Health Insurance - Is there really a need?

Densey12

I was just wondering if any one can provide some information on this topic!
I have had VHI cover for years, I have had no serious medical issues and had a cruciate reconstruction in 2010. Other than that I am healthy and have no health issues. However due to going back to study, I am no longer able to continue with the same level of cover. My current policy is €1300 a year approx. The basic package of €500 approx, only applies top public hospitals and a medium kind of cover with private hospitals with a €500 excess is about €750 a year which still is beyond my financial means.

My question is, I have a medical card and do I actually need to renew my policy and can anyone actually tell me the benefits of actually having the VHI and what kind of package/cover should I be looking for?
I am 29 years old I should probably mention!

coylemj

You will be penalised after the age of 34 if you have not had continuous cover so if you are happy to fall back on the medical card for the next 5 years, that's a risk you can entertain if you cannot afford even a basic policy.

What loadings will apply?

A loading of 2% of the gross premium will apply for every year of age higher than age 34 that an individual has attained when they first purchase inpatient private health insurance after 30 April 2015.

But previous cover before age 34 can count.....


Are my previous periods of inpatient cover taken into account in calculating the loading?

Yes, if you take out inpatient private health insurance after 30 April 2015, your previous periods of cover will be taken into account in calculating the loading that will apply to you. If you had continuous cover for the period 1 May 2009 to 30 April 2015, the insurer will consider you to have had continuous cover since the age of 23, even if you have no proof of cover prior to 1 May 2009. If you did not have continuous cover for the period 1 May 2009 to 30 April 2015, but you held insurance prior to 1 May 2009, the onus is on you to prove you held insurance at that time.


https://www.hia.ie/consumer-information/lifetime-community-rating-explained

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Densey12 wrote: »

I was just wondering if any one can provide some information on this topic!
I have had VHI cover for years, I have had no serious medical issues and had a cruciate reconstruction in 2010. Other than that I am healthy and have no health issues. However due to going back to study, I am no longer able to continue with the same level of cover. My current policy is €1300 a year approx. The basic package of €500 approx, only applies top public hospitals and a medium kind of cover with private hospitals with a €500 excess is about €750 a year which still is beyond my financial means.

My question is, I have a medical card and do I actually need to renew my policy and can anyone actually tell me the benefits of actually having the VHI and what kind of package/cover should I be looking for?
I am 29 years old I should probably mention!

I've a medical card and HI.
My son would probably be dead if I hadn't been able to go private. He needed surgery on his ear and was weeks away from the infection hitting his brain.
I had heart surgery which was urgent.Had no symptoms except a cough! There was still a considerable wait in the public system. I was done privately and the insurers paid the 40k bill.

Edit.just to add. My son got an appointment for an initial consultation through the mater private 8 months after his surgery. I told them we didn't need it!

harr

I was thinking the same a number of years back but we decided to hold off cancelling for a year...wife got a serious illness a few months later and only for VHI cover and going private the outcome would have been a lot different.
Waiting list was 9 months or more going public compared to 6 days with health insurance...
Financially it's a struggle at times to keep payments up but we manage somehow...