HCF Health Insurance

We attempted to change to HCF based on a recommendation from iselect….what a nightmare….we were misled, lied to, fobbed off and were so unhappy with their attitude and ethics we cancelled the policy before it started….2 weeks and 5 phone calls later we still being fobbed off, lied to and are still chasing our substantial refund…jumping through… Read more

every hoop imaginable…why, because they are a big corporate and they can…would never ever consider them again

Signed up to HCF then found a better health policy. Tried to cancel within the cooling off period subsequently rang them up to do so. After 15 minute wait spoke to a representative for another five minutes and was grilled as to why I wanted to cancel. Then told I had to speak to someone else in another department. Went through the whole story… Read more

again and was told that HCF had alternate options. I said I had done the research and the alternate fund was better for me. He wouldn’t listen and kept babbling on. After another 10 minutes I finally hung up. After that I received a message stating that as we had not gone through the whole procedure my membership would remain unchanged and that I would need to go through the whole procedure again. Is this how HCF do business, appalling customer service. I was on the phone for over 30 minutes with no result.

Almost impossible to contact via phone or message. Their AI assistant is useless. When you finally wade though 10 minutes of irrelevant advertising drivel and are put on hold for an interminable time, they continue to bombard you with even advertising drivel. No call back option , their service is atrocious. Show details

Very good or persistent in selling. But once sign up. They giving my LHC loading exemption which i was told it is going to be lower but i send them the reasons. I send out the email I think 2 to 3 weeks then they response back and ask my international movement record. The whole process is very slow. Show details

HCF is the best Health insurance company ever. I have previously been with numerous other health insurance company’s over the years and have never been as easy and as pleasant to deal with as what HCF is. Not for profit health provider HCF is the only one to go with. I would highly recommend as they are a 10 out or 10 Health Insurer. Show details

We loved how both Lee and Jenny advised we didn't need some cover (pregnancy, gastric stapling etc); they helped us save money. Lovely, friendly, knowledgeable, approachable ... made us feel great, while saving us money. What's not to love? Show details

Fantastic experience with Heet! We recently had to contact HCF regarding our policies and were lucky enough to speak with Heet. He was incredibly helpful, patient, and sorted everything out for us in no time. It’s great to see a health fund that employs such high-quality staff who actually care about their members. Highly recommend! Show details

Best health insurance fund! Great value, efficient claims processing Best cover, Caring and Empathetic Pre and post op checks and followups! Go compare Silver plus with BUPA who exclude vital procedures! Show details

Steven Sun, the Eastgardens Branch Member Consultant could not have been more pleasant, attentive and helpful. He was a delight to deal with, knowledgeable and helpful, and he processed my claim expertly. He is a wonderful ambassador for HCF, and I am grateful for his assistance. Show details

Been with them 21 years, policy price just too expensive now, asked for 8 weeks free like they are offering new members but will not do for me, not even 4 or 6 weeks free as a reward for being a long time member, looks like i will now go elsewhere. They do not reward loyalty. Show details

HCF is the worst health insurance that I have ever got in Australia. Their weird hidden restrictions are everywhere. For example, the optical cover has a limit of $70 per eye and $140 per invoice for contact lenses, regardless of how much you have on your policy limits. They also decline claims due to carelessness. My policy covers swimming… Read more

classes, but HCF declined my claim because they claimed that my name was not on the invoice, but it was clearly on the invoice that I attached. Then I used a highlighter pen to highlight my name and submitted the claim again, but then they declined again due to the same invoice having already been claimed for. Excuse me?!

I researched online which health cover would suit my 80 year old parents as I didn’t want them stuck in those disgusting public emergency cubicles where staff ignored them and would even help them p*ss or cr#p . Don’t believe they hype you hear ,it’s bad in emergency . I took a quote from those brokers who sold me a policy to meet my parents needs… Read more

and was all yeah yeah . Months later my mother had an unplanned episode and I told the ambulance to take her to a private emergency hospital and when they got there the hospital said they couldn’t cover her . So the ambulance took her to hell again at public hospital kicking and screaming as she had dementia I rang HCF same day and they said we don’t cover planned visits. I said how is it a planned visit? They said the broker shouldn’t of promised you these things so essentially they blamed him and called him a liar I cancelled the policy and was refunded the remaining money . HCF naturally took over 1300 for nothing as we made no claims . Never again will we take out health cover with HCF or anyone else. We may as well just Have no cover and die with dignity than to be ripped off by those taking advantage of the elderly . Elder abuse the govt calls it .

