a list of all participating health insurers:

* ahm
* Australian Unity
* GMF Health
* HCF
* Health Partners
* Latrobe Health Services
* nib
* rthealth
* Teachers Union Health (TUH)

As mentioned in my previous post, I wish the list was longer - but hopefully more insurers will join the result in the near future.

Conclusion

If you are in the market for health insurance, iSelect should definitely be your first step. Easy to use and great place to see what is on offer. You don’t have to always go with what iSelect recommends, you might decide to pick an insurers which is not on their list - but by using iSelect, you get to know what is on offer, what the prices are - you are much more informed.

iSelect is free to use as well - Give it a try and I have a strong feeling that you will be impressed !!!

Do you have any comments about iSelect Insurance…Please share below…

Best,