Leading national health insurer opens customer service branch in Perth

This week Australia's second largest non-government health insurer is opening its doors in Western Australia for the first time, with a new customer branch at St George's Terrace in Perth.

To mark the occasion, AFL players from the Fremantle Football Club will be on site as part of a week of celebrations and festivities at the branch and in the Murray Street Mall, including free public blood pressure tests, complementary breakfasts and Fremantle player signings.

State Manager, Michael Clarke, said the new customer branch would complement HBA's existing web, telephone and mobile customer service operations locally, providing Western Australians with even better access to one of the nation's leading health care providers.

"More than a million Australians currently trust HBA to support their health and care needs and we have a proud record of delivering top quality, affordable care for our customers," Mr Clarke said.

"This new customer branch will improve service and access for our WA customers and help us to better deliver innovative, customer focussed health services across the state."

"The origins of our health fund can be traced back over 70 years. We have one of the country's largest networks of doctors, dentists, hospitals and other health care providers and we cover the highest percentage of hospital charges of any of Australia's top ten health funds," he said.

"We are also the largest fund, based on membership size, to keep premium increases below the industry average for the past seven years. I am thrilled that we are opening our doors in Perth today and I look forward to introducing more West Australians to the benefits of HBA membership."

ACTIVITIES - Monday 7 April to Friday 11 April 2008

What	Where	When
Free blood pressure checks* (HBA Health Check Van)	Murray Street Mall, Cnr Forrest Place, Perth CBD	Mon 7, Tues 8, Thurs 10 and Fri 11 April 7:00am - 4:00pm
HBA's Breakfast - Free*	99 St Georges Terrace, Perth	Weds 9, Thurs 10 and Fri 11 April 7:00am - 9:30am
HBA's Breakfast - Free*	Murray Street Mall, Cnr Forrest Place, Perth CBD	Thurs 10 and Fri 11 April 7:00am - 9:30am
Freemantle Football Club player appearances and autograph signing*	Murray Street Mall, Cnr Forrest Place, Perth CBD	Fri 11 April 12:00pm - 1:00pm

* Competitions to win tickets to the Fremantle vs Port Adelaide match on Sunday 1 June.

About HBA

HBA has long been at the forefront of innovation in health insurance. We were the first fund to introduce 100% hospital cover and electronic payment systems to improve ease and access for customers. Today more than 95 per cent of all in-hospital medical claims for HBA members have no out of pocket costs

This year HBA has introduced three new levels of Extras cover that include a unique 'Benefit Bonus' feature that rewards members with higher benefits each time they make a claim, based on years of membership. Under the Benefit Bonus products, HBA customer rebates for ancillary treatments such as, dental, physiotherapy or massage will increase by 2 percent per year up to a maximum of 10 percent (limits apply).

People in Western Australian can discuss their health insurance needs with our trained consultants by visiting HBA's customer branch at 99 St Georges Terrace, phoning 131 243 or by visiting hba.com.au to discover the benefits of being an HBA member.

For further information contact:
Julian Murphy
HBA Health Insurance
Media and Public Affairs Manager
Mob: 0434 072 024