nib Easy Health Review NZ
Easy Health is nib's simplified-application hospital plan: the application form does not ask about your health history, and most pre-existing conditions become covered after three years of continuous cover. Seven condition groups, including cardiovascular conditions, cancer, and hip, knee and back conditions, are permanently excluded rather than covered after the three-year mark.
Key facts
- Surgical Benefit
- Up to $300,000 for private hospital surgical costs (source, retrieved 8 September 2026)
- Non-Surgical Benefit
- Up to $200,000 for private hospital medical costs (source, retrieved 8 September 2026)
- Underwriting
- No health history questions at application; a 3-year pre-existing condition moratorium applies instead (source, retrieved 8 September 2026)
- Permanently excluded pre-existing conditions
- Cardiovascular conditions, cancer, hip or knee conditions, back conditions, transplant surgery, reconstructive or reparative procedures, and any condition under the Serious Condition Lump Sum Option (source, retrieved 8 September 2026)
- Non-PHARMAC Plus Option
- Optional add-on covering non-PHARMAC chemotherapy and other drugs, at $20,000, $50,000, $100,000, $200,000 or $300,000 (source, retrieved 8 September 2026)
- Funeral Support Grant
- $5,000 lump sum if an insured person dies aged 16 to 64, no excess applies (source, retrieved 8 September 2026)
- Wisdom teeth extraction
- Covered with a 12-month waiting period (source, retrieved 8 September 2026)
- Distribution
- Available exclusively through a financial adviser (source, retrieved 8 September 2026)
Easy Health's core hospital cover carries the same $300,000 surgical and $200,000 non-surgical limits as nib's Standard Health, and the table below is nib's own benefit overview (Easy Health brochure, retrieved 8 September 2026).
| Benefit | What is covered |
|---|---|
| Surgical Benefit | Up to $300,000 for private hospital surgical costs (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
| Non-Surgical Benefit | Up to $200,000 for private hospital medical costs (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
| Overseas Treatment Benefit | Up to $20,000 per visit when the Ministry of Health has declined funding (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
| Foot Surgery Benefit | Up to $6,000 (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
| High-Risk Pregnancy Benefit | Up to $2,000 per pregnancy (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
| Skin Lesion Surgery Benefit | Up to $6,000 (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
| GP Surgery Benefit | Up to $1,500 (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
| Home Care Benefit | Up to $150 a day, to $6,000, after hospitalisation (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
Easy Health's excess ladder runs from nil to $6,000, with the premium discount slightly lower at the bottom step than Ultimate Health's (Easy Health brochure, retrieved 8 September 2026).
| Excess | Premium discount |
|---|---|
| Nil | 0% (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
| $250 | 5% (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
| $500 | 25% (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
| $1,000 | 35% (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
| $2,000 | 45% (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
| $4,000 | 55% (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
| $6,000 | 60% (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
Entry ages
| Cover | Entry ages |
|---|---|
| Easy Health | No single entry-age table is published; policies can cover a whole family. Confirm age limits with an adviser at application. (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
Waiting periods
| Cover | Waiting period |
|---|---|
| Pre-existing conditions | 3-year moratorium from the later of the policy start date or an added person's join date (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
| Wisdom teeth extraction | 12 months (source, retrieved 8 September 2026) |
Exclusions
- Any pre-existing cardiovascular condition, cancer, hip or knee condition, or back condition is permanently excluded, never covered even after 3 years. (source, retrieved 8 September 2026)
- Transplant surgery and reconstructive or reparative procedures relating to a pre-existing condition are permanently excluded. (source, retrieved 8 September 2026)
- A claim connected to a pre-existing condition in any other body area is not paid within the first 3 years of cover. (source, retrieved 8 September 2026)
Questions about nib Easy Health
What does nib health insurance cover?
nib's Easy Health covers private hospital surgical treatment to $300,000 and medical (non-surgical) treatment to $200,000 a policy year, including cancer surgery and treatment, plus smaller benefits like GP minor surgery, foot surgery and ambulance transfer (Easy Health brochure, retrieved 8 September 2026).
What pre-existing conditions are covered by nib health insurance?
Easy Health covers most pre-existing conditions after 3 years of continuous cover, but seven groups are never covered: cardiovascular conditions, cancer, hip or knee conditions, back conditions, transplant surgery, reconstructive or reparative procedures, and Serious Condition Lump Sum Option conditions (Easy Health brochure, retrieved 8 September 2026).
What is covered with the nib Easy Health Base Cover?
The Base Cover pays for major private hospital surgical and medical treatments, including cancer surgery and treatment, heart surgery, gynaecological surgery, eye surgery, digestive tract surgery, hip and knee surgery, plus related consultations and diagnostics within six months of the treatment (Easy Health brochure, retrieved 8 September 2026).
What pre-existing conditions need to be declared?
None at application: Easy Health's application form does not ask about your previous health history. Instead, nib assesses whether a claim relates to a pre-existing condition at the time you seek pre-approval or make a claim (Easy Health brochure, retrieved 8 September 2026).
Is Easy Health a good option if I already have a health condition?
It depends which condition. Easy Health can be useful if your condition sits outside the seven permanently excluded groups, since it becomes covered after 3 years without upfront medical underwriting; if your condition is cardiovascular, cancer, or a hip, knee or back condition, it will never be covered under Easy Health.
How is Easy Health different from Ultimate Health?
Ultimate Health is fully underwritten at application, meaning you disclose your full medical history and know immediately what is excluded; Easy Health skips that disclosure and instead applies a 3-year moratorium with permanent exclusions on seven condition groups. Ultimate Health's cover limits are also double Easy Health's ($600,000 vs $300,000 surgical) (Ultimate Health & Ultimate Health Max brochure and Easy Health brochure, retrieved 8 September 2026).
What is better, Bupa or nib?
Bupa does not sell health insurance in New Zealand. nib competes with Southern Cross and UniMed; Easy Health is nib's simplified-application tier, roughly comparable in structure to UniMed's fully underwritten SmartCare rather than to a moratorium product.
Which health insurance company is better, nib or Medibank?
Medibank is an Australian insurer and does not operate in New Zealand, so there is no direct comparison available here.
How much does the excess reduce my Easy Health premium?
From 0% at a nil excess up to 60% at a $6,000 excess; a $500 excess, for example, carries a 25% discount on the Base Cover premium (Easy Health brochure, retrieved 8 September 2026).
Does Easy Health cover wisdom teeth removal?
Yes, after a 12-month waiting period from your join date, extraction of wisdom teeth is covered under the Base Cover's surgical benefits (Easy Health brochure, retrieved 8 September 2026).
Adviser's view
QuoteHub's read is that Easy Health's real value is speed of approval, not breadth of cover: the seven permanent exclusions are wide enough that anyone with a cardiovascular, cancer, hip, knee or back history should check those exclusions before assuming the 3-year moratorium will eventually cover them, because for those seven groups it never will.
Documents
- Easy Health brochure and benefit overview, retrieved 8 September 2026
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Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name.
Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). nib Easy Health Review NZ: What It Covers (2026). www.quotehub.co.nz/health-insurance/nib/easy-health. Updated 2026-09-08.
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