Adding newborns FAQ
A new baby is a bundle of joy, but we also know they don't keep office hours, so we've answered some of the most common questions about covering your little one and made it easy to get them covered using myBupa.
Will my baby have waiting periods?
If you're already on a family or single parent policy, or a couples policy which can also cover children, you can add your baby within 12-months of their date of birth and we'll make sure they're covered from their date of birth, with no waiting periods.
If you're on a singles cover, or a couples policy which doesn't offer cover for children, you have 90 days from your baby's date of birth to add them without waiting periods. We'll backdate any changes to your policy to include them from their date of birth. If you contact us after 90 days, we'll add them from the day you contact us, and normal waiting periods will apply.
Will adding my baby increase my premiums?
If you're already on a family or single parent policy, adding a newborn baby to your policy won't increase your premiums. If you're on a couples policy which is available for families, adding a baby to your policy only changes your premiums if you're on Overseas Visitors or Student policy.
If you're adding a baby to any singles policy, or an overseas visitor or student couples policy, or you have to change your level of cover to include your baby, this will increase your premiums.
If there’s any backdated changes in your cover to include your baby from their date of birth, any premium changes will also be backdated.
Can my level of cover include children?
Most levels of cover we offer are available for all family types.
The levels of cover we offer for singles and couples only are:
- Basic Plus Active Saver
- Simple Start Basic Plus
- Basic Plus Young Singles Saver/Young Couples Saver
- Bronze Plus Young Singles Choice/Young Couples Choice
- Choices Basic Plus
- HealthSmart Silver Plus
- Silver Plus Prime
If you hold one of these levels of cover, you'll need to change to one which can include children. If you do this within 90 days of your baby's date of birth, we'll backdate the change to ensure they're covered without waiting periods. Any increase in premiums will also be backdated.
However, if you contact us after 90 days, we'll change your cover and add your baby from the date you contact us, but they'll have to serve standard waiting periods starting from that date. Please contact us as soon as possible so we can help you find the right cover for your family.
Adding people to your policy FAQ
Will my partner or dependant have waiting periods?
It depends on what cover they've held previously. If they've been covered under another Bupa policy, you'll need to let us know their previous policy number so we can carry across any waiting periods already served. If they were covered with another health fund, we'll need a copy of their clearance certificate to honour their previous cover. If the level of cover they move to is higher than their previous cover waiting periods apply to any new services or higher limits and benefits. They can access their previous entitlements until these are served.
If your partner has been without cover for more than 60 days before they're added to your policy, we won't be able to recognise the waiting periods they served on their previous policy.
Please contact us if you need to confirm what waiting periods apply for the people you're adding to your policy, or before commencing any treatment.
Will adding my partner or dependants increase my premiums?
Adding people to your policy will increase your premiums if it changes from:
- single to any other family type.
- single parent to couple, family, family plus, or single parent plus.
- couple to family (OVC/ OSHC only).
- couple or family to family plus.
Can I add people to my level of cover?
Most levels of cover we offer are available for all family types.
The levels of cover we offer for singles and couples only are:
- Basic Plus Active Saver
- Simple Start Basic Plus
- Basic Plus Young Singles Saver/Young Couples Saver
- Bronze Plus Young Singles Choice/Young Couples Choice
- Choices Basic Plus
- HealthSmart Silver Plus
- Silver Plus Prime
If you hold one of these policies you’ll need to change your cover to add dependant children (or a partner, if you hold Basic Plus Active Saver) to your policy. Please contact us so we can help you find the right policy for your family.
How to add your partner, newborn or dependant to your cover with myBupa
You'll need to be either the policyholder or have online authority for the policy to add people using myBupa. You can't use myBupa to add people to your policy if you're on an overseas visitor or student policy, or if your premiums are paid by payroll deduction. You also won't be able to add a baby if your level of cover only offers single or couple-only policies.
If you can't use myBupa to add people to your policy, please contact us and we'll make all the changes for you.
