For families

Health insurance for families

Family health and medical cover

Get medical and health care for you and your family.

Easy claiming process, great member benefits and access to online doctors’ consultations are just some of the reasons New Zealand families trust Southern Cross.

We’re here for New Zealanders and their families. Because we’re 100% made for New Zealanders. Southern Cross is a not-for-profit Friendly Society, so we have members, not shareholders. This means you and your family are our priority.

Find affordable cover for the whole family.

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Why Southern Cross Health Insurance for families?

We pay out more in claims than any other New Zealand health insurer. [1]
In 2025, for every dollar received in premiums, we returned 94 cents in claims to members.[2]
Protect your newborns. Add your baby before they're three months old, we'll cover their qualifying pre-existing conditions.
Support for larger families. When your children are under 21 years, you’ll only need to pay premiums for your first two children, and any additional children on your policy will be included at no additional charge.[4]
Child rates apply until they’re 21 years of age.[3]

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Membership benefits

Get more than a health care plan

Gain access to a great range of membership benefits, discounts and partner offers.

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Online GP consultations with CareHQ

Outside of your family GP practice hours, or can't get to your family GP? No problem. Get video consults with a CareHQ GP, seven days a week, free of charge when booked through the MySouthernCross app. Health coaching consults not included. Benefits subject to change. T&Cs apply.

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Great partner offers

Take advantage of partner offers that'll help keep you and your family healthy. From discounted hearing tests to Les Mills gym memberships to Ecostore cleaning products.

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Hear from our members

See how Southern Cross helps families with medical cover, discounts and other benefits:

Carole's story
Helping Dylan get back to being ‘Superdad’
Michelle’s journey to becoming a mum

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Why choose health insurance for your family?

New Zealand’s public health system offers many healthcare services free to children under the age of 14 years. But some common conditions that affect children may require costly ongoing treatment or have a lengthy waiting list on the public health system.

Many families choose health insurance to help them with the cost of healthcare, and for peace of mind in case the unexpected happens.

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Common conditions and procedures for children*

Condition	Procedure	Cost
Ear infections	Grommet surgery	$2,600 - $3,400
Eye squint	Squint correction	$6,200 - $11,000
Throat infections	Tonsil removal	$5,500 - $8,100

*Indicative costs are GST-inclusive and sourced from 2024-2025 Southern Cross claims data.

The top five most common treatment claims at Southern Cross made by families are for:

GP consults
Specialist consults
Prescriptions
Imaging scans
Physiotherapy

Health insurance can enable you and your children to get back to enjoying family life together, faster. Join the thousands of families with Southern Cross today.

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Are you with us yet?

We’re here for you and your family. We’ve got a range of plans with flexible options so you can tailor your health insurance to your family’s needs and budget. Keeping your whole family covered could be less expensive than you think – get a quote or contact us now to find out more.

1. Southern Cross pays over 68% of the value of all health insurance claims paid in New Zealand. Based on data provided by the Financial Services Council and including an estimate for nib
2. Based on Southern Cross claims data
3. One rate applies for children aged 0 to 21. Subject to standard annual premium changes. Not applicable to the HealthEssentials plan
4. The Free Child Discount is not available on the HealthEssentials plan or Cancer Cover Plus. The Free Child Discount full terms and conditions apply and are subject to change, read more here.

In this section

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Health insurance for families

Family health and medical cover

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Why Southern Cross Health Insurance for families?

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Membership benefits

Get more than a health care plan

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Online GP consultations with CareHQ

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Great partner offers

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Hear from our members

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Why choose health insurance for your family?

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Are you with us yet?

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What we offer

Who we're for

Important information

Quick links

Help links

In this section

Family health and medical cover

Why Southern Cross Health Insurance for families?

Get more than a health care plan

Online GP consultations with CareHQ

Great partner offers

Hear from our members

Why choose health insurance for your family?

What we offer

Who we're for

Important information

Quick links

Help links

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