Will I have hassles getting the cover I want?

Most health funds are open to anyone who wants to join, although there are a few which cater just for families who have a member working in a particular occupation, such as teaching, police or the armed forces.

The right of health insurers to deny you access if you are eligible or to charge you different premiums is limited by law. You may not be refused cover or charged more because you have health problems or have been sick in the past, or because of your sex or family status.

If you delay starting hospital cover until after the age of 30 years, Lifetime Health Cover loadings will be added to your premiums. The rules for these loadings are the same for everyone and, apart from some minor discounts for different ways of paying your premiums, these are the only variations allowed to the same basic premiums charged to everyone for any given product.

You can be required to wait for two months before any cover starts. Also, you can be refused benefits for "pre-existing" conditions for up to twelve months but you must be given full cover after the twelve months.

Some products have waiting periods longer than twelve months for particular benefits (eg expensive dental procedures) but these waiting periods must apply in the same way to everyone who buys those products.

An easy way to start looking for the right coverage is to compare private health funds. Ozecover offers a no charge, obligation free comparison of every fund and product based on the answers you give to some very simple questions. they return you a ranked list of the 10 best choices and give you the ability to side-by-side compare the details of every private health insurance product.