News and Insights

13 July 2014

In the field of health insurance, old people need young people. And right now in Ireland, as with the global pensions industry, there aren't enough of the latter to support the former. In both pensions and health insurance, there are far more old people drawing down money than there are young people putting in money. Here in Ireland, this has led to a distorted health insurance system, because the younger generation has taken something of a gamble since the economic crash: spending the money t

1 July 2014

Current Special Offers on Private Health Insurance July 14 – Summary VHI Healthcare ½ price on 61 plans for children and student dependents from 01.07.14: (This includes popular plans such as One+ Plan, One Plan 250, Parent & Kids Excess, Health Plus Extra, Company Plan) The One+ Plan is worth considering as this covers public and private hospitals (€125 excess on all admissions to private hospitals)and will cost €127 per child and €181 per student. A famil

18 June 2014

PRESSURE on the public hospital system is set to intensify after new figures showed thousands more people have dropped their health insurance. Close to 50,000 people ditched their private health insurance last year, a move that will heap further pressure on Health Minister James Reilly. This is because more people will be forced to use already under-pressure public hospitals. Only this week, the European Commission again questioned overspending on the public health budget. The new figures sh

21 May 2014

Reduce your Health Insurance Costs – Take a big excess to maximise your savings. The health insurance market has taken a real beating since the start of the year on the back of numerous price increases across the market. Thankfully, the insurers recognise that action is required if they have any chance of keeping cash-strapped consumers on their books. They have all launched various options which, if you are prepared to accept a certain level of risk, could prove very attractive in terms

18 May 2014

Accessing Healthcare Services in Ireland There are two ways of accessing healthcare services in Ireland, either as a public or private patient. Every Irish citizen or person who is ordinarily resident in the country has access to public hospital services. However, these services are not free and you may be subject to waiting times depending on your medical condition. This can often be the case for certain orthopaedic procedures such as hip or knee replacements. Unless you hold a medical card,

7 May 2014

Private health insurance market get a shot in the arm with new tailored cover plans The Irish health insurance market has undergone significant change in the last few years. The market continues to contract with over 250,000 consumers cancelling their cover since 2008. However, there is potential good news for those consumers thinking of taking out cover once again. Thankfully, we have now active competition with four health insurers, Vhi Healthcare, Laya Healthcare, Aviva Health and GloHealth

1 May 2014

The health insurance market has taken a real beating since the start of the year on the back of numerous price increases across the market. Thankfully, the insurers recognise that action is required if they have any chance of keeping cash-strapped consumers on their books. They have all launched various options which, if you are prepared to accept a certain level of risk, could prove very attractive in terms of keeping health cover in place. What do we mean by risk? Put it simply, if you are pr

25 March 2014

Health Insurance considerations for those over 50. Health insurance costs are continuing to spiral with VHI announcing another increase on a range of their corporate plans from 15th April next by between 5-11%. However, having quality healthcare cover in place has never been more important, especially for older consumers. All health insurance members need to brace themselves for a shock when their renewal notice lands. The latest price hikes across all insurers combined with the recent reducti

14 March 2014

Almost every health insurance member will have to shop around for better value on the back of the latest price hikes. The good news is that with over 275 different options across 4 health insurers, Vhi Healthcare, Laya Healthcare, Aviva Health and GloHealth, there are plenty of alternatives worth considering. Splitting your cover is an excellent way of reducing your family costs, e.g. put the children on a lower cost plan to the adults. All providers have ‘offers’ on the market for

13 March 2014

Are you paying too much for your health cover? Even though health insurance costs have spiralled this year, there are still too many consumers over-paying for their cover. This is due to a combination of inertia; fear of switching; and the complexity of trawling through all the various options. If you haven’t reviewed your cover in the last two years; or if you have all the family insured on the same level of cover; or if you’re paying for certain extras such as a private room, the