Before the Internet, the only way to get a medical aid membership quote was to visit or phone a scheme’s offices. Now, one can get multiple quotes in minutes. During the industry’s early days, companies offering financial assistance with private healthcare expenses numbered around two hundred, and there was very little difference between them. Most people merely based their choice on the recommendation of a friend or visited the nearest one.
Since then, the industry has undergone a steady decline that has seen the number of active schemes shrink to a mere seventy-six. The lifeblood of a medical scheme is its members, and the more it has, the more financially viable it is likely to be. Inevitably, scheme managers found it necessary to become more competitive. Only those who maintained good governance, an adequate solvency ratio, an excellent credit rating, and enough members have survived. The others were either forced into liquidation or driven to merge with competitors to ensure their mutual survival.
On the upside, there are now far fewer doors to knock on when looking for a medical aid membership quote. Of the seventy-six schemes operating today, fifty-eight restrict their offering to group cover for a given company’s employees, members of a professional body or some comparable organisation. The remaining eighteen are open schemes intended for self-employed individuals and those not covered by a company’s group scheme.
Using the Internet to obtain a medical aid membership quote
Global and local factors have taken their toll on the country’s economy. In light of the current recessionary conditions, price tags have become far more critical when making buying decisions, and medical aid is no exception. The monthly premiums must be affordable if only to ensure that members can continue to pay them so they don’t risk losing cover for themselves and their dependents.
Today, all medical aid schemes operate a website where a prospective member can review the details of the cover available with each of their various products. A Google search for “medical aids” will produce a list of companies and their web addresses. If what you see appears to meet your needs and those of your family, the next step will generally be to complete an online form and wait for a quotation to appear in your email inbox.
At KeyHealth Medical, many of our new signups result from referrals by our satisfied members. However, if you have had no such reassurance, it will pay you not to proceed with the first option that seems affordable but to broaden your search.
A single medical aid membership quote may not be enough
It’s possible that your first quote may not be affordable, or it may not provide all the cover you know you will need. Fortunately, this no longer means you must visit several other scheme’s websites individually until you find an option that suits you.
Comparison websites have revolutionised the search for cheaper and better products and services. Whether you are looking for hotel accommodation, air tickets, all-inclusive holidays, motor insurance or medical aid, an appropriate online platform is now available to help you streamline your search.
After providing personal details and outlining your needs via an online form, a back-end application will select the products that best match your input and generate a medical aid membership quote for each. The quotations may sometimes be accessed via hyperlinks on the screen but will often be emailed to you.
Some schemes choose not to appear on comparison sites, and not all that do will be found on the same one, so you may want to explore a couple.
Evaluating a medical aid membership quote
Don’t make the mistake of basing your choice on price alone. Instead, you should select all you can afford and compare their benefits. Are they relevant and able to adequately meet your known and anticipated needs and those of your family?
One criterion that is invariably reliable is a scheme’s longevity. KeyHealth has been supporting South Africans since 1968, and our affordable products all include additional core benefits free of charge. Why not save time and contact us directly? We will find you a product that won’t break your budget and meets all your and your family’s needs.
