Turnberry Gap Cover: Which option?

Foxhound5366

Foxhound5366

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I'm finally taking the plunge to get medical gap cover - I'll admit getting insurance for my insurance seems crazy to me - and have settled on Turnberry.

The thing is, it is surprisingly (deceptively?) cheap! The 'Premier' top-of-the-line solution for 2017 costs R310 per family per month.

It seems to be a no-brainer to me to go for this option, considering how much I'm already paying for my Discovery medical aid for my family. Why try save R132/month to get the cheaper Synergy solution (R178/family/month), if the whole *point* of getting gap cover is that you're wagering you're going to be facing major expense gaps that your medical aid won't be covering?

Anybody agree? For Turnberry specifically, their higher solutions offer a lot more cancer-related cover, and these days that is a major source of medical aid gaps PLUS an increasing health risk.
 
What made you choose Turnberry? I'm also in the market now and we're looking at Stratum
 
Pakka said:
What made you choose Turnberry? I'm also in the market now and we're looking at Stratum
Click to expand...

Recommended by my company's health insurance broker, who says her family is on it. She also has good experiences of it, where Turnberry paid out her claims. She says that some gap covers also take ages to pay out claims (Discovery's new gap cover only pays out months later), while Turnberry does it within days.

Finally I couldn't find any negative Turnberry reviews online, and I like the professionalism of all their sales material. They're upfront about their costs and benefits, while some other gap covers that I've seen recommended here on MyBB (like Xelus) make you contact them to request a quote.

How about you Pakka? What has influenced your decision?
 
Foxhound5366 said:
Recommended by my company's health insurance broker, who says her family is on it. She also has good experiences of it, where Turnberry paid out her claims. She says that some gap covers also take ages to pay out claims (Discovery's new gap cover only pays out months later), while Turnberry does it within days.

Finally I couldn't find any negative Turnberry reviews online, and I like the professionalism of all their sales material. They're upfront about their costs and benefits, while some other gap covers that I've seen recommended here on MyBB (like Xelus) make you contact them to request a quote.

How about you Pakka? What has influenced your decision?
Click to expand...
What makes you say that Discovery's gap cover takes months to pay out?

My broker is currently trying to get me to change to their policy.
 
mike156 said:
What makes you say that Discovery's gap cover takes months to pay out?

My broker is currently trying to get me to change to their policy.
Click to expand...

I suggest that you ask the broker what the average payout time is. My broker (who sells Discovery's medical aid to us) advised us against taking their new gap cover product, because it takes months to pay out and she says when you need money for doctors bills you need it asap.

That said, I'm getting very distrustful of the so-called "advice" from brokers, so let us know what you uncover :)
 
Foxhound5366 said:
Recommended by my company's health insurance broker, who says her family is on it. She also has good experiences of it, where Turnberry paid out her claims. She says that some gap covers also take ages to pay out claims (Discovery's new gap cover only pays out months later), while Turnberry does it within days
Click to expand...

That sounds way too familiar :D reckon our companies have the same broker.

One thing worth noting with Turnberry (and perhaps other providers too, who knows): they literally cover the gap, meaning if your current Discovery plan does not cover something at all (e.g. some out of hospital CAT scan) then Turnberry won't either even if you are on a Turnberry option that specifically provides for that something.

That's what made me think twice in the end.
 
Last edited:
mike156 said:
What makes you say that Discovery's gap cover takes months to pay out?

My broker is currently trying to get me to change to their policy.
Click to expand...

Discovery's reps will tell you that straight up, perhaps the website too. The way I understand is they (Discovery gap cover) pay a portion right away and the balance they will purposely only pay out once a year to prevent abuse basically. So you/your doctor might wait up to 12 months for the entire amount to be paid.
 
NarrowBandFtw said:
That sounds way too familiar :D reckon our companies have the same broker.

One thing worth noting with Turnberry (and perhaps other providers too, who knows): they literally cover the gap, meaning if your current Discovery plan does not cover something at all (e.g. some out of hospital CAT scan) then Turnberry won't either even if you are on a Turnberry option that specifically provides for that something.

That's what made me think twice in the end.
Click to expand...

So which provider did you go with, and why Narrowband? I'm curious to know if there is a 'best-in-class' provider for quantifiable reasons.

Regarding your concern, I reckon that makes sense right? There has to be a gap for it to be covered by gap cover, or else there would be no need to even have medical aid in the first place.

Also I'm on Discovery's Classic Saver, which I think is less susceptible to that than their Core and Keycare options. If anybody else has advice, just let us know :)
 
Foxhound5366 said:
So which provider did you go with, and why Narrowband? I'm curious to know if there is a 'best-in-class' provider for quantifiable reasons.

