Health insurance

billyhead

Hi,

I am 28 years of age perfectly healthy (no history of health problems either) and have not had private health cover for the last 5 years. I was just wondering if you could recommend the best cover for somone my age who is single with no dependents (and how much it would be annually after tax). Also if I sign up to a policy straight away and god forbid something happens to me say just after I signed up would I be covered or is there some sort of settling in period with Health insurers i.e you have to be signed up for a length of time first?

NuMarvel

billyhead wrote: »

Hi,

I am 28 years of age perfectly healthy (no history of health problems either) and have not had private health cover for the last 5 years. I was just wondering if you could recommend the best cover for somone my age who is single with no dependents (and how much it would be annually after tax). Also if I sign up to a policy straight away and god forbid something happens to me say just after I signed up would I be covered or is there some sort of settling in period with Health insurers i.e you have to be signed up for a length of time first?

To deal with your last point first, all health insurers apply three types of waiting periods to new members, such as yourself. The three waiting periods, based on your age, are:

A) Initial waiting period - For the first 26 weeks, you have no cover for any type of treatment, unless it's because of an accident that happens after you join. Please note, I said accident, not emergency, some people hear accident and automatically think all emergencies are covered. Sometimes health insurers will reduce waive this, so haggle with them on this when you're talking to them.

Maternity waiting period - Treatment relating to childbirth isn't covered for the first 52 weeks of your policy. If the baby is born after the 52 weeks is served, then you're in the clear.

C) Pre-existing waiting period - Treatment related to conditions/illnesses that were present prior to you joining is not covered for the first 5 years of the policy. Health insurers usually make this determination based on information a consultant gives them at the time of claiming; you don't have to complete a medical when you join.

D) Out-patient visits - The waiting periods above generally don't apply to out-patient visits and costs, such as MRI or CT scans, GP or consultant visits, complementary therapists, etc.

Regarding what plan would be best for you, it really depends on what you want to be covered for, and where. There are a few questions you need to ask (and answer) before making a decision:

1) What kind of hospitals do you want cover in? Just public hospitals or do you want access to private hospitals as well? I'm in Dublin and I make sure I have access to private hospitals (St Vincent's Private, Hermitage in Lucan, etc) to keep my options open, without breaking the bank. Most health insurance customers go for a product that gives them cover for a private room in public hospitals, a semi-private room (i.e. shared) room in private hospitals and maybe partial cover in the major hi-tech hospitals, like the Blackrock Clinic and Mater Private hospital. Some products include an excess for treatment in private hospitals as well, so keep your eyes open for this.

2) Do you want cover for out-patient costs such as GP, physiotherapists, etc? I don't have it myself, because my visits are infrequent and I think the tax relief on medical expenses is enough, but if you play sports or whatnot, you may decide you want to have cover for physio, x-rays, etc in case of accidents.

3) How important are lifestyle benefits to you? Some products (expecially those from Hibernian) have a raft of lifestyle benefits such as teeth whitening, eye laser surgery, etc. If these are important to you, make sure to check them out.

I'm currently with Hibernian's I Plan Level 2, but, because of the Government's Health Insurance Levy, there's been a price increase since I joined, so come my renewal I'll definitely be changing plan if not insurer. There are alot of products out there, but you can find indeoendent information at the Health Insurance Authority's website at http://www.hia.ie/sec4_consumer_information/.