Health Insurance Premiums To Increase 1 Nov 2022

Major health insurance funds Medibank, Bupa, NIB and HCF are set to increase their health insurance premiums on 1 November, putting extra pressure on Aussies already dealing with increased costs of living. It also means a great opportunity for Australia to do a health insurance comparison.

Most health funds increased their premiums by an average of 2.7% on 1 April 2022, with the four larger funds holding off until later in the year.

The earlier increases during the year saw many compare health insurance in Australia to see if they can get a better health insurance deal, as well as questioning the differences between Medicare and private health insurance and exploring Medicare as an option as well.

Before the increase takes effect, health funds will advise Australians how much their policy will increase.

If they can afford to pay a full year’s premium in advance, Aussies can lock in 12 (or in some cases 13) months of coverage at that year’s prices.

Billy Explores is now urging everyone to compare health insurance Australia. The best way to do a health insurance comparison is through Billy Explores. Everyday Aussies can save time and effort, and explore potential savings through our panel of health insurance providers.

To start a private health insurance comparison, simply click here.

Updated 4th December 2020

The Billy Explores website – https://billyexplores.com.au (“Website”) and service (“Service”) is owned and operated by Upside.Digital Pty Ltd ABN 65 139 669 248 (referred to in these Terms as ‘we’).

The Website assists in connecting users to Australian Service Providers that can compare household services such as electricity and gas, solar and insurance.

The information contained in this Website does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or particular needs and should not be taken as financial advice. Before using our Service, you should evaluate your own individual needs, objectives and situation.

The use of this Website is subject to these terms and conditions (“Terms”). By accessing and using the Website you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use or access the Website.

We may amend these Terms at any time. The amended Terms will be effective from the date at the top of this page. Your continued use of this Website after that date constitutes your acceptance of the amended Terms.

Unless otherwise indicated, we reserve all copyright in the content and design of this Website. We own all such copyright or use it under licence or applicable law.

You may make a temporary copy of part or all of this website on your local computer for the sole purpose of viewing it, and print a single hard copy of a whole page of this website for personal use, provided that any copyright notice on such page is not removed.

You may not, in any form, or by any means:

otherwise reproduce, adapt, store in a retrieval system, transmit, print, display, perform, publish or create derivative works from any part of the content or design of the Website; modify or copy the layout of the Website or any computer software or code contained in the Website; cause any of the material from the Website to be framed or embedded in another website; or commercialise any information, products or services on this Website.

PERMITTED USE

You may access the Website for your own personal, non-commercial use, subject to restrictions set in these Terms. You are NOT permitted to use the Website in any unlawful or fraudulent manner.

You agree any information you provide on the Website will be true, accurate and complete.

PAYMENT

We provide a Service on the Website which enables you to connect with leading Australian comparison services or direct service providers.

Our Service is free for you to use. Please note that we do receive a small fee from our third party service providers when an enquiry for their service is made through our Website.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

Billy Explores does not guarantee or warrant the Website will be uninterrupted, without delay, error-free, omission-free, or free of viruses. Therefore, the information is provided “as is” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including accuracy, timeliness and completeness.

To the extent permitted by law, we exclude all liability for loss or damage arising from the use of, or reliance on, the information contained on or accessed through any of the Website. In particular, our partners, directors, employees, agents or related corporate entities will not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, punitive, consequential or other damages whatsoever (including, but not limited to, liability for loss of use, data or profits), without regard to the form of any action, including but not limited to contract, statute, negligence or other tortious actions, arising out of or in connection with the Website, any content on or accessed by use of the Website, or any copying, display or other use of it.

You assume all risks associated with the use of any of the Websites including, without limitation:

the risk of your computer, software or data being damaged by any virus which might be transmitted or activated via any of the Website or your access to it; or the risk that the content of the Website and any linked websites contravenes the laws of any country outside Australia; the risk that any information or material you download from the Website or any linked website infringes third party rights including copyright.

LINKS TO OR FROM OTHER SITES

The Website may contain links to websites controlled or produced by third parties. Except as indicated, we do not control, endorse, sponsor or approve any such websites or any content on them, nor do we provide any warranty or take any responsibility for any aspect of those websites or their content.

