Health Insurance 33 year old female - recommendations please?!

MichelleM

Registered User
Messages
3
Hello,

I want to take out health insurance but I'm finding it hard to pick a plan. Firstly, to avoid the premium for lifetime community rating, should I get health insurance before I turn 34 or before I turn 35? I will be 34 in May.

I was looking at the Laya Signify. I don't want to spend more than 1000 euro a year. I have Crohn's disease but I know I'll have to wait before I can get cover for that - is it five years for that? Apart from Crohn's disease, I am in good health. I would like some maternity, fertility and breast cancer benefits; and for most hospitals to be covered. But other than that, I'm really unsure as to what would be a good plan to get?!! Any advice would be helpful!
 
Hi MichelleM,

Welcome to AAM.
Firstly, you just need to take out a health insurance policy before you turn 35, to avoid the extra loading charge for Lifetime Community Rating.
At 34 years of age there is 0% loading, whereas at age 35 years the loading is 2%.

Secondly, yes it is 5 years waiting before your pre-existing condition Crohn's disease will be covered.

Lastly, I would definitely recommend Laya Signify plan for your position, starting off. Any other similar priced plans with VHI or Irish Life do not
have cover for fertility, Signify plan has this type of cover. Details as follows;

1. Laya Signify plan; price 938pa; all public and private hospitals covered, plus Beacon hi-tech hospital Dublin. Private hospital inpatient excess is
capped at 250 x 2 max per year for all private admissions, day case excess 125 per procedure. There is no excess to pay in any public hospital.
Maternity and fertility cover included on this plan. Breast cancer benefits included, also obviously full breast cancer treatment + surgery etc is
fully covered in private and public hospitals as standard. Limited day to day cover.
Finally, Signify plan is covered for the Laya Concierge service which consists of a team of medical experts who are available to answer any health related questions you may have on any topic, including insurance cover or health advice etc. Everything is explained in the following link.
https://www.layahealthcare.ie/layahealthcareconcierge/

2. Laya Inspire plan; The following plan is over budget at 1165pa but it also covers day to day refunds for gp, consultant, dental etc
and it doesn't matter if the visits are related to Crohn's disease, they are all allowable. No waiting applies to day to day cover. Details as follows;
Laya Inspire plan; price 1165pa; all public and private hospitals covered, plus 3 hi-tech hospitals Dublin covered; private inpatient excess 150
per admission, day case excess 50 per procedure. No excess to pay in any public hospital. Good day to day cover included, 50% refund for gp
visits, consultants, dental, optical, etc upto a max refund of 1000 per year. Maternity and fertility cover with extras included, plus breast cancer
benefits covered. No Laya Concierge cover on this plan.
This plan might be something to keep in mind for future reference or if you have a lot of medical bills per year it might be worth considering.

https://www.hia.ie/comparison-tool/...saWNhdGlvbiI6eyJwbGFuX2RldGFpbF9pZCI6LTF9fV0=

Regards, Snowyb
 
Hi MichelleM,

Welcome to AAM.
Firstly, you just need to take out a health insurance policy before you turn 35, to avoid the extra loading charge for Lifetime Community Rating.
At 34 years of age there is 0% loading, whereas at age 35 years the loading is 2%.

Secondly, yes it is 5 years waiting before your pre-existing condition Crohn's disease will be covered.

Lastly, I would definitely recommend Laya Signify plan for your position, starting off. Any other similar priced plans with VHI or Irish Life do not
have cover for fertility, Signify plan has this type of cover. Details as follows;

1. Laya Signify plan; price 938pa; all public and private hospitals covered, plus Beacon hi-tech hospital Dublin. Private hospital inpatient excess is
capped at 250 x 2 max per year for all private admissions, day case excess 125 per procedure. There is no excess to pay in any public hospital.
Maternity and fertility cover included on this plan. Breast cancer benefits included, also obviously full breast cancer treatment + surgery etc is
fully covered in private and public hospitals as standard. Limited day to day cover.
Finally, Signify plan is covered for the Laya Concierge service which consists of a team of medical experts who are available to answer any health related questions you may have on any topic, including insurance cover or health advice etc. Everything is explained in the following link.
https://www.layahealthcare.ie/layahealthcareconcierge/

2. Laya Inspire plan; The following plan is over budget at 1165pa but it also covers day to day refunds for gp, consultant, dental etc
and it doesn't matter if the visits are related to Crohn's disease, they are all allowable. No waiting applies to day to day cover. Details as follows;
Laya Inspire plan; price 1165pa; all public and private hospitals covered, plus 3 hi-tech hospitals Dublin covered; private inpatient excess 150
per admission, day case excess 50 per procedure. No excess to pay in any public hospital. Good day to day cover included, 50% refund for gp
visits, consultants, dental, optical, etc upto a max refund of 1000 per year. Maternity and fertility cover with extras included, plus breast cancer
benefits covered. No Laya Concierge cover on this plan.
This plan might be something to keep in mind for future reference or if you have a lot of medical bills per year it might be worth considering.

https://www.hia.ie/comparison-tool/#/plan-comparison?plansAndProfiles=W3siaWQiOjEsImFnZSI6MjYsIm1pbk1heFByaWNlIjpbMCw2NTAwXSwibWluTWF4RXhjZXNzIjpbMCw2MDBdLCJwbGFuVHlwZSI6MSwicGxhbnNTZWxlY3RlZCI6WzEzMzcsMjAwMF0sInBsYW5zIjp7ImRhdGEiOltdLCJsb2FkaW5nIjp0cnVlfSwicGxhbnNTZWxlY3RlZERhdGEiOltdLCJhcHBsaWNhdGlvbiI6eyJwbGFuX2RldGFpbF9pZCI6LTF9fV0=

Regards, Snowyb
Hi Snowyb,

Wow, thanks so much for your comprehensive response. I'll definitely look into Laya Inspire as the GP refunds would be useful. I had wondered whether I could get GP refunds if the visit was related to Crohns, so it's good to get some clarity on that. Thanks so much again.
 
Hi Snowyb and Michelle. I'm in a similar situation and read your posts here. I was hoping you could help me understand a few things:
-For the Inspire plan, they say "3 hi-tech hospitals covered" but I couldn't find that information on the hia website.
-"private inpatient excess 150 per admission, day case excess 50 per procedure." - What is the difference between "per admission" and "per procedure"?
- It seems Signify offers full coverage for private hospital semi-private room but Inspire doesn't, in spite of being more expensive?
- "Breast cancer benefits covered" - Which "benefits"?
- "Breast cancer benefits included, also obviously full breast cancer treatment + surgery etc is fully covered in private and public hospitals as standard" but on the hia website it says "Women's cancer screening (subject to annual out-patient excess) Up to €30 per year" for Signify and "Men and Women's Cancer Screening 50% cover" for Inspire. Does it mean Signify lets the patient pay up to 30 or they only pay up to 30? Doesn't sound like full coverage either way.

Thank you for your time. :)
 
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