Hcf offer absolutely junk insurance. They don't offer any support and the claims experience is poor. The coverage that they provide is very limited and there always seems to be a reason why something is not covered. I've already submitted a complaint and will likely raise with afca as I know that they won't provide any assistance. They charge me… Read more

over $200 a month and provide very little in return. I'm better off just saving the money and using it when required. I look forward to their response to my complaint

I was with hcf for 8 months and changed because I had to call them more times in that period than 6 years with another health fund. I went to a 100% back provider and did not get 100% back, I had served my waiting period with the other health fund and they had agreed to honour it but I had to call multiple times to sort it out, and their level of… Read more

cover only allowed for 1 general dental visit a year despite not reaching the monetary maximum which feels like a misleading practice.

I've worked professionally for over 40 years and been with HCF since private health insurance was essentially mandated. My first contact with HCF to discuss my cover has been the most unprofessional, shameful and dismissive level of service I have ever experienced from any organisation. By contrast my partner's experience with her own (different)… Read more

provider was really good. Forget the marketing, read the reviews. HCF say they are committed to showing a level of care that's uncommon. In that I agree and thank goodness because it is that bad.

I contacted HCF to clarify how a doctor-prescribed item would be covered under my Multicover Extras policy. The representative just kept repeating the same scripted line without explaining why, quoting any policy clause, or properly addressing my questions. When I asked for clarification, the chat suddenly stopped — no follow-up, no resolution. … Read more

The advice also contradicted HCF’s own product summary, and I was left completely unclear about how my cover actually applies. For a not-for-profit fund that claims to put members first, the service and transparency were extremely disappointing.

HCF’s Member Service Charter promises to explain answers clearly and provide straightforward information on claims, but that wasn’t my experience at all.

I bought an Overseas Visitors Health Cover (OVHC) policy with HCF for my mother-in-law. Like most tourists, we entered a clear start and end date for the cover when we applied. This end date matched the expiry date of her visitor visa and the day she was due to leave the country. OVHC is optional for tourists, and it’s reasonable to expect that… Read more

the policy only runs during the nominated period. However, after her visa expired and she had already left Australia, HCF continued to charge premiums for months.

What is more concerning is that the Member Guide states: “The cancellation will take effect the day you leave the country, or the day you contact HCF, whichever is the later.” This clearly gives the impression that the cover ends automatically upon departure. At no stage did HCF send any reminder or notice that manual cancellation was required to stop future deductions.

We raised this issue with HCF through their complaints and executive teams. Even after providing full evidence of her visa expiry and departure, the only refund they offered was for two months. The policy was not used at all during the charged period.

I have now escalated the case to the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman because this practice feels unfair and misleading. If tourists are asked to set an end date at the start of their policy, they should not be charged after that date without clear consent.

This situation has caused unnecessary stress and time. I hope HCF can review this practice and provide a fair refund, not just for us but to prevent the same thing from happening to other visitors.

I have spent years paying top extras, most recently with HCF. I have no doubt helped fund many families’ aesthetic dental braces. So imagine how it feels when my child needs a rarer chest brace (orthosis) for a genuine medical need that costs almost $1200, and to receive nothing back from HCF - have my genuine claim denied - because this… Read more

particular genuine orthosis ‘is not on their list’. I am utterly disgusted HCF. Your Top Extras coverage table says ‘orthosis’ is covered. This is not fair!! Single mum who will be leaving HCF ASAP.

HCF Claims they are not-for profit, implying that the customer stands to benefit. It is a lot of trash. I was on HCF for over 15 years and was an Ëmerald" member and left HCF this year when I realised the games they play. We were on a Hospital and Your Choice Extras policy initially and during Covid they changed the policies and moved my family to… Read more

a new policy. I did not realise that I had been moved to a hospital policy of higher level which included benefits I do not need such as covers for pregnancy and hip and knee replacement and Extras (the only benefit I too from that cover) reduced to a basic. Premiums remained increasing and I did not realise. This year when I really had the need to access extras for major dental, I was told that I was not covered. I was quoted for a new plan that suited the hospital cover I needed and the preferred extras policy and I realised I had been paying a larger premium than that. Based on that I requested to be moved to that plan waving off any waiting periods so that I can cover my emergency dental costs but was rejected. Now you can see their true self. Technically they are correct. Ethically incorrect. I immediately left HCF.

