As you were named on your parents' policy you should not have to pay the
Lifetime Community Rating charge as it will apply for the rest of your life. I would pursue this with VHI or seek advice from Laya if you are going to take out the policy with them.
BTW the loading applies from 35 not 44/45 as you mentioned in your first post - see below.
Don't hang around any longer either in light of
VHI's announcement this evening of another increase from March. The other companies will probably follow on with the same shortly.
Lifetime community rating
Lifetime community rating means that the amount you pay for health insurance does not depend on the age you are now but can be higher depending on the age you were when you first took out health insurance.
For example, a 50-year-old who has held insurance since they were aged 30 would pay the same as a 30-year-old, but a 50-year-old who purchases insurance for the first time would pay more than a 30-year-old.
Higher charges apply to people who are 35 years of age or older when they first take out health insurance. There is a 2% loading for each year over 34 years of age. So, for example, if you are 35 the cost is 2% higher than for a person aged 34 but if you are 44 then the cost is 20% higher (2% x 10).
If you previously had health insurance, you can be given credit for the time you were insured, reducing the number of years to which the loading applies.
If you have a break in cover of less than 13 weeks this will not affect your loading.
If you stopped your insurance cover for periods of unemployment since 1 January 2008, up to three years of credits can be provided.
If you live outside Ireland and move to Ireland, a loading will not apply if you get health insurance within nine months and continue to be insured.
For more information, see the HIA website section
Lifetime Community Rating Explained.