HIF health insurance review

As a not-for-profit brand, HIF is able to offer low premiums across both hospital and extras policies.

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Our verdict

Pros

  • HIF is not-for-profit and member-owned, so premiums are low
  • As Australia's first carbon-neutral health fund, HIF is an eco-friendly option
  • HIF has arranged discounts with major optical brands, so you can get more value

Cons

  • HIF only had one physical branch, in Perth, so not ideal if you prefer in-person service
  • There's no rewards program associated with HIF, like we see with some other brands
  • HIF's complaints history could be better - but it's not the worst

What types of health insurance does HIF offer?

HIF offers a range of health insurance policies. Keep in mind, you should compare a range of providers to help find the best health insurance for your needs.

Get the lowdown on Finder Score

Each month we analyse over 10,000 hospital and extras insurance products and rate each one on price and features. What we end up with is a nice round number out of 10 that helps you compare products a bit faster.

Before we start scoring, we need to make sure we're comparing like-for-like. Just as it doesn't make sense to compare a toy car with a Porche, it doesn't make sense to compare basic policies to top-tier gold policies. Each policy is given a price score and feature score. These are then combined to determine each policies's Finder Score. Read our full methodologies of how we calculated Finder Score for hospital cover and extras cover.

How to make a claim

For extras benefits, you can claim on the spot using your HIF member card, as long as the healthcare provider has a HICAPS machine. You can also claim online via the member centre, or through the HIF app. You can also claim by mail, including a completed claim form and all the relevant receipts and information, and sending it to HIF, GPO Box X2221, Perth, WA 6000.

For hospital claims, you'll be asked to pay the excess (if applicable) when admitted. From there, any bills will be forwarded to HIF. If this doesn't happen, and you get a bill, post it to HIF, Reply Paid X2221, Perth, WA 6847.

Complaints info

HIF's complaints record could be better. Despite only claiming 0.7% of market share, HIF accounted for 0.9% of all private health insurance complaints received by the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

Green Health Insurer of the Year 2022

As part of the Finder Green Awards, we're delighted to announce HIF as our first ever Green Health Insurer of the Year. HIF should be commended for its strong carbon offsetting program and low overall emissions.

Finder green awards 2021

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Senior writer

Nicola Middlemiss is a contributing writer at Finder, with a special interest in personal finance and insurance. Formerly a business and finance journalist, Nicola has written thousands of articles helping Australians better understand insurance and grow their personal wealth. She has contributed to a wide range of publications, including Domain, the Educator, Financy, Fundraising and Philanthropy, Insurance Business, MoneyMag, Mortgage Professional, Yahoo Finance, Your Investment Property, and Wealth Professional. Nicola has a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Leeds. See full bio

Nicola's expertise
Nicola has written 241 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Personal finance
  • Personal insurance, including car, health, home, life, pet and travel insurance
  • Commercial business insurance

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