Thousands of Australians insured with Medibank will get $50 back in their pockets under a $215 million payout to customers after the Covid-19 pandemic.
All eligible customers will receive a minimum of $50, although some may be able to get up to $360 back thanks to their level of coverage.
“On average it will be around $55 for extras only policies and around $165 for hospital and extras policies,” Medibank said.
All Medibank holders who have an active hospital and/or extras policy as of June 30 are eligible for this cashback, which will be paid out at the end of September.
However, you must also have been a member of Medibank with an active hospital and/or extras policy between January 1 and June 30, 2023.
This does not apply to members with special coverage, such as only ambulance coverage or coverage abroad.
Those who qualify do not need to do anything as the money is transferred automatically.
Milosh Milisavljevic, Medibank’s chief customer officer, said the company hopes the money will be “welcome news” for people during the cost of living crisis.
“This will bring the total amount of support Medibank has provided to customers to $1.37 billion through our COVID-19 giveback program, which is the largest giveback from any Australian health insurer,” he said.
Medibank said they have made a commitment to return claims made due to the Covid-19 pandemic to members, and have been offering annual cash back plans for customers since 2020.
“Since the start of the pandemic, our $1.37 billion financial support package has included the pause on premium increases, free days of coverage and other support options for members,” Medibank said.
The news comes shortly after Russian Aleksandr Ermakov was reportedly arrested for cyber crimes.
Ermakov was named as responsible for the 2022 Medibank hack, in which personal data and health information of more than 9 million customers was stolen to be published and sold on the dark web.
He was also linked to the Russian hacking gang REvil and was detained in Russia for unspecified cyber attacks.
Following the hack, Medibank expects costs for cybercrime, such as IT and legal services, to reach between $30 and $35 million this financial year.