International Health Insurance

MarcusP12

Hi all,

I'm looking for some clarification or advice on health insurance. My story is that i have been assigned to work abroad by my irish based company so i have effectively moved with my family abroad for what will be the guts of 3 years at least. My company pay health insurance for me here but advised me to keep on my personal health insurance so that i don't go on to 6 month waiting lists. Same with the family. However what i was told by VHI was that because we will be non-resident, we legally can't take out a domestic health insurance policy. So basically in order to make sure there is no break in my policy so that i don't go on to waiting lists, i had to take out an international policy even though i was already covered by my company. Family also had to take out an international policy which is fine as we'd have to get something local anyway.

However, and here's the source of confusion, a colleague who was in a similar position let his irish insurance lapse and then just set it up 6 months before he was due to return so he didnt have any waiting period while home (obviously covered by another policy during this period). So now i'm confused as to what to do when its up for renewal in the next couple of months.

- Is it true that i cannot hold a policy by being non resident, i.e. VHI international or nothing.
- If it is a case that we can't keep domestic policy going, is it a case that we would have to pay for VHI International 6 months before we are back and then hope they can downgrade to a domestic policy after the 6 month waiting
period.
- If we did allow the policies to lapse with a view to setting up again in a couple of years so that we have the waiting period while already covered for the last 6 months of the assignment, will our premiums be a lot higher because of the break?

It seems like allowing the policies to lapse and then going on local policy here and then sorting things out 6 months before we go back makes sense. Any opinions in the know are welcome....thanks in advance....

Yggr of Asgard

Nobody knows how Health Insurance is going to be in Ireland in a couple of years, so essentially it's guess work at this point.

However at this point, if you don't have Irish Health Insurance and come back you will have to deal with waiting periods of 26 weeks and also up to 5 years for pre-existing conditions. You can escape the additional premium for the Lifetime Community Rating if you take out health insurance within 9 month of returning. At least that is the theory.

At this point all Irish Insurers require that you are a resident, the exception is VHI with their International plan which than allows you to convert it to a domestic product on your return.

So it really depends on your age, duration of stay outside Ireland and if you have any pre-existing conditions.

You might want to contact an Insurance Broker for assistance with that as they can better answer questions related to your unique scenario.

And than again, in 3 years Ireland might have Universal Health Policies ....

Mrs OBumble

If you just kept paying VHI, and did not claim, then they would be none the wiser.

The 5 year waiting period for premises existing conditions is a killer, because they won't decide if a condition is pre existing or not until after you've had a procedure. Yes even if you have test results showing you didn't have the problem before.

coylemj

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

If you just kept paying VHI, and did not claim, then they would be none the wiser.

+1 OP, there are times when asking a question gets you the wrong answer and you probably shouldn't have asked it in the first place. Just continue to pay the premium, you don't even have to worry about letters being returned undelivered, tell them you want all communications via e-mail.

Consider reducing the policy to the minimum cover but be aware that if you do so and then upgrade the policy when you return, there may be a waiting period in respect of any treatment(s) covered by the upgraded policy that were not covered by the basic policy you paid for while you were away.