Download annual review We're making some changes, here's why and how Our members' needs have evolved and we need to keep pace. Right now, we’re focusing on three core areas of our business. Affordability While rising healthcare costs continue to drive up premiums, internally, we’ve been making changes that will help us keep future premium increases to a minimum. AFFORDABILITY Reducing our operating costs Today our expenses are lower thanks to savings from ending sponsorships, closing branches where member demand had fallen, and internal restructuring to create a flatter, more efficient management structure. AFFORDABILITY Ending agreements with brokers We saved money by ending our arrangements with comparison sites like iSelect and Compare the Market, which involved paying high commissions to gain new members. Over the past 5 years, HBF has had the lowest average premium increase of any of Australia’s major funds. We are committed to keeping future increases to a minimum. Warren Linnell, General Manager Finance AFFORDABILITY Branching out at head office We’ve saved money by relocating our Perth City branch into our head office. We also plan to lease three floors of our head office premises to provide income that we’ll use to further reduce our operating costs and the pressure on members' premiums. changes-closures AFFORDABILITY Product changes We’ve made changes to our hospital products, ensuring higher cost procedures are only covered on higher level products where they don’t push up premiums for everyone. We are also making changes to our extras products, which include reducing limits and benefits on some services and increasing benefits on other popular services. Of the premiums we receive, we give more back as benefits than any other major health fund. In 2017, for every dollar we received in premiums, we delivered over 91 cents back in benefits. John Van Der Wielen, CEO Simplicity We know that health insurance is still too confusing. We’re making changes to make it easier for people to understand our products, what they are covered for, and choose the health cover that’s right for them. health-cover-made-easy-01 SIMPLICITY Health cover. Made easy We’re reducing the total number of health insurance products we offer, making them simpler to compare and understand. This change will make it easier for members to move between products as their needs change. SIMPLICITY Gold, Silver, Bronze & Basic We’re renaming and changing products in line with Government reforms that come into effect in April 2019. These changes will make it easier for Australians to understand what's included in their health insurance when comparing products of different health insurers. SIMPLICITY Redesigning Member Plus We are introducing a new Member Plus Dental Arrangement, which will deliver more choice of dentists and better Preventative Dental benefits. From 1st Jan 2019, you will get the same amount of money back when you claim regardless of whether you see a Member Plus or Non-Member Plus dentist. Learn more about these changes We will continue to be a force for good in the broader community. We've raised over $9,000,000 in nine years for WA charities. Alex Weir, Head of Sponsorship and Community Engagement Member service As a not-for-profit health fund, members are at the heart of our business. That’s why we’ve made a conscious decision to focus more on looking after our existing members than acquiring new ones. MEMBER SERVICE Quality cover over incentives We've stopped offering short term incentives to attract new members. While this is a common practice in health insurance we believe the quality of our insurance speaks for itself. We'll continue to evolve our HBF Momentum member benefits program to provide offers and discounts that reward our existing members. Explore our Momentum Rewards Program MEMBER SERVICE Improving member experience We’ve placed more people into our Perth-based Member Contact Centre so we can answer members’ calls more quickly. This has helped us dramatically reduce call wait times. To improve our face-to-face experience, we opened a new Perth city branch at HBF head office in July. Since we started in 1941, members have been the core of our business. Opening our new Perth branch alongside our first female employee and lifelong member, Eldred Klemm, was a great reminder of that promise. Selina Duncalf, General Manager Member Experience MEMBER SERVICE Focus on our digital services We're working to improve the service we provide through digital channels too - improving services like webchat and making it easier for members to claim, find providers and manage their policies. Register for myHBF We're changing how we operate, who we are remains the same © 2021 Copyright HBF Health Limited - (ABN) 11 126 884 786 and its subsidiaries. Terms of use Privacy policy