Hi ALL,
neither myself or my wife have health insurance and in a way we are lucky to have never needed it. We are due our first child this summer and we are going to Hollier Street. Im seriously considering taking out private health insurance but having never had it before im looking for advice on what the typical one to get for a couple in our position would be and how much it would cost. Neither of us smoke or have any underlieing health issues. Any advice welcome on bith what policies and what cost i could be looking at... or should i even bother with it?
thanks in advance
Re: about to have a bay. which insurance should we get?
Congrats on the impending bundle(s?) of joy!
Firstly, and you probably know this already, but whatever health insurance plan you pick won't cover this pregnancy, as new customers have to wait 12 months before maternity cover kicks in. On the plus side, most health insurance products offer free cover for new borns up to their first renewal.
There are a myriad of different products out there (over 150 at last count) but if you have a look at the Health Insurance Authority's website, www.hia.ie, you'll see guides to buying health insurance that clear things up a bit.
The HIA's website also has a comparison tool. It will ask you some questions about what kind of cover you want so that you can narrow down the numbers of products. In summary though, this is what you need to think about:
What kind of hospitals do you want cover in?
In Ireland there are public hospitals (state owned or funded. Primarily public patients but access to private facilities), private hospitals (privately owned) and hi-tech hospitals (large private hospitals with very specialised equipment).
In terms of costs, products that give full cover in public hospitals are cheaper than those that give full cover in private hospitals. And products that give full cover in h-tech hospitals are the most expensive.
Most people in Ireland, myself included, are on a product that gives them cover in public and private hospitals and partial cover in hi-tech hospitals. My reasoning for this is to give myself as wide a choice as hospital options, without breaking the bank. Some products include an excess for treatment in private or hi-tech hospitals, so make sure you’re aware of this.
Even if you use a hospital not fully covered by your plan (e.g. your plan covers public hospitals and you use a hi tech hospital), most plans, but not all, will partially cover the hospital costs with you paying the balance. What kind of accommodation do you want in hospital?
When in hospital you have two accommodation choices: a private room (room to yourself) or a semi private room (shared room with up to 5 other people).
If you have a preference for a private room in your chosen hospital type, pick a product that covers that. Bear in mind though that neither insurers nor hospitals can guarantee the availability of a private room.
Something else to bear in mind is that some private hospitals, especially the newer ones, only have private rooms – e.g. Whitfield Clinic in Waterford. If there’s a particular private hospital you want cover for, it wouldn’t be any harm to check what kind of rooms they have first.
What illnesses are covered? For each insurer, any illness covered by their top level of cover will be covered by their most basic plan: the important thing is where you’re treated (i.e. hospital and accommodation) and not what you’re treated for.
I mention this so you don’t think that you need to buy the most expensive plan to have all illnesses covered. In fact, some of the benefits of the most expensive plans (cover in h-tech hospitals for major heart surgery and out-patient radiotherapy) is available on the most popular plans.
Out-patient cover
Most traditional health insurance plans have very limited (i.e. as good as none) out-patient cover for GPs, physio, consultants, etc. However, alot of the newer products do, but still not full cover (usually around 50 to 60% cover).
In any case, PAYE workers get tax relief at the standard rate (currently 20%) for some of these costs. Other benefits
There are a plethora of other benefits available. For example, maternity cover, emergency cover while abroad, cover to travel abroad for treatment, screening, lifestyle benefits, nurselines, GP lines, cover in nursing homes after a hospital stay... and alot more. Have a think about what you think you'd like included on your cover and shop around accordingly.
The most important stuff
At this stage, starting out, probably the key thing to get right at the start is the kind of hospital cover you want as that's where the biggest expense is and it’s what the waiting periods primarily apply to. With regards to the other stuff (out-patient, lifestyle, nurselines, etc) don't get too bogged down in it right now.
Joining
A few points about joining - There's no medical to complete, it's a simple application (name, address, date of birth, etc). When you start health insurance for the first time, there are waiting period to serve, i.e. lengths of time to wait from the date of joining before certain types of cover kick in. This are age related and for under 55s they are:
Initial waiting period of 26 weeks - Nothing is covered for the first 26 weeks except for hospital treatment due to an accident or injury.
Maternity waiting period of 52 weeks - see above
Pre existing waiting period of 5 years. This means any hospital treatment related to a condition present prior to your joining date isn't covered for the first 5 years of membership. You don't have to declare any illnesses; it's ultimately based on what a consultant says on a claim form. This is why I think you're ALWAYS best to ring your insurer before any treatment.
The waiting periods above don't apply to out-patient cover, so if you're getting physio for a bad back from years past, you can still claim for costs incurred after you join.
That's enough from me for now. Use the search function to look around the forum as this topic has come up a few times, you might find useful info there.
Re: about to have a bay. which insurance should we get?
thank you very much. just as a matter of interest what will i be talking 'ballpark' figure for monthly payments for a basic enough cover for me the wife and the forthcoming baby?
thanks again
you can't get it to cover the impending birth, as it is within the waiting period. Maternity cover has a 52 week waiting period, meaning that you must be member 52 weeks BEFORE the birth.
d) maternity or pregnancy benefits are not covered for 52 weeks from the date of becoming a health member with Aviva. The exclusion period applicable to new members for the following benefits is 42 weeks:
Post natal home help
Doula services
Cord blood stem cell preservation
Breastfeeding consultancy
Partner benefit