COOKIES AND PRIVACY

For details on our use of cookies and how we collect and use personal information via the Websites, see our Privacy Policy [link].

THIRD PARTY SERVICES

You can apply for a number of services via the Website. These services are not provided by us but are instead provided by third parties over whom we do not have control.

All third party service offered on the website are Australian operated.

We are not responsible or liable for any loss or damage you or any third party may suffer or incur in connection with any product you obtain after using a third party service offered on this website or for any acts, omissions, errors or defaults of any third party in connection with this Website.

By submitting your personal details through this Website, you are giving you express consent to be contacted by our third party provider and agreeing to their Terms and Privacy Policy.

ANTI-SPAM POLICY

We are aware of our responsibilities as a good Internet citizen and are dedicated to protecting the privacy rights of other Internet citizens. We vigorously oppose the sending of unsolicited email (spam).

It is a requirement that each email message we send out includes an easy way for subscribers to remove themselves via an “Unsubscribe” link. If a recipient calls our offices and requests to be manually removed from a customer’s list, we will manually unsubscribe the recipient from the customer’s account.

For the purposes of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 (Cth) – by submitting your telephone number to the website, you give your express consent to be contacted by telephone on that number either by us OR our Third Party service provider.

Subscribers who sign up to the Website are deemed to provide their consent to be contacted by email, phone, text, or post with more interesting promotion offers we publish.

Subscribers who choose to opt in/consent to any client advertisements/promotions will be consenting to share selected information given by themselves on this site directly to the relevant third party service provider. APPLICABLE LAW

The Website is hosted on web servers in Australia or the United States.

These conditions and all other specific and additional terms which govern your use and access to the Site will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of New South Wales, Australia.

Effective Date December 2020
Upside.Digital Pty Ltd
ACN: 139 669 248
ABN: 65 139 669 248

Commitment to Protect your Privacy

Upside.Digital Pty Ltd respects your privacy and is committed to protecting it.

This Privacy Policy explains how and why we collect personal information, what we use it for, and to whom and when we disclose it. It is an important document so please take the time to read it.

We will treat your personal information in accordance with our obligations under the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and related Australia laws. We refer to these collectively as “the Privacy Law”.

“Personal information” has a specific meaning set out in the Privacy Law, but includes any information we hold which is about you or is reasonably identifiable as being about you.

By providing us with personal information, visiting our websites or by using our services, you consent to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

What Type of Personal Information Do We Collect?

We only collect personal information where necessary and relevant so that we can provide you with access to information or other services. This may include, for example, when you request to receive further information from an advertiser.

The extent and type of personal information collected will vary depending on how you interact with us, but will usually include:

data about you, your interests, and products/services you select to receive communications about;
contact details such as your name, address, phone number and email address;
other information such as your year of birth, gender, family size including children and pets, your type of mobile phone, personal income, employment situation, online shopping habits and personal interests.
Some personal information may be collected for activities not specifically outlined in this Privacy Policy, and where reasonable, we will make clear why we are collecting it when we do so.

How Do We Collect Your Personal Information?

We collect personal information from you in a variety of ways, including when you interact with us electronically or in person, when you access our websites and when we provide our services to you. We may receive personal information from third parties. If we do, we will protect it in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

How Do We Use Your Personal Information?

We use and disclose personal information to fulfil the purpose for which it is collected or else for related purposes. This includes, for example, providing you with information, updates and services.

We may make you aware of new and additional products, services and opportunities available to you. We may also use your personal information to improve our products and services and better understand your needs.

We may contact you by a variety of measures including, but not limited to telephone, email, SMS (text message) or mail.

We may disclose your personal information to any of our employees, officers, insurers, professional advisers, agents, suppliers or subcontractors insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. Personal information is only supplied to a third party when it is required for the delivery of our services.

We may from time to time need to disclose personal information to comply with a legal requirement, such as a law, regulation, court order, subpoena, warrant, in the course of a legal proceeding or in response to a law enforcement agency request.

