Manic Miner,
Welcome to AAM.
There are a couple of options worth considering, as follows;
1. Laya Flex 500 Explore; price 715pa(+ lifetime community rating %)
All public, private and hi-tech hospitals covered. There is a 500 euro excess payable per admission to a private or hi-tech hospital for surgery or treatment. Day case visits have an excess of 150 payable per visit. There is limited day to day cover on this plan. This is the cheapest plan
which covers 3 levels of hospital cover.
2. Laya Control 300 Create; price 972pa(+ lifetime community rating %) This lower price applies from 1 December 2016.
All public, private and hi-tech hospitals covered. There is a 300 euro excess payable per admission to a private or hi-tech hospital for surgery or treatment. This a one-off payment on admission, and it does not apply to any public hospital, only private or hi-tech hospitals. Day case visits
have an excess of 125 per visit. There is also extra cover on this plan which covers a private room in any private hospital. There is very good
day to day cover on this plan. At the end of your insurance year, after renewal date, you can claim back 30 per gp visit, 80 per consultant visit etc.
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Note; Lifetime community rating applies to anybody over 34 taking out health insurance for the first time. There is a 2% loading charge for every year that you are over 34 years. So in your case, age 40 - 34 = 6 x 2% = 12% loading applies.
In your wife's case, 38 - 34 = 4 x 2% = 8% loading applies.
This loading applies indefinitely.
Note; if you had health insurance previously in Ireland, a credit will apply for each year accordingly.
For all new customers, a 5 year waiting time applies for any pre-existing conditions or illnesses.
Any new illnesses or conditions are covered after the first 26 weeks.
Regards, Snowyb