It has released information on the top five surgical claims for men and women in each age band from 20 to 70-plus.

Chief executive Peter Tynan said it highlighted the fact that people taking out insurance needed to check their policy covered what they were most likely to need.

Men in their 20s and 30s are most likely to claim for hernia repairs and endoscopic sinus surgeries. Women the same age claim mostly for endometriosis, freeing abdominal adhesions or ovarian cyst surgeries.

“Men, in particular those in their 20s and 30s, think they’re invincible but I think information like this goes to show that no one’s immune from developing condition’s that require surgical treatment,” Tynan said.

He said surgeries accounted for 7% of Southern Cross claims but were three-quarters of the costs.  Endometriosis surgery and hernia repairs can cost up to $9,500.

Tynan said that, with health insurance, policy holders got what they paid for.

Clients should be encouraged to carefully check what they were covered for, particularly if they were looking to change insurers or going for cheaper policies.

“It’s wasted money to under insure - just like you wouldn’t want to insure your house and find that the policy just covers the letter box, you need to be careful with your level of health coverage. Health insurance is long-term insurance. You need to find a policy that suits your needs and a stable, financially strong insurer that can provide multiple plans. There is no use looking to change insurers once a pre-existing health condition has been developed.”