Regarding your concern, I reckon that makes sense right? There has to be a gap for it to be covered by gap cover, or else there would be no need to even have medical aid in the first place.

Also I'm on Discovery's Classic Saver, which I think is less susceptible to that than their Core and Keycare options. If anybody else has advice, just let us know :)
Click to expand...

Does the classic saver covers up to at least 300% of medical rates? If not, you need gap cover. Most specialists charge double/triple medical aid rates here in Durban.
 
SYNERGY said:
Does the classic saver covers up to at least 300% of medical rates? If not, you need gap cover. Most specialists charge double/triple medical aid rates here in Durban.
Click to expand...

I know that Synergy, and I am applying for gap cover now. I was just stating that I think my medical aid is less susceptible to the kind of zero-gap/zero-payment risk referred to above.

I'm surprised this thread is so quiet, you'd think people would have strong opinions about gap cover providers.
 
Ok then, for what it's worth I decided to go with Turnberry's Premier option after all: http://turnberry.co.za/premier/

It seemed like the best combination of cover at a decent price, and Turnberry's range of options was far easier to understand than some other gap cover providers'. Premier has some really handy additional cancer cover, which I think is becoming a necessity in this day and age. There are just too many horror stories of families being bankrupted by cancer bills.

Wish me luck :) I'll report back on any claim experiences I have with them.
 
Foxhound5366 said:
I'm finally taking the plunge to get medical gap cover - I'll admit getting insurance for my insurance seems crazy to me - and have settled on Turnberry.

The thing is, it is surprisingly (deceptively?) cheap! The 'Premier' top-of-the-line solution for 2017 costs R310 per family per month.

It seems to be a no-brainer to me to go for this option, considering how much I'm already paying for my Discovery medical aid for my family. Why try save R132/month to get the cheaper Synergy solution (R178/family/month), if the whole *point* of getting gap cover is that you're wagering you're going to be facing major expense gaps that your medical aid won't be covering?

Anybody agree? For Turnberry specifically, their higher solutions offer a lot more cancer-related cover, and these days that is a major source of medical aid gaps PLUS an increasing health risk.
Click to expand...

I'm on Pro Select Care.
It's been pretty good, to be honest.
They have paid my claims without fuss.
 
eehellfire said:
I'm on Pro Select Care.
It's been pretty good, to be honest.
They have paid my claims without fuss.
Click to expand...

Thanks for confirming, I could use all the peace of mind I can get. Nothing gets me more than paying for insurance that turns out to just be a gimmick, especially when the stakes are as high as in health care.
 
NarrowBandFtw said:
That sounds way too familiar :D reckon our companies have the same broker.

One thing worth noting with Turnberry (and perhaps other providers too, who knows): they literally cover the gap, meaning if your current Discovery plan does not cover something at all (e.g. some out of hospital CAT scan) then Turnberry won't either even if you are on a Turnberry option that specifically provides for that something.

That's what made me think twice in the end.
Click to expand...
Some gap cover policies do cover stuff your scheme doesn't cover at all, that includes some scans, emergency room visits etc. Mine have a few extras like that, it's from a company called Sirago.
 
Foxhound5366 said:
So which provider did you go with, and why Narrowband? I'm curious to know if there is a 'best-in-class' provider for quantifiable reasons.

Regarding your concern, I reckon that makes sense right? There has to be a gap for it to be covered by gap cover, or else there would be no need to even have medical aid in the first place.
Click to expand...

I don't have gap cover currently, and sure it makes sense for them to limit their risk the way they do, but it would help a lot to be much more up front about it.

That R100 - R300 / month for gap cover is quite a bit more expensive than advertised if you first add the extra R1500 / month to get a more expensive discovery plan. It basically doubles my monthly health plan expenses, at which point one can look at comprehensive health plans too that make gap cover less essential ...
 
NarrowBandFtw said:
I don't have gap cover currently, and sure it makes sense for them to limit their risk the way they do, but it would help a lot to be much more up front about it.

That R100 - R300 / month for gap cover is quite a bit more expensive than advertised if you first add the extra R1500 / month to get a more expensive discovery plan. It basically doubles my monthly health plan expenses, at which point one can look at comprehensive health plans too that make gap cover less essential ...
Click to expand...
?
That's the point of gap cover, for R200 odd you get the similar limits of cover from a med aid policy that potentially would cost thousands more than your current policy.
 
airborne said:
Some gap cover policies do cover stuff your scheme doesn't cover at all, that includes some scans, emergency room visits etc. Mine have a few extras like that, it's from a company called Sirago.
Click to expand...

Which package are you on with Sirago ?
Gap cover is starting to get pricey
 
Sirago just quoted me and the wife @ R350

Old Mutual @ R242

Why the huge difference ? Policies look the same....?
 
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