Health Insurance First Time Health Insurance

[emmlou]

Hi all,

I am a 34 year old female with no health issues. My partner has an old Aviva plan (Level 1 hospital) which is up for renewal and he has been stressing to me the importance of getting cover. It is something I have looked into before but the sheer number of plans has always left me confused.

A private room etc is not important to me but if for example I needed a scan or became concerned about a mole and needed it removed etc, I would like to have cover in those instances to avoid long waiting lists as a public patient. I would also like to have cover for peace of mind in case I develop a condition in the future and the older I get, the more likely that will be.

I have returned to postgraduate education so cannot afford a very expensive plan but at the same time I don't want to get a plan just for the sake of it and will pay whatever is necessary to have decent benefits.

Any advice is much appreciated.

 

[snowyb]

Hi emmlou,

Welcome to AAM. First of all, the plan 'Level 1 Hospital' which your partner has at the moment, is not good value for money and would need to
be changed at renewal date. It really only fully covers public hospitals. 65% cover for private hospitals is practically useless, the shortfall
could run into thousands - which defeats the whole point of having health insurance. Plans with public hospital cover only, start at 510 euro.
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The following 4 suggestions cover the 3 levels of hospital cover available; public,private and hi-tech hospital cover, and are suitable for both of you
to consider;

1. Laya Flex 250 Explore; price 949pa; public, private and hi-tech hospital cover included, 250 excess only payable on admission for a stay in a private
or hi-tech hospital, (no excess applies to any public hospital), day case excess 100 per visit.

2. Laya Simply Connect plan; price 1101pa. public, private and hi-tech hospital cover included, 150 excess in private/hi-tech hospitals, day case
excess 50 per visit. Good day to day cover on this plan, max refund 300 per year.

3. Glohealth Better Plan Select Cash; price 1210pa; public, private and hi-tech hospital cover included, excess 75 in private/hi-tech hospitals,
day case 75 excess. Good day to day cover on this plan.

4. Glohealth Zest Plan; price 890pa; public, private and hi-tech hospital cover included(no Blackrock Clinic) excess 300 per admission to private/hi-tech hospitals, day case excess 75 per visit.

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The following 2 plans cover 2 levels of hospital cover; public, private + Beacon hi-tech hospital and are also worth considering for both of you;

1. Glohealth Kick Off Plus plan; price 825pa; public, private and Beacon hi-tech hospital, excess 300 per private/hi-tech admission, day case
excess 75 per visit.

2. Irish Life Health 'Select More Plan'; price 950pa; public, private(including private room) and Beacon hi-tech hospital, excess 150 per private/hi-tech admission, day case excess 75 per visit.

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I'm not sure what budget you have in mind, cheaper priced plans than those shown above would have a higher excess for private/hi-tech admissions. Hope this selection makes choosing a bit more straight forward.

Regards, Snowyb