Health insurance cost calculator
Estimate your NZ private health insurance monthly premium based on age, cover level, who's covered and excess.
What this means for you
Fill in the fields above to see your estimated premium.
Compare excess levels
See how the monthly premium changes at different excess levels.
| Excess | Monthly premium |
|---|---|
| $0 | $0 |
| $500 | $0 |
| $1,000 | $0 |
| $2,500 | $0 |
Assumptions & sources
Illustrative NZ private health insurance rate patterns by age band, cover level and excess, typical of major insurers.
1 July 2026
17 July 2026
Monthly premium = age-band base rate × cover-level multiplier × people-covered multiplier × excess factor.
Age, cover level, number of people covered and excess.
Health history, smoking status, pre-existing conditions, specific insurer pricing, and any underwriting loadings or exclusions — all of which affect real eligibility and cost.
Related reading
How much insurance do you actually need in NZ?
Life, income protection, health, house and car cover all compete for the same budget — here's how to prioritise.
Read article →
Is private health insurance worth it in NZ?
Weighing private cover against NZ's public health system — what you actually gain, and what it costs.
Read article →Surgical-only vs comprehensive cover
Surgical-only cover pays for private hospital treatment and surgery, helping you skip public waitlists. Comprehensive cover adds day-to-day extras like specialist consultations, diagnostic scans, and sometimes GP visits or dental/optical — useful if you want broader support, but noticeably pricier.
Why does age matter so much?
Health claims become statistically more likely as you age, so premiums rise steadily through your 40s, 50s and beyond. Joining younger and staying continuously covered can help avoid new-condition exclusions that may apply if you switch insurers or re-join after a gap later in life.
Example: A couple in their 50s comparing surgical-only vs comprehensive
For a couple both aged 52, surgical-only cover — hospital treatment and surgery, helping skip public waitlists — will typically price meaningfully lower than comprehensive cover on the same $500 excess.
Comprehensive cover adds day-to-day extras like specialist consultations and diagnostic scans, which get used far more often than major surgery — that usage frequency is why the price gap between the two levels is so large.
Both premiums will also sit noticeably higher than the same policy would cost this couple at 35, reflecting the steadily rising health-claim risk that comes with age.
Joining now, even at surgical-only level, and staying continuously covered protects against new-condition exclusions that can apply if they let cover lapse and try to rejoin later, once new health issues have already appeared.
Frequently asked questions
It varies a lot by age, cover level and excess — commonly anywhere from around $50/month for a young adult with surgical-only cover and a high excess, up to $300+/month for an older person with comprehensive family cover.
Surgical-only is cheaper and covers the big-ticket items (private surgery, avoiding public waitlists). Comprehensive costs more but adds everyday extras like specialist visits and scans — a good fit if you expect to use those services regularly.
Yes, generally significantly — since most claims are for smaller amounts, a higher excess shifts more of the routine cost onto you and meaningfully lowers your ongoing premium.
