VHI switch to Hibernian Health

zokrez

Hi I have Plan B with VHI and they have announced today that they are increasing their premiums by 23% which I can't afford. Hibernian Health who were Vivas Health seem to be offering a better alternative, the "we plan" which is not only cheaper than VHI but they have stated that they guarantee not to increase the premium for a year. This equates to more than 30% discount on the vhi premium. This seems a no brainer, any one got any experience of this ?

Lizzykins

I switched a couple of years ago to Vivas/Hibernian. Easily done with a phone call and direct debit set up properly which made life very easy. I only insured myself and hubby. Our kids have no health issues so a waste of money to insure them methinks. So the financial gurus say anyway.
At the moment there are no plans to increase premiums so if it was me I'd go for it. It could hardly be as much as 23% anyway as Quinn is only increasing by 16%.

paul66

According to the papers today Hibernian Health have guaranteed not to increase their premiums for a year if you go with them before end of the year. I'm fed up with VHI always trying to change my plan. The price for level 2 with Hibernian (equivalent to VHI Plan is €589 according to their website. I'm going to pay yearly up front and worry about the premium next year as cover looks same and offer more. Is it really easy to switch?

Lizzykins

Amazingly so. I checked on their website to see what plan I wanted and then rang them. I had to give the usual-name, address, date of birth and who I wanted covered. Then they took bank account number and bank branch. I think they might have asked how long I had been with VHI. I got paperwork out in a few days and all was in order. Direct debit went through perfectly from the beginning but if you're paying up front then it would be even easier.
I can't fault them at all. I got sick of the unbelievable rip off that VHI had become. They will lose unbelievable amounts of customers I think and rightly so. Liveline was full of people Friday who had complaints of how VHI were paying out for procedures that should have been queried.

broker2008

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=58103603#post58103603 Have a look here.

brettmirl

Am checking into moving from VHI at the moment.

Are there any disadvantages of moving from VHI to Hibernian in terms of cover?

I'm on B Options at the moment and looking at their i-plan with a day-to-day add on.

That move would save me the bones of €250...so what's the catch?

JohnDigital

I've had a Hibernian Health family plan since they were Vivas Health. My wife has had lazer eye surgery that we got €1000 back for from them, we've had a 2nd baby and almost all costs were covered for semi-private in Holles St, and I spend 2 weeks in hospital myself that involved a lot of tests and an ultrasound. So we've had a lot of dealings with them and I can’t fault them one bit.

Every bit of paperwork was spot on and they never questioned covering any of the costs. Switching from VHI was as simple as making a phone call and signing and returning some paperwork that came after about 2 days. I hate paying the €1600 or what ever it is, but when Ive got a family to look after and you consider the state of the public health service here its worth every cent to me.

broker2008

mick_irl wrote: »

Am checking into moving from VHI at the moment.

Are there any disadvantages of moving from VHI to Hibernian in terms of cover?

I'm on B Options at the moment and looking at their i-plan with a day-to-day add on.

That move would save me the bones of €250...so what's the catch?

Yes that would be a directly comparable product. Your outpatient excess will be 150 as opposed to 220 plus a whole load of lifestyle benefits, contributions towards loads of procedures, more hospitals etc. Much better maternity benefits if required also. If you want semi private cover in private hospital go to level 2 rather than level 1. Also day case procedures fully covered in private hospitals and Beacon, Mater and Blackrock under level 2.

ncmc

My husband and I only joined VHI this year, my husband has a pre-existing illness and so isn't covered for that for 5 years. If we moved to Vivas when our renewal date comes around, would he still have to wait 5 years to be covered for his illness, or would they take into account that he's already 'served' a year with VHI?

broker2008

Yes the waiting period served will carry over if you switch to any other insurer and even if you were to switch back again. So it would be 4 years and a bit before that pre-existing condition would be covered.

ParkRunner

Just wondering would there be additional discounts for people who have their car insurance with Hibernian too, I imagine it would be worth a try!

broker2008

Hibernian Health / VHI & Quinn can't discount health insurance ! They can reduce price as special introductory offer by picking a specific start date hence why Hibernian Health are presently offering about 10% discount on their plans with start dates of 21st or 30th December.

ParkRunner

Isnt that a bit contradictory? They cant offer discounts but they are anyway

broker2008

Yes it does and I can't easily & technically describe the difference between a discount and a premium reduction. I can't find the wording under the relevant act although one of the exceptions allows companies offer group discounts of up to 10%. Hibernian do, VHI sometimes do and Quinn rarely do.

However whilst you can't get a discount on your health insurance by virtue of having a motor policy with the same company you could (if the company so wished) receive a discount on your motor insurance or even cashback.

ncmc

EF wrote: »

Just wondering would there be additional discounts for people who have their car insurance with Hibernian too, I imagine it would be worth a try!

I know Quinn give you free home insurance if you have health and motor insurance with them. Not sure if Hibernian do anything similar.

broker2008

broker2008 wrote: »

Yes it does and I can't easily & technically describe the difference between a discount and a premium reduction. I can't find the wording under the relevant act although one of the exceptions allows companies offer group discounts of up to 10%. Hibernian do, VHI sometimes do and Quinn rarely do.

I remember now. Under the principle of Community rating, no discounts may be applied to the plans offered by health insurers other than 10% group discount (see above) or promotional discounts. These are the promotional discounts that Hibernian Health are giving on 2 particular days in December.