Brendan
My list of Key Features is shorter than you might think -
1. Speed of access - any Insurance plan will give you this. Even a plan for public hospitals only, will give you immediate access - so you can avoid the public waiting list. I cant think of any treatment that you might need that is not available in the public hospitals - public hospitals have all the expertise & wider & more frequent experience, than the private hospitals - so, unless you really want a private room, I dont see any compelling case for a private hospital plan.
2. 100% Full orthopaedic cover - at 63 years & older, hip replacement etc is more likely - so, 100% cover is important to me. Laya have the advantage here over VHI - Laya 100% cover V VHI 80% cover for the plans on my previous attachement
3. Excess per claim of max €250 is one of my criteria - you might be tempted to accept a higher excess, in order to reduce the premium - but if you were unlucky to have a bad run requiring numerous hospital stays in a year, the excess payments would mount up - so, I will get a policy with max €250 excess per claim
4. 100% Outpatient & Day Case cover for scans, tests etc for cancer tests, cardiac tests, colonoscpy - this is another must for me, because these scans & tests can be costly.
That is about it really. I am not fussed about GP fees etc. These are relatively minor. I just want cover for the big costs, which are hospital accommodation & consultants fees for treatment.
Deciding on the health plan can be mindboggling. To demystify the process, I focus on working out what are the priority criteria, & identifying the cheapest plans that meet these criteria.