HOW TO SWITCH WITHOUT LOSING WAITING PERIODS

Portability is the legal right to switch health insurers without re-serving waiting periods for coverage you already had. It's enshrined in federal legislation — insurers cannot refuse to honour it.

How it works in practice:

When you apply with a new insurer, they contact your old insurer to verify:

• Your membership start date
• Which clinical categories (hospital) and services (extras) you were covered for
• How long you've held that coverage
• Whether any waiting periods are still running

For every category or service that was covered on your old policy and is also covered on your new policy, the waiting period is recognised as served. You don't wait again.

Example:

You've held Silver hospital cover with Insurer A for 3 years (all waiting periods served). You switch to Silver hospital cover with Insurer B. Result: all Silver-tier waiting periods are immediately recognised — you can claim from day one on your new policy for all Silver-covered categories.

Example with upgrade:

You've held Bronze hospital cover for 2 years and switch to Gold with a new insurer. Result: waiting periods for the ~17 categories covered on Bronze are recognised. The ~21 additional categories on Gold that weren't on your Bronze policy have new waiting periods — 2 months for general categories, 12 months for major categories and pre-existing conditions.

Element	Transfers?	How	Details
Hospital waiting periods (served)	✅ Yes	Automatic via portability	For categories covered on both old and new policies
Extras waiting periods (served)	✅ Yes	Automatic via portability	For services covered on both old and new policies
LHC loading status	✅ Yes	Based on your continuous cover history	Loading percentage and years served carry over
LHC loading removal progress	✅ Yes	Years counted toward 10-year removal	Continuous cover across insurers counts
Government rebate tier	✅ Yes	Based on your income and age	Not insurer-specific — applies to all policies
Age-based discount (under 30)	✅ Yes	Based on your date of birth	Applies regardless of insurer
Pre-existing condition status	✅ Yes	If condition was already covered and waited on	New insurer can't re-impose waiting for already-covered conditions

Element	Does NOT transfer	What happens
Loyalty benefits/rewards	❌	Insurer-specific programs reset to zero
Accumulated extras limits	❌	New annual limits start fresh from new policy date
Hospital agreements	❌	New insurer's agreement network applies
Excess level selection	❌	You choose a new excess with the new insurer
Specific policy features	❌	Benefits unique to your old policy don't carry over
Insurer-specific programs	❌	Health management, wellness programs reset

Step 1: Compare policies

Use our comparison tool to find equivalent or better policies. Filter by your current tier and coverage type, then compare premiums, hospital agreements, and features.

Key comparison: Check that the new policy covers at least the same clinical categories as your current policy. If it covers the same or more, all your waiting periods transfer. If it covers fewer (downgrade), you lose portability for dropped categories.

Step 2: Check hospital agreements

Before committing, verify the new insurer has agreements with private hospitals near you. This is separate from portability — your waiting periods transfer regardless, but if the new insurer doesn't have agreements with hospitals you'd use, you face gap payments of {{NON_AGREED_GAP_RANGE}} even for covered treatments.

Step 3: Apply with the new insurer

Apply online, by phone, or in person. You'll need:

• Your current insurer name
• Your current policy/membership number
• Your membership start date (approximate is fine — the new insurer verifies)
• Your cover type (single/couple/family)

Step 4: New insurer verifies your history

Your new insurer contacts your old insurer using the industry's electronic transfer system (called "Portability and Clearinghouse"). This is automated and typically takes {{PORTABILITY_VERIFICATION_DAYS}} days. You don't need to do anything during this step.

Step 5: Confirm your start date

Arrange your new policy to start the day after your old one ends. This is critical — a gap in coverage of more than {{MAX_COVER_GAP_DAYS}} days can affect:

• Your LHC loading (gap may reset your continuous cover count)
• Your portability rights (some categories may require re-serving if the gap is too long)

Step 6: Old policy cancelled

Once the transfer is confirmed, your old insurer cancels your policy. Any prepaid premiums beyond your end date are refunded. You don't need to contact your old insurer separately, though you can if you prefer.

