Health insurance, there’s a lot to it! With several different providers on the market, and each provider offering a variety of different plans, it can be difficult to know which is the best plan to suit your needs, and also, what are the important things to look out for. We partner with Irish Life Health and can compare your current cover with a range of health plans that suit all life stages.
We caught up with our Health Advisor, Declan Murray, to ask him for his top tips, including some of the most commonly asked questions we receive about Health insurance.
When looking at different health insurance plans, what should I look out for?
This will depend on whether you are new to Private Health insurance, or if you currently have a policy and you are shopping around for a better deal!
If you already have health insurance, it is important to make sure that you are comparing plans that offer at least the same level of cover as your current plan. If you change your level of cover, this may impact the need to serve additional waiting periods (see below). The main areas you should review when comparing plans include the choice of private hospitals offered and the level of cover for the list of procedures/ care provided. These two factors are likely to be the main driving force behind the premium level you can expect to pay.
Can I claim from my health insurance plan if I have just taken out a policy for the first time?
There are lots of outpatient benefits that you can access immediately. Your Hastings advisor can outline the exact benefits you can access immediately. Unfortunately you don’t have access to inpatient benefits immediately. Anyone who is new to private health insurance will need to serve waiting periods. There are three waiting periods applicable to first time health insurance holders: initial, pre-existing & maternity.
- Initial Waiting Period – a new policyholder cannot access the policy cover for the first 26 weeks from the policy start date for any medical care needs, with the exception of treatment resulting from an accident or injury.
- Pre-existing Waiting Period – if you have any pre-existing or underlying medical conditions or signs or symptoms of conditions, the policy will not cover the cost of treatment for these conditions for a period of 5 years from the policy start date.
- Maternity Waiting Period – you cannot access inpatient maternity benefits for the first 52 weeks from the policy start date.
Do I have to serve waiting periods if I transfer my health insurance from one provider to another?
This depends on a number of factors. The first relates to whether your new policy has lesser, equal, or higher benefit cover than your previous plan. If the cover is equal or lesser than your previous plan, and you have served the outlined waiting periods above, then no further waiting period must be served on your new plan. If the cover on your new plan is greater than your previous benefit cover, or you have not served the above outlined waiting periods before transferring provider, then it is likely that upgrade waiting periods may apply. Your advisor can confirm this for you, prior to changing your policy or provider.
What are some of the day-to-day benefits of having health insurance with Irish Life Health?
Many of the health insurance plans, incorporating ‘day-to-day’ medical expense cover with Irish Life Health, offer at least 50% of GP and consultant costs back to you, along with a host of other day-to-day benefits, such as money back on dentist, physiotherapist and speech and language therapy. In addition, all Irish Life Health hospital plans come with the following, as standard, regardless of plan level:
- Digital Doctor – With Digital Doctor you get unlimited consultations with an Irish based GP, by phone or video and prescriptions can be sent to your local pharmacy during your consultation with the Irish Life Health Digital Doctor benefit.
- Back Up – Expert physios are on hand to help get you back on track, providing expert advice and treatment for acute neck, back & spine pain with Back Up.
- Female Health Consultation – Irish Life Health is the first health insurer to give member’s access to specialist female health GPs for in-depth video or phone consultations from anywhere. The GPs, who have specialist interest and experience in female health, will give you support and advice in the areas of menstrual health, fertility, contraception, menopause and much more.
Terms and conditions apply for Digital Doctor, Back-Up, Female health consultations and other benefits from Irish Life Health. Please check the Irish Life Health Table of Cover and Membership Handbook for exact details or visit irishlifehealth.ie.
If I need surgery, will I have to pay for this or will it be covered?
For the most part, you will have to pay an excess towards your admission and the remainder of the cost will be covered under the policy, once we can confirm that the consultant is fully participating with Irish Life Health, the hospital is listed on your plan and the procedure is approved by Irish Life Health. However, if you have made changes to your policy recently, there may be a waiting period which may restrict your cover in specific hospitals or cause you to have an increased excess. Excess amounts and waiting periods can be confirmed by checking your Table of Cover and Irish Life Health Membership handbook. Your Hastings health advisor will also be able to help confirm this information.
Can I choose what hospital I go to if I get sick or need surgery?
Yes, you can specify your preference of hospital to your GP when you first present with symptoms, they will then refer you to a specialist consultation in the hospital you choose.
Terms and conditions apply as all hospitals are not covered on all plans and cover for surgeries is subject to waiting periods being served and policy terms and conditions being met.
Am I covered if I become unwell whilst abroad on holidays?
If you become unwell or have an accident/injury while on holidays (outside of Ireland), your Irish Life Health insurance policy provides coverage under the ‘Overseas Benefits’ section. This covers emergency in-patient treatment abroad and repatriation costs, where the policy terms and conditions are met. Your health advisor can advise in more detail on these policy specific terms and conditions. It is important to note that this coverage only relates to situations where you are receiving inpatient care (at least 1 overnight stay in a hospital) and where the emergency care has been authorised and arranged with Irish Life Health. Also, the waiting periods outlined above still apply. Accident and emergency abroad benefits are not a substitute for travel insurance and it is recommended that you purchase travel insurance prior to travelling outside Ireland (see our travel insurance for more).
If you have any further questions on health insurance, or you are interested in taking out a policy for the first time or want to compare your current plan to what else might be available, please contact our Health Advisor Declan Murray on 094 9051016 or you can request a Call Back here.
Irish Life Health is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
