nib waives premium increase for members on JobKeeper and JobSeeker

To help support members experiencing ongoing financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, nib has announced it has waived the 2020 premium increase for an additional six months for members receiving the Australian Government’s JobKeeper and JobSeeker assistance.

The waiver will be applied in the form of a one-off credit to cover the cost of the premium increase until 31 March next year, providing nib members with assistance now, when they need it most. It comes on top of the six month premium postponement to all nib members from 1 April this year.

nib Group Executive Australian Residents Health Insurance, Ed Close, said the premium increase waiver is the latest addition to nib’s $45 million member and community support package designed to maintain the health and wellbeing of members during these challenging times.

“We understand people are doing it tough at the moment and especially those who have had their regular income and livelihoods impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope by offering this support, we can provide some financial relief for our members as well as peace of mind knowing they can continue to make their health a priority,” Mr Close said.

“Already, more than 4,000 of our members have indicated they are receiving these Government subsidies and will automatically have the credit applied to their policy. We are also encouraging anyone who has recently started receiving Government assistance to contact us so that we can provide this additional relief,” Mr Close said.

nib has also extended several elements of its COVID-19 member and community support package for an additional six months in recognition of the ongoing need for support.

“At the centre of our efforts have been our members which is why we’ve rolled out a raft of support measures that can be personalised to suit their individual needs,” Mr Close said.

“To date we’ve seen more than 10,000 members access premium relief or suspensions since April this year while 560,000 members now have expanded cover for COVID-19 related treatment at no cost,” he said.

The following elements of the COVID-19 member and community support package, will be extended until 31 March 2021:

• Access to a range of telehealth services, including physiotherapy, psychology, dietetics and more, so our members can continue to keep on top of their health from the comfort and safety of home.

• Expanded cover for COVD-19 related hospital treatment across all levels of cover at no additional cost.

• Extended cover for members with Extras cover to include psychology services up to a limit of $300 at no additional cost.

• $250 frontline healthcare worker rebate for eligible nib members.

Full details of nib’s premium increase waiver, including details on how to apply, can be found at nib.com.au/health-information/member-services/extra-premium-relief. For further details on nib’s COVID-19 member and community support package, visit nib.com.au/covid19