Health Insurance First time policy 24 year old

Hi. I have my 24 year old on my health cover. He has a 14 month old son. .his partner has started a new job last week and has med cover .

I'm just seeking advice , on getting him onto his own policy ..no frills ..but that would cover ...him , in the unfortunate event he had a serious medical event , as things are tight enough as it is.
I'm on pension ..now ..it's a bit of a chore ... Also cover would have to ideally include his son.
Appreciate any guidance ...id pay for 12 months to get him going

Hi,

See you got a previous recommendation for Signify Plus when you mentioned that he would be 22-23 but it is a lot more expensive now probably because of all the price increases since that thread.

In light of his age and possible different age restrictions with each of the health insurers it might be worth your while to give them a ring and see what they can do price wise for you/him/baby

We've been making enquiries before our renewal too. When we look up alternatives on the Laya website, they suggested 2 cheaper ones - which we didn't like because of the reduction in benefits. When we rang, a different plan was suggested. Some of the benefits are better (most are the same or similar) and it is cheaper. We haven't decided yet as we want to check out VHI too.
But it's definitely worth ringing as well as looking up info online.
By the way, we also have a young adult. We were told the Laya policies which have young adult rates give a 5% discount for 25 year olds. The discount for a 24 year old would be more.

Should a 24 year old be paying for health insurance if they are a healthy non-smoker? They are subsidising the unhealthy smokers and older people.

Serious medical events are well covered by Irish hospitals.

And if he needs to see a consultant, he can pay for it privately out of the money saved on health insurance premiums.

Brendan Burgess said:

Should a 24 year old be paying for health insurance if they are a healthy non-smoker? They are subsidising the unhealthy smokers and older people.

Serious medical events are well covered by Irish hospitals.

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Totally disagree. Rather you than me to be joining the long waiting lists. For one problem I had some years ago I was told if it was urgent I would be waiting about a year and non-urgent the waiting list was 4 to 5 years! Sorted with surgery in Blackrock in 3 months.

Big age difference alright between me and a 24 year old but anyone young or old can get sick quite quickly and with a young child on the policy the sooner they are sorted the better.

A basic inexpensive policy which gives you access to the Rapid Access clinics are worth their weight in gold. I waited in A&E for 7 hours when they weren't too busy during Covid and that was when I was in pain. On another occasion 2 hours in Carrickmines, VHI and that included x-rays etc.

But the argument for a young person not paying for health insurance is that the saved premiums will more than cover any costs.

Possible consultant visits would have to be paid for, to avoid the queue, and Laya health clinics are open to everyone, age 1 and over, for a charge.

Whether the young person has the discipline to ring fence the premiums, if necessary, is another story and I suppose having the peace of mind of knowing cover is there would be important for some/many?

Surely you should just tell him you're not paying for him anymore and let the grown man decide what he's going to do?

The best thing you could do for him now would be to let him be a grown up e.g. organise and pay for his own health insurance should he want it.

Seaniemed said:

The best thing you could do for him now would be to let him be a grown up e.g. organise and pay for his own health insurance should he want it.

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In the ideal world this would apply but with a 24 year old with a young child and lots of other financial commitments it would most likely fall by the wayside. I would agree with the OP to pursue it.

charlie007 said:

I suppose having the peace of mind of knowing cover is there would be important for some/many?

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I knew I had seen another thread recently where it mentions that private payments are rejected these days as consultants only accept payments from health insurers presumably for medical procedures. This is another reason why it is best to hold a health insurance policy, even a basic one.

I'd seen that thread but there wasn't any real evidence to back up the claim.

But yeah, for peace of mind, another reason to have a policy.