Thanks, Sadie.
Yep, I'm aware of the side-by-side comparison on the HIA website. I used this a lot last year when I was renewing my own policy. On a few occasions though I noticed some differences between the policy price HIA displayed and what the actual provider listed. I suppose it's close to impossible for a third-party website to have the correct price 100% of the time though. Comparing VHI OnePlan Extra and Laya Simplicity - [broken link removed] -, the cost for OnePlan Extra matches what VHI is displaying (€1475.80 per adult) but the Laya Simplicity is different. HIA is displaying €1190.26 per adult but the Laya website is showing €1144.61 per adult.
It looks like there would be a penalty involved if my sister was to cancel mid-year.
"Vhi does not allow mid-term cancellations without penalty. If you stop paying your premium mid-term and have had no claims, they will charge you a penalty for breach of contract. This is equal to the
health insurance levy, per person, on a pro-rata basis, for the remaining period left on the policy plus a €50 administration fee per policy. Payment of this penalty does not affect your rights to take out a policy with another insurer.
If you have had claims in this policy year, Vhi will charge the full year’s premium."
I had a look at the health insurance levy PDF that they linked to, but I found it hard to figure out exactly what the penalty might be.
It might be simpler, though not necessarily cheaper, to leave the switching until her policy comes up for renewal.