With out doubt the most unprofessional company have ever deal with, simply appalling arrogant service, am stunned this lever of corporate contempt for members is even possible. Called to simply update my credit card. They first give you a long diatribe on how they record all your information and so what they want with it,. including trying to sell… Read more

you new products. Then sit on hold and cut off and then asked to complete a satisfaction survey. Simply laughable and pathetic. There website also does not give you control over privacy and cookies. And a long one member and every contact is a awfully experience. Not for profit and not for member care. All HCF cares about is profit...Time to.look elsewhere..

I have been with HCF since I was a small child (apart from a gap where I lived overseas) and I am now in my 50s. They randomly took about $900 out of my account in June, but my policy wasn't due until September. I called them and was told that because I changed my payment method from monthly to yearly in June last year, this is when the direct… Read more

debit comes out. Mmm, okay, so why the random $900 when my premium is $1300? I told them they have no right to take that money when the premium has not even expired. Then it turned into a 15-minute conversation with them patronising me like I'm a fool who doesn't understand. I understand all right; they are scammers and have no right taking money out of my account three months early and not even the full amount. The random amount makes no sense.

Prior to this nightmare, I experienced a pushy, aggressive HCF person harassing me when I was sick and in a difficult financial position. I told her I wanted to cancel my insurance, then she went on a rant about how I would end up worse off if I cancelled it. I told her I was unwell and feeling very stressed. By this point, I was crying and would have to call back another time. You would think this would be enough for her to say, "Okay, goodbye." But no, she went on and on because she wanted the sale for me to stay a member. They are a health fund and couldn't care less about my health and my distress after I told them I was sick and stressed and needed to get off the phone. So I'm crying, getting more stressed, and this woman continued on until I hung up on her.

Stupidly, I continued my insurance with them, and then came the scammy taking of money. I reported it to their complaints department and they also couldn't care less. I told them I was reporting them to the Commonwealth Ombudsman and they still couldn't care less. So I suggest anyone who has had these scammers taking money that is not theirs to take should report them to the Commonwealth Ombudsman so their scammy, deceitful ways are stopped because they seem to be incapable of doing the right thing by their customers. YOU ARE A DISGRACE, HCF!

I'm changing my health fund this year after over 50 years of being a customer.

I joined HCF Health Insurance in 2018 and had no issues for several years. Everything was fine until I discovered that, over the past two years, I’ve had to pay more out of pocket for major dental treatments due to a limitation on Item 222. When I called HCF to ask for an explanation, they told me there is a cap of 12 claims for Item 222 per… Read more

calendar year. However, this restriction is not mentioned anywhere in their online PDF documents. I requested written confirmation of this policy, but I still haven’t received anything.

After researching and contacting other health funds, I found that none of them impose this same limitation. As a result, I decided to leave HCF and switch to another provider.

Just be cautious if you’re considering joining HCF.

Very disappointed with HCF's handling of my mother-in-law's Overseas Visitor Health Insurance policy. Despite selecting a specific policy duration on their website, HCF continued to deduct premiums beyond the chosen end date without authorisation. The lack of clear instructions on how to cancel the policy in the welcome email is unacceptable. The… Read more

investigation into this matter has been prompted by my formal complaint, but I'm still waiting for a resolution. HCF's system failure to recognise the authority form I submitted raises serious concerns about their processes. For past 6-8 I have been emailing them asking to resolve the matter and refund the amount deducted, and all I get is we are still investigating.

Be cautious when dealing with HCF, and carefully review your policy documents and premium deductions. If you encounter similar issues, don't hesitate to escalate your complaint to the Private Health Ombudsman or the Minister for Health. I've also lodged a complaint with the Private Health Ombudsman and written to the Health Minister, highlighting HCF's practices and system failures. I hope this review serves as a warning to others and prompts HCF to improve their customer service and processes.

Pathetic systems and service. Their payment platform, web app, and mobile app have all been down for two days straight. Absolutely unacceptable for a business that relies on customers being able to access their services. How can a company claim to be professional when their critical systems are offline for this long without resolution? It shows a… Read more

complete lack of planning, backup, and accountability. Customers deserve far better- this is not how you run a business in 2025.!!