Thinking changing from VHI's Plan B to Quinn or Hibernian? Cornmarket and Brokers

Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

Thanks again NF77 :cool:

Just looking at the HSI site regarding Open Enrollment:


Open Enrolment and Lifetime Cover

Under Open Enrolment private health insurers must accept all applicants for insurance cover, regardless of their risk status, age or sex, subject to prescribed waiting periods.

Lifetime Cover protects you by guaranteeing all consumers the right to renew their policies, irrespective of factors such as age, risk status or claims history. Once you have health insurance, an insurer cannot stop cover or refuse to renew your insurance, except in very limited circumstances.
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This raises a number of questions in my mind:

  • Is this the same as saying anyone can join any plan?
  • Must the Insurer accept you for any plan they offer?
  • Can they target plans exclusively to one sector, which is not available to the customer in general?

Don't get me wrong, just trying to cover all the bases here ;)

BTW, I think I could stretch to http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/0939738929/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&qid=1264461980&sr=1-3&condition=used (this gem) from Amazon :p

However, the postage could just be the deal-breaker!!!

Regards

IP

EDIT: I think I just found the answers I was looking for above, on National Consumer Agency Web-site

What are the different types of health insurance company?

Basically there are two types in Ireland:

"Open membership insurers" - VHI, Quinn Healthcare (which took over Bupa Ireland in 2006) and Vivas Health. These companies must provide insurance to any member of the public who requests it, provided that they are under 65 or were insured within the previous 13 weeks.

"Restricted membership insurers" provide cover to you and your dependants if you are a member of a particular group - normally a vocational group or an employee of a specific organisation. Examples would be members of the Garda Siochana, and ESB employees.
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So, it looks as if Quinn Healthcare have to quote you for whatever plans they offer, as they are a so-called "Open membership insurer".

Let's just see, I will keep the Board informed, although there are at least two posters who have availed of this.

IP
 
Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

Johnweber said:
I think a €200 excess is excessive for a day case procedure in a hi - tech hospital as the chances of requiring a day case procedure are quite high as that is one of the biggest claims that an insurer has to pay out on. Personally if I needed a day case procedure, it would be to a hi-tech that I would go. Perhaps it is a false saving ?
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Have you actually read Novaflare's reply?

It was not about the general point that some people find excesses to be excessive for one aspect of a particular plan ;)

It really was about a comparison of two available health plans, and the similarities/differences therein.

There are trade-offs in all reasonably-priced plans, unless you opt for the very top one's.
 
Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

A quick point about company or corporate plans, they all have excesses that you have to pay to go into hospital, which you normally wouldnt mind paying if your employer was paying your health insurance premium on your behalf, but when you are paying for it yourself, its a bit rich to have to pay for treament also.

Family designed plans (unless you are with Quinn) dont have these in patient charges at all.

I feel like an expert in the subject as my own renewal was february and my VHI had gotten so expensive, I just couldnt continue it.

The Health Insurance Authority website is helpful but they have very litrle info about rhe newer plans, which I have now found out work out cheaper and cover more.

For those of us who arent very internet savy, Cornmarket in Dublin City do a free service over the phone where they look at the different plans with VHI, Hibernian and Quinn insurance and they saved me 280eu and now I have full cover in Blackrock and The Hermatige which VHI had stopped covering on my plan.
 
Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

if u want to get it right my only advice is hibernian...man, stay away from quinn...my personal opinion...
 
Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

Marymack said:
A quick point about company or corporate plans, they all have excesses that you have to pay to go into hospital, which you normally wouldnt mind paying if your employer was paying your health insurance premium on your behalf, but when you are paying for it yourself, its a bit rich to have to pay for treament also.

Family designed plans (unless you are with Quinn) dont have these in patient charges at all.

I feel like an expert in the subject as my own renewal was february and my VHI had gotten so expensive, I just couldnt continue it.

The Health Insurance Authority website is helpful but they have very litrle info about rhe newer plans, which I have now found out work out cheaper and cover more.

For those of us who arent very internet savy, Cornmarket in Dublin City do a free service over the phone where they look at the different plans with VHI, Hibernian and Quinn insurance and they saved me 280eu and now I have full cover in Blackrock and The Hermatige which VHI had stopped covering on my plan.
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Hi Mary

Welcome to the forums. I notice that you've mentioned Cornmarket in your posts to date. Forgive me for being a cyncial ol' grouch, but can you confirm that you have no connection to Cornmarket, other than being a customer of theirs?

Not all the company/corporate/group tailored plans have hospital excesses. Quinn allow their customers to "buy out" the excesses on some of their plans and some of Aviva's tailored plans (Nurses, Teachers, Smart) don't include hospital excesses. In the case of Quinn however, it may or may not be more cost effective to buy the excess out, but the option is there at least.

Can you tell us what plan you switched from and to as well? €280 is a great saving in this day and age!
 
Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

Marymack said:
The Health Insurance Authority website is helpful but they have very litrle info about rhe newer plans, which I have now found out work out cheaper and cover more
Click to expand...

Which plans have little info ?
 
Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

in_bad_debt said:
if u want to get it right my only advice is hibernian...man, stay away from quinn...my personal opinion...
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Any particular reason for this opinion?

If you want to give advice, you should provide the reason behind this, with examples, if available.

If you can't do this, this is just your unsupported opinion.
 
Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

With VHI I was on the Family Plan, I think its their newest plans and I found it hard to find info on this plan for the Health Insurance Authority, but that may well have beeny fault as Im not an internet wizz!

I am not associated with Cornmarket other than them saving me money although I should be getting a cut from them
as I had my parner and parents ring them also!
 
Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

Also I am now on the Level 2 plan for teachers.
 
Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

Marymack said:
Also I am now on the Level 2 plan for teachers.
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VHI must heard you left and they're now trying to win you back :) - [broken link removed]


Vhi release Teachers Plan and Nurses Plan 01.03.2010

Two new plans will be released by Vhi on 1 March 2010. These plans will be offered from 1 March to 31 March 2010 only.
The Teachers Plan and Nurses Plan (€772.22 each for an adult) both give cover for a private room in a private hospital. There is a €4,000 maternity accommodation grant. There are some maternity out-patient day-to-day benefits; however these plans do not have general day-to-day benefits such as cover for GPs. The out-patient excess is €125 per person. These plans differ from each other only in that the Teachers Plan gives cover for voice coaching and the Nurses Plan gives cover for chiropodists/podiatrists.
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Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

My plan works out cheaper,my maternity care is much better and I get my son free this year when VHI wanted to charge me 280eu for him, but that looks like a good plan. Il be shopping around again next year, if it gets anymore expensive I maybto have seriously reconsider having it at all.
 
Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

Marymack said:
For those of us who arent very internet savy, Cornmarket in Dublin City do a free service over the phone where they look at the different plans with VHI, Hibernian and Quinn insurance and they saved me 280eu and now I have full cover in Blackrock and The Hermatige which VHI had stopped covering on my plan.
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I'd be surprised if Cornmarket give anything away for free. They charge commission on anything they sell you dont' they ? And it would be in their own interests to sell you a product they gain commission from instead of one from which they don't. Did they sell you a product they got commission from ? I heard Cornmarket was quite expensive in terms of charges over the last few years. I'd prefer to go for an execution only broker myself.
 
Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

I just got my renewal for VHI family plan level 1, does anyone know a similar package with another insurer?
 
Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

There is no broker fee with any broker for health insurance because everyone has to pay equal for health insurance, its the way its regulated
but there are broker fees for car insurance.

Funny that I actually rang today to query something and they told
me about a new plan that came out this week that works out cheaper so I await the info on that!

Mags I wouldnt want to give you advise in case I was wrong! But if you have a family moving from VHI should save you upwards of 300eu, and depending on own plan, you
may get more cover for dental and gp and a&e visits. You can use the health insurance authoritys website or if you already have business with Cornmarket, ring them and see what they would advise.
 
Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

Sandrat - I used to be on family plan with VHI - be wary - they dont cover The Hermatige anymore at all and they have seriously reduced the cover for gp and dental andp there are excesses on that plan now to claim, none of which I was
made aware of until I did a health insurance
review. Scary stuff!
 
Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

Marymack said:
There is no broker fee with any broker for health insurance because everyone has to pay equal for health insurance, its the way its regulated .
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The community rating laws don't affect broker fees.

Aviva Health pay a commission to brokers for health insurance business, and there's at least one on-line broker who charges the customer a fee instead of the insurer (with an arrangement that Aviva pays the fee as commission if the customer chooses Aviva).

If these arrangements were against any laws, I'm certain the Health Insurance Authority would have brough some type of legal action at this stage.
 
Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

I didnt set up my health insurance
online, I set it up after careful
consideration, over the phone. The price I was quoted from Aviva directly is the exact price I am now paying after being set up by a broker.

I cant say that all brokers dont charge, and I didnt say that, but I have been very thorough and asked these questions myself, once you make sure ur not paying
any more and its the right plan for you and your family, then you wont be caught out!
 
Re: Health Insurance: VHI/Quinn/Hibernian?

Marymack said:
There is no broker fee with any broker for health insurance because everyone has to pay equal for health insurance, its the way its regulated
but there are broker fees for car insurance.
Click to expand...

Marymack said:
I didnt set up my health insurance
online, I set it up after careful
consideration, over the phone. The price I was quoted from Aviva directly is the exact price I am now paying after being set up by a broker.
Click to expand...

Cornmarket still get a commission when referring people to Aviva therefore they would have a vested interest in selling you an Aviva policy.
 
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