How Bene compares employee-benefit plans

One brief for every insurer

Comparison starts from a single brief: the census (who is covered, ages, job classes, locations and pass types) and the benefit levels you are asking about. Sending the same brief to every insurer is what makes the answers comparable; a different brief per insurer produces quotes you cannot line up.

Normalising each quotation

• Period: the cover period the price applies to.
• Age basis: whether rates use age last birthday, next birthday or a band.
• Limits: the sum insured or annual limit for each benefit class.
• Ward class and plan basis: restructured or private hospital, and the ward.
• Referrals and panels: whether treatment needs a referral or a panel provider.
• Dependants: whether they can be covered, on what basis, and who pays.
• Taxes and fees: what is included in the quoted premium.
• Premium and claims administration: how the premium is expressed and who handles claims.

What we document

• Exclusions and material conditions in each plan.
• Quotes we could not obtain, and why.
• Fields a source or quote does not answer, marked as missing rather than assumed.
• Conflicts of interest, including how Bene is paid.
• The rationale behind a recommendation, recorded so it can be reviewed later.

What this method is not

It is a documented comparison method, not an automated whole-market ranking, and it is not a personalised recommendation. The source policy, authorship, corrections and review process live in our editorial standards, and the sources themselves are listed in our registry.