Authority at Bupa

What is Authority?

Authority is when one person gives another person permission to act on their behalf, within a specific range of responsibilities that is based on the type of authority that has been granted.

What is an Authorised Person?

An authorised person is someone who has been granted permission to act on behalf of another person, for the purpose of managing their health insurance policy or personal information held by Bupa. They must be aged 18 or over, but they don’t need to be covered on the same policy or be a Bupa customer.

At Bupa we have different types of authority, each allowing different access to the information we hold about you. One or multiple types of authority can be granted to someone. It’s your privacy, it’s your choice.

Policy Authority

What is Policy Authority?

The policyholder is the person responsible for the administration and maintenance of a health insurance policy.  They can choose to give another person authority to act on their behalf.  Policy Authority grants another person access to information relating to the health insurance policy, including the level of cover and people covered by the policy.

Who can grant Policy Authority?

Only the policyholder can grant Policy Authority to another person.

Who can Policy Authority be granted to?

Policy Authority can be granted to any person aged 18 or over, including another person on the same policy or someone who is not a Bupa customer.

What access does Policy Authority provide?

Policy information that can be accessed with Policy Authority includes:

Your options for Policy Authority

There are three levels of Policy Authority that can be granted.  Each level offers varying degrees of access.  This provides our customers maximum flexibility when it comes to their privacy and controlling what an authorised person can discuss and do.

Policy: Discuss

A person with Discuss authority can discuss policy related information.  They cannot make changes to the policy and cannot cancel the policy.

Policy: Change

A person with Change authority can discuss and make changes to policy related information.  They cannot cancel the policy.

Policy: Change & Cancel

A person with Change & Cancel authority can discuss and make changes to policy related information, including cancel the policy.

How do I grant Policy Authority?

To grant Policy Authority to someone you can either complete this form or contact us.

Person Authority

What is Person Authority?

Person Authority grants someone access to the personal information of an individual person covered by the policy.  It does not grant access to information relating to the health insurance policy overall or other people covered by the policy.  A person can only grant Person Authority to their own personal information.

Important: Claims Authority and access to a person’s claims information is separate to Person Authority.

Who can grant Person Authority?

Person Authority can be granted by a policyholder, a spouse, or a dependant aged 18 and over.

Who can Person Authority be granted to?

Person Authority can be granted to any person aged 18 or over, including another person on the same policy or someone who is not a Bupa customer.

What access does Person Authority provide?

Personal information that can be accessed with Person Authority includes:

Your options for Person Authority

There are two levels of Person Authority that can be granted.  Each level offers varying degrees of access.  This provides our customers maximum flexibility when it comes to their privacy and controlling what an authorised person can discuss and do.

Person: Discuss

A person with Discuss authority can discuss the personal information related to the individual.  They cannot make changes to the individual’s personal information.

Person: Change

A person with Change authority can discuss and make changes to the personal information related to the individual.  They cannot remove the individual from the policy.

How do I grant Person Authority?

To grant Person Authority to someone you can either complete this form or contact us.

Claims Authority

What is Claims Authority?

Claims Authority is the option to grant or restrict the policyholder’s access to your claims information.

Who can grant or restrict access to their claims information?

For customers aged 18 and over, we won’t discuss your claims information with anyone but you unless you grant Claims Authority to the policyholder.

For customers aged 15 to 17, your claims information can be discussed with the policyholder until you request otherwise.

Who can Claims Authority be granted to?

Claims Authority can only be granted to the policyholder.

What access does Claims Authority provide?

Claims information includes any form of communication (written or verbal) about a person’s health insurance claim.  This can include:

• Details of the service or treatment provided;
• When it was provided;
• By whom; and
• The related costs.

Your options for Claims Authority

There are two options when it comes to Claims Authority.

Option 1: Claims information to the policyholder

This option means all information relating to your claims can be discussed with and sent to the policyholder.

Option 2: Claims information to you directly

For customers aged 15 and over, this option means all information relating to your claims can only be discussed with and sent to you directly.

How do I grant Claims Authority?

To grant or restrict the policyholder’s access to your claims information you can either complete this form or contact us.

Temporary Admin Authority

What is Temporary Admin Authority?

A person can request to have Temporary Admin Authority when they are setting up a health insurance policy on behalf of someone else.  This allows them to provide and update the information required to set up the new policy.  Their authority will automatically end either 30 days after the policy is set up or on the policy start date, whichever is later.

The Temporary Admin Authority holder can cancel the policy for overseas visitors and overseas students, if relevant documents are provided.

Who can request Temporary Admin Authority?

Any person aged 18 or over who will not be covered by the policy, including someone who is not a Bupa customer.

What access does Temporary Admin Authority provide?

Policy information and personal information of the policyholder that can be accessed with Temporary Admin Authority includes:

How do I request Temporary Admin Authority?

A person who is setting up a policy on behalf of someone else can request to have Temporary Admin Authority.  This authority will automatically end either 30 days after the policy is set up or on the policy start date, whichever is later.