help with a health insurance question

[katek]

I have tried to read up a bit on this subject but find it so confusing.
We are a family of 4 with 2 very young kids.
Currently on Quinn Essential plan and I am debating moving to a policy with with some GP money back as we attend frequently with the kids.
Last year we spent approx 1000 on GP and non hospital things.
Anyone suggest which plan and company would suit our needs best. Would we be better off not going with GP payback plan and just having a chaeper policy? They all seem to have different excesses and any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[NovaFlare77]

You've got such a wide range of options here, I know I'm not going to come close to covering them all. But here's my stab at it anyway.

If you're happy with the hospital cover you have, then you could seperately purchase a day to day plan from either VHI or Hibernian. There's nothing to stop you having hospital cover with one insurer and the day to day cover with another. (though Hibernian will give a discount if you buy hospital and day to day together). The Health Insurance Authority have a comparison of day to day plans here - [broken link removed]

Alternatively you could purchase a "combined" plan that has both hospital cover and day to day cover. There's a range of plans in this area that give similar hospital cover to what you have. Have a look at the HIA's comparison here - [broken link removed].
From the look of that, VHI's Company Plan Starter, First Plan or Family Plan would seem to be the ones that give you day to day AND hospital together. Also look at Quinn's Companycare Starter or Healthmanager Starter.

I personally don't have a day to day plan as I'm single and in relatively good health and I'm happy with just tax relief on any unexpected costs. That said, if I was going to get one, HealthSteps Silver appeals to me, even without the A & E cover. However, people in similar circumstances to you would probably give better advice of their own experiences.

And if you or your partner is a PAYE worker, you can also claim tax relief on listed medical expenses.

Hope this helps!