Health Insurance Health Insurance - Changing jobs

Hi,
I'm looking for a little advice. My existing health insurance (VHI) is due for renewal on 1st February. However, I'm due to start a new job with Irish Life Health insurance on 15th February. What is the best way to deal with my Health Insurance to ensure that I don't have a break in my cover. Any help is appreciated.

Hi Leabharlanna,

I'm guessing that you will be on a corporate plan paid for by Irish Life Health from 15th February 2019.

I would be inclined to change to an Irish Life plan from 1st Feb 2019 your actual renewal date.
With Irish Life, they allow you to change plans at any time outside of renewal date, so they can just move you onto their
corporate scheme from 15th Feb 2019.

Otherwise, you will be locked into another year with VHI until Feb 2020.

Regards, Snowyb

Thanks very much Snowyb. As always, you're a mine of information.
Regards
Leabharlanna

Just a little clarification on this. If you are moving to a partially or fully sponsered policy with a different provider you can cancel your Vhi policy mid year. In this case the poster could change his cover to the new provider from 15th Feb but only if the new policy premium is sponsered.

In similar situation my husband is due to start a new job on 6th March. Our health insurance for family (2 kids) is with Laya .his new employer covers health for the family.

Until I read this thread I had planned to renew and then just cancel when he moved now I'm thinking this might not be possible?

According to kitty81, you can cancel a health insurance policy mid-year without penalty, once you are moving to a partially or fully sponsered policy
with a different provider. You could confirm this information with the Health Insurance Authority. Contact details as follows;

https://www.hia.ie/contact/contact-details

Regards, Snowyb

Laya don't allow that. Our policy is up for renewal towards the end of Feb . I'm thinking best bet is not to renew and just wait till he starts his job ...break in cover will be well under the 13 weeks

Your Laya plan will automatically renew towards end of Feb, on your renewal date.
I don't have any experience of corporate plans so I'm not sure how that will work out.

I would advise to check it out with the Health Insurance Authority.
Unless any other posters have personal experience to share on this topic.

Regards, Snowyb

Yes but I was planning on cancelling and then going on to company policy when he starts should be max 4 week gap in cover so would imagine that's ok?

I know this is the case with vhi but I've no experience with the other health insurers

snowyb said:

According to kitty81, you can cancel a health insurance policy mid-year without penalty, once you are moving to a partially or fully sponsered policy
with a different provider.

Regards, Snowyb

Click to expand...

Hope it's OK to revive this old thread but I've got the "opposite" question.
I'm leaving my job which provides Irish Life Health (4D Health 2) insurance (90% paid by employer, 10% by employee).
What's normally the situation here?
Am I "locked into" the current policy until the end of the policy year or am I free to shop around and switch to another policy/provider without penalty if I want?
This suggests that I may only be able to switch to another Irish Life plan?

Again, I don't have answers for Irish Life/Laya but on the opposite side of things it is unreasonable for a company to contract you to their products after an employer instigated it and you've left that employment. Maybe you have been made redundant, maybe you are taking a lower paid job, maybe you are retiring and do not have funds to keep paying a premium (either one determined by your previous employer or one from their lowest offerings).

Hia is really very poor on providing adequate information, I had a quick scan over something I am very familiar with and while the bare minimum is included, it would not answer the question fully for me. Maybe I picked the wrong topic to check and hopefully not all information provided is as weak as that! That post you included does not give any information of the cessation of an employer contribution and while it doesn't say it, it based on an individual policy rather than a subsidised one.

Best bet is to contact Irish Life and let them clarify their position.

For what it's worth, I asked Irish Life which of the following options were open to me on leaving employment where my employer heretofore paid 90% of the premium.

1. Continue on the same policy paid by myself
2. Switch to another Irish Life policy until the current policy year expires
3. Switch to another health insurance provider

They told me that all of these options are open to me.
And that as long as I put alternative cover in place within 13 weeks there will be no break in cover or any need to serve "waiting" periods with any insurer.