VHI VHI says at age 65 my premiums will rocket.

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SlugBreath

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When talking to a customer service agent from the VHI this week he mentioned that as I am in by early 60's I should think of bedding down with one good policy because why I reach 65 the costs are going to rocket if I continue to switch between companies and policies.
I understand that if I downgrade to a lesser policy than my current policy I may have to wait 2 years to avail of the benefits if I wish to upgrade again. However I did not think that at 65 years of age was some sort of cut off point.
So my question is. When I reach age 65 and wish to upgrade to a better policy will I be paying considerably more that a 40 year old who is doing the same as me? Does risk equalisation end at 65? (assuming no breaks in cover).
 
No community rating doesn't end at 65 but the upgrade waiting period does change from 2 years to 5 years so probably better getting more cover before then.

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You are still free to switch as much as you like between insurers but just be aware extra benefits won't take effect until after 5 years.

Also when switching compare benefits closely and/or ask advice before switching to ensure any plan you're thinking of switching to doesn't have some lower benefits that you might want to upgrade again to later. Could be easy to miss something when moving to an "almost identical" plan.
 
Thank you BazzaDP I was not aware of this. I have to say it is a kind of community rating in a round about way. Do you know if this has ever been challenged by anyone or raised anywhere by way of complaint?
 
One thing that was mentioned to me recently is that a lot of the plans are now designed around younger patients - i.e. things like hip replacements are not covered on the plan, or they are covered at a much lower rate e.g. 40% of treatment covered. The 'higher' plans that would cover this type of surgery are a lot more expensive and geared towards the older client. As previously mentioned the 2/5 year waiting policy would apply on the upgrade, so maybe this is what the customer service rep was talking about.
 
SlugBreath said:
Thank you BazzaDP I was not aware of this. I have to say it is a kind of community rating in a round about way. Do you know if this has ever been challenged by anyone or raised anywhere by way of complaint?
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You can complain but unfortunately the waiting periods are set down in the Health insurance acts. Insurers can waive them but are unlikely to due to your age
 
Nutso said:
One thing that was mentioned to me recently is that a lot of the plans are now designed around younger patients - i.e. things like hip replacements are not covered on the plan, or they are covered at a much lower rate e.g. 40% of treatment covered. The 'higher' plans that would cover this type of surgery are a lot more expensive and geared towards the older client. As previously mentioned the 2/5 year waiting policy would apply on the upgrade, so maybe this is what the customer service rep was talking about.
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all plans cover hip replacements in public hospitals, in private hospitals the % amount covered by VHI on most plans is 80%. Glo and Aviva have a €2000 co payment on most plans and Laya give full cover apart from in the Galway clinic and Beacon.
 
Mexicola said:
all plans cover hip replacements in public hospitals, in private hospitals the % amount covered by VHI on most plans is 80%. Glo and Aviva have a €2000 co payment on most plans and Laya give full cover apart from in the Galway clinic and Beacon.
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Are you saying that Laya give full cover in public hospitals only or full cover in private hospitals other than Galway and Beacon?
 
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