We may also use your personal information to protect the copyright, trademarks, legal rights, property or safety of Upside.digital Pty Ltd, https://billyexplores.com.au and http://UpsideDigital.com.au, our customers or third parties.

If there is a change of control in our business or a sale or transfer of business assets, we reserve the right to transfer to the extent permissible at law our user databases, together with any personal information and non-personal information contained in those databases. This information may be disclosed to a potential purchaser under an agreement to maintain confidentiality. We would seek to only disclose information in good faith and where required by any of the above circumstances.

If we need to disclose your personal information to an overseas recipient such as an advertiser or data warehouse who is not in Australia, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the recipient adheres to the Privacy Law in relation to your personal information.

We may also provide your information directly to third-party service providers for the purposes of servicing your requests or enquiries. These providers have their own obligations under the Privacy Law and will have their own privacy policies. Your interactions with those providers will be governed by those separate policies, and by using our Services you are consenting to the disclosure of your personal information on that basis.

How Do We Hold and Disclose Your Personal Information?

We hold your personal information on secure servers located in Australia and the United States.

We disclose personal information to our advertisers, customers, third party agents, directors, employees and contractors only for a purpose that is consistent with the way we have informed you that we will use the information in this Privacy Policy.

How Do We Keep Information Secure?

We are committed to ensuring the security of the information we hold about you. We will always try to ensure that we take all reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

If we no longer need any information, we will take reasonable steps to destroy and/or de-identify the information, unless this is required to be retained to comply with any of our legal requirements.

We have no control over information that may be transmitted over the internet, so therefore cannot guarantee its safety whilst in transit.

What Happens if There is a Data Breach?

If a suspected data breach occurs, we will determine the extent of the breach. A data breach may occur if your personal information is lost or subjected to unauthorised access or disclosure.

If we believe that the suspected data breach is likely to result in serious harm to you, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as soon as practicable and as required by the Privacy Law. This notification will set out a description of the data breach, the kinds of information concerned, and recommendations about the steps you should take in response to the data breach.

What Additional Data Do We Collect via Our Websites?

When you come to our websites (e.g. https://billyexplores.com.au and http://UpsideDigital.com.au) we may collect certain information such as browser type, operating system, website visited immediately before coming to our site, etc.

This information is used in an aggregated manner to analyse how people use our site, such that we can improve our service.

Our web server will also collect the following information:

Your Internet service provider’s address;
The number of users who visit the website;
The date and time of each visit;
The pages accessed;
Data collected from our websites remain the property of Upside.digital Pty Ltd.

A cookie is a small piece of computer code which remains on your computer and contains information which helps us identify your browser and previous information viewed in relation to our services. When you visit our websites, the cookie records certain details including the date, time and advertising content. None of the information in the cookie contains personally identifiable information about you.

If you do not want us to use cookies then you can easily stop them, or be notified when they are being used, by adopting the appropriate settings on your browser. If you do not allow cookies to be used some or all of our websites might not be accessible to you.

By using our websites you consent to us sharing a hashed, anonymous, readable version of your email with our partner Service Providers who will drop a cookie on your browser for the purpose of improving the relevance of online advertising and content by third parties that are unaffiliated with our websites.

By accessing our websites you agree that we and our partners may use cookies for marketing and other purposes.

Third party sites

Our websites may from time to time have links to other websites not owned or controlled by us. These links are meant for your convenience only. Links to third party websites do not constitute sponsorship or endorsement or approval of these websites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of other such websites. We encourage our users to be aware, when they leave our websites, to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personal identifiable information.

How do you contact Us to Amend, Delete, Unsubscribe or Access Your Personal Information?

We try to ensure that all information about you that we collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete and up-to-date. Under the Privacy Law, you have the right to obtain access to any personal information which we hold about you, and to advise of any inaccuracy, if it is out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading. There are some exceptions to this right set out in the Privacy Law.

If you want to correct data about you as you believe the data we hold is incorrect or you want to request the deletion of your personal information from our database or you simply require access to any personal information that we hold about you, then you should inform us and we will make every reasonable efforts to provide it and, if required, correct it.

Health Insurance Premiums Set to Increase On 1 November 2022