Private Medical Insurance

Hi Ruddy! Would also appreciate your opinions if possible! Family of 4 (male 39, female 37 and a 3 and 4 year old). Currently with VHI on their PMI 04 10 plan. Due to renew in a few weeks but trying to reduce costs if possible as funds are tight as a single income family at the moment.

Wife has migraine issues which are currently being managed by a high tech injection paid through the Drug Payment Scheme. I'm due a sleep study in 2 weeks to determine if I have sleep apnoea. Kids are generally very healthy, though we have claimed for an adenoidectomy and grommets for one of them last year.

I would maybe see a GP once a year, wife maybe 4-5 times. Don't think maternity cover is of importance to us any more!

Would appreciate if you could recommend alternative plans as we're currently paying about e360 a month.

Thanks Ruddy for the reply, I didn't know there would be a 2 year waiting period. Disregarding orthopaedic procedures, could you recommend a plan to increase our cover for than what we currently have?

Hi Ruddy,

Thank you for the great work you are doing here.

I am male 70 no health issues and i am on Irish life Health 4D Health 2 which has jumped by about €500 to €2438. I have never claimed off it or used the personalised packages. I've always taken out the travel insurance. What would you suggest as a good alternative at a reduced price. Thank you in advance.

Hi Cormie, unfortunately you can't get a lower premium outside the state. Any provider selling health insurance here must follow the community rating system, which means the same premium applies regardless of health status or lifestyle. That said, the plan you're on is a classic renewal trap, premium inflation has made this a poor plan now, and better plans have been introduced. Laya's "Inspire Access" covers essentially the same benefits (different excesses) but is around 570 euro p.a. cheaper. You don't even need to leave Laya to save significantly. Worth comparing all your options at www.medplan.ie .

On waiting periods, switching insurer won't reset your cover as long as your new plan covers the same benefits as your current one. Continuity of cover is protected under Irish law provided there's no gap in membership.

Hey. Wondering if someone could give me advice on this. I'm looking at signing up to our first family private plan.

Two adults (39 and 38) with no existing health issues (although I am exploring some mental health assessments) and one child, aged 3.

I’m a sole director/employee of an Irish LTD company and have been told there may be options to do a director's plan or something - I don't really know.

Our priorities are:

• good MRI and orthopaedic options
• decent consultant contribution
• online/digital GP access
• really just giving a 'security blanket' feel over our healthcare

Target budget is ideally around €100–€150 per month total, though slightly above may be possible for strong value. I'm stretching myself to even be considering this financially so it really needs to work for us. May not be doable.

Anyone able to (a) shed light on how the director's thing could work, if at all, and (b) tell me if there's anything out there that could work and not be a waste of money?

Appreciate any guidance on this.

Unfortunately, yes.

Really we're just looking to hopefully cut waiting times and have access to online doctor.

We've had a couple of instances over past two years we're waiting list times have meant we've been forced to pay elsewhere and I'm looking to safeguard against this.

Not really bothered about private hospitals unless that's essential for the shorter waiting times.

Suppose I'm wondering - is it a complete waste going for the basic plans? Irish Life Health First Cover Extra is one that caught my eye, but it may be pointless.

Appreciate your response.

Hi Ruddy, amazing advice you are giving here, thank you.

We have been fortunate enough to have employer-provided health insurance for many years, but this will no longer be available due to a job change and I need to look at options from later in the summer.

We're currently on VHI PMI 61 10. 2 adults, early 40s, 3 kids under 7.

No major ongoing health issues, although we have made use of the policy for a one-off elective cardiac procedure, various scans, GP/Consultant fees, online doc and the urgent care clinic. Current policy is €4.7k a year for all of us, so hoping to get something a bit cheaper if we can. Any suggestions of where to start gratefully received.

Should kids be on a separate policy? No maternity/fertility cover needed. Probably would lean towards Laya or VHI as both have clinics near us.

I've had a look at the HIA comparison site but the sheer volume of policies is ridiculous. 

Hi Ruddy - thanks for all of the great work here - I dropped you a PM and also posted here on the 15th May my renewal - would you mind taking a look if you can Thanks

Thanks again for the recommendations above. For anyone else in the same boat, these are the premiums I was quoted with Laya for each plan (prices include 3% fee for paying monthly).

Inspire - 1842.61
153.56

Inspire Access - 1733.98
144.48

Inspire Choice - 1910.65
159.23

Inspire Care - 1720 ish
143ish


This is compared to the 2,323.15 price for Total Health Complete 175.

I'll need to look through the comparison tables properly and decide. I rang back asking if there's any plans that don't give any cover for maternity, fertility or any children/family orientated issues and was told no, that it's mandatory for all plans to give some level of cover.

I really just want unexpected/urgent cover so it's another community rating woe :(