If you switch to us from another fund we recommend you keep your cover with your old fund until the date you transfer to us. This way you will have continuous cover which if you hold hospital cover, means you can avoid paying the Medicare Levy Surcharge and also avoid using up any of the 1,094 permitted days you can be without hospital cover during your lifetime. Also, if you already have an LHC loading, it will move with you.

No, the LHC loading doesn't apply to people born on or before 1 July 1934. There are also special rules that apply to people who fall under a LHC exemption category. For more information please refer to the Department of Health and Ageing website.

The loading generally applies if you don’t have hospital cover on the 1 July following your 31st birthday. This means for every year you don’t have hospital cover, you’ll pay a 2% loading on top of a base rate on your premium (or on your share of a couple or family premium) up to a maximum loading of 70%. The loading applies only to hospital cover or the hospital component of your cover – not to extras covers. Any loading that applies to your premium will be removed after you’ve held hospital cover continuously for 10 years. However, the loading may be reapplied if you then cease to hold a hospital cover and subsequently take it up again.