Switching and upgrading simultaneously

You can switch insurers and upgrade your tier in one move. Your old tier's waiting periods transfer; new categories have their own waiting periods.

Old policy	New policy	What transfers	What has new waiting periods
Bronze (Insurer A)	Gold (Insurer B)	~17 Bronze categories — claim immediately	~21 additional Gold categories — 2/12 month waits
Silver (Insurer A)	Gold (Insurer B)	~26 Silver categories — claim immediately	~12 additional Gold categories — 2/12 month waits
Gold (Insurer A)	Gold (Insurer B)	All 38 categories — claim immediately	Nothing — full portability
Basic extras (Insurer A)	Top extras (Insurer B)	General dental, optical — claim immediately	Major dental, orthodontics — 12 month waits

Switching and downgrading

If you switch to a lower tier, your waiting periods transfer for all categories on the new, lower-tier policy. You've already served longer than required.

However, if you later upgrade again, categories you downgraded away from will need new waiting periods — your old serving doesn't carry through a downgrade gap.

Switching with a pre-existing condition

If you have a pre-existing condition that's already covered on your current policy (waiting period served), the new insurer must honour that — they cannot re-impose the pre-existing condition waiting period for that category.

If you're switching to add a new category that covers your condition (e.g., upgrading from Bronze to Gold to cover cardiac surgery for a known heart condition), the 12-month pre-existing condition waiting period applies to that new category because it wasn't covered on your old policy.

Switching while pregnant

If your current policy includes pregnancy and birth, and you switch to another policy that also includes pregnancy and birth, your pregnancy coverage transfers without interruption. The new insurer cannot impose a new waiting period for pregnancy if you've already served it.

If your current policy does NOT include pregnancy (e.g., Bronze) and you switch to Gold with a new insurer to add pregnancy, the 12-month pregnancy waiting period applies — same as if you upgraded with your existing insurer.

Switching with a gap in coverage

Maintaining continuous cover is important. A gap of more than {{MAX_COVER_GAP_DAYS}} days between your old policy ending and your new policy starting can:

• Reset your LHC loading progress (you may need to re-serve years toward the 10-year removal)
• Reduce your portability rights (some insurers may require re-serving for categories where the gap occurred)

Arrange your new policy to start the day after your old one ends. If there's an unavoidable gap (e.g., moving overseas temporarily), check the permitted absence rules for LHC.

Extras portability works the same way as hospital portability, but with a few additional considerations:

Annual limits reset: When you switch extras insurers, your annual limits start fresh from your new policy date. This can work in your favour — if you've exhausted your dental limit with your old insurer in October, switching in November gives you a full new dental limit immediately.

Service-level matching: Portability for extras is matched at the service level (dental, optical, physio, etc.), not the policy level. If your old policy included dental and optical, and your new policy also includes dental and optical, those waiting periods transfer regardless of the overall extras level (Basic to Top, etc.).

Sub-limit differences: Your new policy's annual limits and benefit percentages apply from day one — not your old policy's. Even though waiting periods transfer, the dollar amounts you can claim may be higher or lower depending on the new policy.

Portability is a legal right, not an insurer courtesy. Key protections:

• Insurers cannot refuse portability for equivalent coverage categories
• Insurers cannot charge exit fees or cancellation penalties
• Insurers cannot impose new waiting periods for categories already covered and waited on
• Your old insurer cannot delay or obstruct the transfer — the electronic system processes transfers within {{PORTABILITY_VERIFICATION_DAYS}} days
• You can switch as often as you like — there's no minimum tenure requirement
• The Ombudsman investigates portability disputes — if you believe your rights have been breached, contact the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman at no cost

If your new insurer attempts to impose waiting periods for categories you've already served, escalate immediately: first to the insurer's complaints team, then to the Ombudsman if unresolved.