Health Insurance Advice

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but what about when it doesn’t? Healthcare can be expensive. Health Insurance can help cover the costs associated with healthcare in Ireland.

It is important to note that in Ireland we have what is known as a Lifetime Community Rating. Since, 1st May 2015, if you are over the age of 34 when you first take out health insurance, you will have to pay extra for your cover under the Lifetime Community Rating (LCR) loadings. This works out at an extra 2% of your premium for each year above 34, up to a maximum of 70%.

There is real choice of plans in the market when it comes to health insurance providers and the type of cover available. That’s where we can offer you our expertise in searching for a plan that best meets your individual or family needs.

Most brokers only offer options with Irish life Health. We can offer you advice on plans from each of the three health insurance providers in Ireland; Irish Life Health, VHI Healthcare and Laya Healthcare. We can provide impartial advice on which plan will best suit your needs.

Key Considerations:

• What type of hospitals do you want to be covered for, e.g. public hospitals only or public and private hospitals?
• What type of accommodation do you require in hospital, e.g. private or semi-private?
• How much of an excess are you willing to bear in order to lower your premium?

Additional cover options that you may wish to consider:

• Do you require cover for routine medical expenses cover such as GP visits, routine dental, physiotherapy etc.? Before adding this to your cover, calculate what your average annual spend is. You normally only get a refund of a percentage of these expenses. Is it worth the additional premium?
• Do you require extra maternity expenses cover?
• Do you require cover for High Tech hospitals? i.e. cover for hospitals such as the Mater Private, Blackrock Clinic or the Beacon Hospital.
• Do you require extra cover for private psychiatric, convalescence or travel cover?

Your needs will change over time, we will review your cover annually in order to ensure that you always have a health insurance plan appropriate to your specific needs.

If you would like advice on Health Insurance plans, please fill out the form below. We will be in touch within 1 business day to discuss your needs. We cannot arrange your policy for you and we charge a fee of €50 for advice on Health Insurance products.