hi there. my family (wife and 2 babies) and I are with the garda medical aid. it's set to increase in price next year and my family health insurance is going to cost around 4900. it seems a bit expensive. has anybody else switched to a more affordable plan with similar cover? thanks
Health Insurance Looking for new health insurance plan for 2 adults/2 children.
- Thread starter Dublin85
- Start date
Phew, that is expensive 
Do you intend staying with the garda scheme or do you want to switch to either VHI, Laya or Irish Life Health?
You don't mention what type of cover you presently have. Over the years have not seen much discussion on AAM about the Garda Medical Aid scheme but there are some previous threads here but they are quite dated. Perhaps you might be able to check over on boards.ie and see if there is anything useful there.
If you know the type of cover you want you could look at the www.hia.ie website and see if you can find similar cover.
Not sure if they would be able to help but www.totalhealthcover do provide a fee based service for advice. This time of year they can be quite busy so probably need to contact them soon. Lots of renewals coming up.
A call to VHI, Laya and Irish Life Health might be worthwhile too in light of the premium that you are facing into.
Do you intend staying with the garda scheme or do you want to switch to either VHI, Laya or Irish Life Health?
You don't mention what type of cover you presently have. Over the years have not seen much discussion on AAM about the Garda Medical Aid scheme but there are some previous threads here but they are quite dated. Perhaps you might be able to check over on boards.ie and see if there is anything useful there.
If you know the type of cover you want you could look at the www.hia.ie website and see if you can find similar cover.
Not sure if they would be able to help but www.totalhealthcover do provide a fee based service for advice. This time of year they can be quite busy so probably need to contact them soon. Lots of renewals coming up.
A call to VHI, Laya and Irish Life Health might be worthwhile too in light of the premium that you are facing into.
Last post on this previous thread gives link to latest discussion between Dermot Goode and Pat Kenny, the Garda scheme and alternatives is mentioned.
Health Insurance - Health Insurance Renewal
For anyone looking for advice renewing their health insurance policy - the most recent Dermot Goode interview with Pat Kenny is available here - https://link.goloudplayer.com/s/pGIVfZITEfql Dermot Goode operates the Total Health Cover website. https://www.totalhealthcover.ie/special_offers...
www.askaboutmoney.com
hi. the garda medical aid is one scheme with no options. it has excellent cover but has gotten too expensive. I listened to the dermot goode interview which I found to be very informative. he mentioned the Laya Inspire Plus and VHI 35 13. Both these look good and better value. I'm not sure which one is better though.Phew, that is expensive
Do you intend staying with the garda scheme or do you want to switch to either VHI, Laya or Irish Life Health?
You don't mention what type of cover you presently have. Over the years have not seen much discussion on AAM about the Garda Medical Aid scheme but there are some previous threads here but they are quite dated. Perhaps you might be able to check over on boards.ie and see if there is anything useful there.
If you know the type of cover you want you could look at the www.hia.ie website and see if you can find similar cover.
Not sure if they would be able to help but www.totalhealthcover do provide a fee based service for advice. This time of year they can be quite busy so probably need to contact them soon. Lots of renewals coming up.
A call to VHI, Laya and Irish Life Health might be worthwhile too in light of the premium that you are facing into.
the main benefit of the garda medical is that there are no excess and it covers so much. but I can't afford 5k a year.
hi. thanks for the link. seem slide thr corporate plans he mentioned are quite good for what I need
Both of those policies are similar cover but the excesses do appear to jump around from one section of the policies to the other (not sure if that HIA comparison will hold with posting). There appears to be a difference of approx. €346.82 between the two with VHI being the more expensive for 2A + 2C. The cover does seem good on both.
If you have a read through some of the AAM previous threads on PMI3513 you might get some more info. Some others here on Inspire Plus.
If you have a read through some of the AAM previous threads on PMI3513 you might get some more info. Some others here on Inspire Plus.
thedaddyman
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Firstly, whatever you pay for is going to be a downgrade in cover if you step outside of the Garda Scheme. Secondly, and I am assuming given your age and profile in your OP, that you are a serving Garda member. Hence, if you do sign for something else, make sure it covers you if you get injured in the line of duty.
Lastly, you are not going to save a fortune here, VHI PM 35 13 is going to cost you €1500 for a single adult, for a family of 4, it's likely going to be somewhere between 3k and 4k
Lastly, you are not going to save a fortune here, VHI PM 35 13 is going to cost you €1500 for a single adult, for a family of 4, it's likely going to be somewhere between 3k and 4k
thanks for the great information
yes I will confirm that if I get injured on duty that I will be covered. it will be a step down in cover but will probably save us 1300 to 1400 a year. the garda medical aid is fantastic but just outside my range
I should hope so because if not it would mean that you are paying for cover while working
In light of last Thursday's carry on that would be outrageous.Trickydicky
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The Garda medical aid is second to none. There are no hidden loopholes. There is one comprehensive scheme which gives excellent cover unlike vhi etc who have about 30 schemes with hidden loopholes in each. If your injured on duty then the state pays for your medical treatment. Stick with the Garda medical aid if you can at all afford it and you won’t regret it.
Surely that is the case whether you have VHI insurance or Garda medical scheme.