Health insurance for Family (headwrecker!!)

dubdub123

Trying to figure out what would be a good policy to get for a family of 4 - two adults and two children..

Quinn Healthcare - Essential Plus looks good. Family Care also has same hospital coverage, and you can claim back on GP visits etc..
VHI - Plan B looks good (and has been around years) . Family Plan, Level 1 also looks good, in that you can claim back without having to hit an excess, BUT the hosptial coverage is a little less then Plan B.

So far, Quinn Direct Family Care is the front runner.. Anyone use this or have experience? Are they messy for dealing with ? I want to get a really good level of coverage regarding availability of hospitals and cover the really awful scenarios.. getting a few euro back on GP visits isn't as high a priority but of course would be nice : ) Any comments would be great !!

Lizzykins

I was with VHI for 20 odd years. As the family grew bigger I added each one onto the plan until we were paying out over 2k. Then child number 4 was born and I did a rethink. I moved to Vivas and only insured myself and hubby. A fair few financial advisors have said that it's madness to insure children as there is no private children's hospital in Ireland and not too many private beds. I only had to claim once for any of mine with VHI. One of my boys had an asthma attack and was in Crumlin for a night. No private room though and when he was referred to a specialist I had to pay. VHI was a waste of time there.
Now hubby is 50 odd and I'm in my mid 40s we need a level of cover that will give us heart procedures in the Mater Private or Blackrock Clinic.

information

Lizzykins wrote: »

A fair few financial advisors have said that it's madness to insure children as there is no private children's hospital in Ireland and not too many private beds.

Hospital cover for children is a waste of money as stated above.
See if you can get gp only cover for kids, but check the costs against a couple of gp visits.

dubdub123

interesting hadn't thought of that.. Our oldest child is a teenager though, and i don't know if she would still be able to attend a children's hospital or if she would end up being treated in an adult hospital should something awful occur.. I know from years back I used to attend patrick dunns hospital but they had acut off age of around 12/13 normally.. we live in the west of ireland now and would be looking to mayo general or the galway hospitals for care..

On the point of good hospital coverage for those in their 30s,40s.. that is something that is really a high concern.. Is the VHI plan B good in this regard? their family plan appears to have less hospital coverage.. Quinn Healthcare seems really good here, but has anyone usedthis ?? I'm worried it may look good on paper but if something happens they could be difficult to claim from.. I think their motor policies are fairy restrictive, so I'm a little concerned... Any info would be greatly appreciated !!

PatCarr

Research the package... so many people don't read the small print and get caught for expenses they think they are covered for.

mad_dub

as someone who has used all health insurance companies in the last number of years, i would like to say that i will be spending that little bit extra to insure myself and my family with VHI. Hibernian and Quinn are saying that they are so much cheaper but when you compare the products between each company, you will find there is little to no difference! plus, hibernian are saying that they are an irish company, they are no more irish as they are owned by Aviva, a foreign company. do not be fooled by their ads. Quinn, though they are cheaper, are a nightmare to get the simplest claim paid. vhi, although there might be some problems associated with the company, are still the best brand available.