Health insurance and your relationship status

Flying solo or coupling up? Find out what this means for your health insurance

02 August 2024 4 minute read

Two adults and two kids in the kitchen smiling

Everyone experiences different phases and changes throughout their life, and your relationship status is no exception. These changes come with their own ups and downs and can impact your health insurance options and costs.

So if you’re living your best single life, happily coupled up, or somewhere in between, understanding how your relationship status affects your health insurance is crucial for making informed decisions and ensuring you’re covered no matter what.

Let's start by exploring your policy options for when you’re coupling up, or de-coupling.

When should you consider a couple’s policy?

A couple's health insurance policy can be a straightforward option for you and your partner if you’re aligned on what coverage you need and how much you’re willing to pay for private health cover.

This policy covers two adults, offering you and your partner the same level of protection for the same things. It's ideal for couples who share common goals, financial alignment, and are viewed as 'long-term' partners by health insurance standards, which usually includes married couples and de facto relationships.

A de facto relationship is one where a couple lives together , opens in a new tabin a marriage-like relationship. The definition can vary depending on the state or territory. But generally, it involves factors such as the duration of the relationship, the nature of the relationship, the degree of financial dependence or interdependence and property ownership.

For those of us who aren’t big fans of personal admin, couple’s health insurance may be more convenient than an individual policy. For example, you’ll only have one insurance premium to pay and you’ll only need to manage one policy.

Is it more cost effective to get couples cover?

Switching from singles to couple’s cover could affect the cost of your health insurance. So before you make the change, review your couples cover options to ensure it meets your healthcare needs and fits in with your budget.

Your premium may also be affected by Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) loading, opens in a new tab¹ which is calculated by averaging the total loading of both adults on a couple’s policy. For instance, if Ales has a 40% LHC loading and Kai has a 6% LHC loading, their couple's policy would have a 23% loading.

However, if Ales were to go onto their own policy, they would be paying 40% on top of their regular premium and Kai would be paying 6% on top of their regular premium, meaning it could be more expensive for Ales to have an individual policy in this scenario.

How do I add my partner to my policy?

If you and your partner are on separate policies but both with nib, you can merge them into a single couple's policy.

If your partner is currently with another health fund, we can help you in adding them to your nib policy, opens in a new tab. We honour waiting periods already served with their previous fund. However, if your partner hasn't completed waiting periods on their current policy, they will need to fulfil the remaining time once we merge the policies. Claims your partner or spouse has already made during the current calendar year will be deducted from their annual limits once the policies are merged.

Learn how to add your partner to your policy, opens in a new tab.

What about two singles policies?

While a couple's policy might seem like the obvious choice for some, it's worth comparing the cost and coverage of two singles policies. A couple’s health insurance policy may not be the right choice if you or your partner has different health insurance needs or want to be covered for different services. An alternative may be taking out two policies for singles so you can each tailor your cover to your health needs.

Sometimes, the flexibility and individual cover of separate policies can outweigh the benefits of a joint policy. For instance, if one partner has significant, declared health issues.

Health insurance and separation or divorce

Navigating the aftermath of a relationship can be emotionally challenging. Adding to this, there's the practical complexity of managing administrative tasks, such as transitioning from a couple’s or family health insurance policy. At nib, we’ve tried to make it easy to understand your options and talk to someone about changing your policy when you’re ready.

Can a separated or divorced couple share a policy?

When two partners separate or divorce, they can still stay on the same health insurance policy. Sometimes this may be more cost-effective, especially if they have accumulated LHC loadings.

Choosing the best policy isn't just about price. You might want to take out your own health insurance policy if you want to be covered for different services or have different health needs.

It's important to weigh all factors and choose what works best for your situation. Find out how to compare health insurance to get the most value, opens in a new tab.

How do I remove my ex-partner from my policy?

Removing someone from your health insurance policy requires authorisation from the policyholder. This is one of the safety-nets we have in place to ensure policy changes are only actioned by mutual agreement during a separation.

If you're removing someone from your policy, opens in a new tab, we'll ask for their contact details to inform them of their removal and discuss options for continuing their cover.

When your partner is removed from a couple’s or family policy, they need to contact us, opens in a new tab within 30 days to set up their own policy and backdate it to the removal date. This ensures they keep their coverage and avoid new waiting periods. They will need to pay for the days they were uncovered to keep their coverage continuous.

Need to make changes to your cover? Feel free to give us a call, opens in a new tab or chat, opens in a new tab with our friendly team members online.

What happens to your dependants?

After a couple separates, dependants, opens in a new tab can typically remain on one of their parent's policies until they reach 31. It's important for separated or divorced parents to communicate and coordinate their health insurance arrangements to ensure their children's needs are met.

Can I get a single-parent policy?

When adjusting your health insurance after a separation or divorce, you may wish to explore a single parent family policy, designed for you and your dependants. Contact us, opens in a new tab to discuss whether this option suits your needs. We're here to help you navigate this transition and ensure you find the right health cover for your family.

The bottom line

Your relationship status is just one of many factors to consider when choosing health insurance. Whether you're part of a couple or going solo, the key is to find a policy that provides the right balance of coverage and affordability for your situation.

Explore our range of health cover options for singles, opens in a new tab, couples, opens in a new tab and families, opens in a new tab and get an online quote in minutes, or contact us, opens in a new tab to have a chat.

¹Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) is a Government initiative aimed at encouraging people to take out private hospital cover earlier in life, and maintain it. If you don’t take out private hospital cover before 1 July after you turn 31, you’ll pay a 2% loading on top of your normal hospital premium for each year you don’t have hospital cover (up to a maximum of 70%). The loading applies for 10 years of continuous hospital cover. For every year you put off signing up for hospital cover, another 2% will be added. So if you wait until you’re 40, you’ll pay 20% more than someone on the same cover who joined when they were 31.