Health policy Irish Life 4D Health 2 Vs Laya Simply Connect

Health policy
M

Mcivor

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Does anyone have an opinion of the relative merits of the Irish Life 4D Health 2 Vs Laya Simply Connect plans. Finding it very difficult to compare plans.

We are couple 62yrs and 60yrs old. Have had Irish Life Health Plan 2 plans for several years. Price has increased this year again and there is a €2K co payment required for certain orthopaedic treatments - hip replacement, etc. We're not expecting to require such treatment in the near future but we decided to change to Laya Simply Connect as that policy seemed to have very similar cover and no co payment for orthopaedic. However when I received the documentation, I now see that there is a €500 pa limit on claims for consultant fees with Laya that isn't there with the Irish Life plan. This is a bit annoying and wasn't mentioned on the HIA comparison site. We don't have any particular issues but would attend consultants a couple of times a year and this will likely increase as we get older. I'm now thinking of staying with Irish Life and taking the €2K hit on orthopaedic treatment in the future if reqd.

Would welcome people's views or suggestions for alternative plans that may suit our age group
 
Have you searched for previous threads that might discuss either/both policies and maybe even compare them?

I know how difficult it is to compare policies (even with resources such as the HIA comparison tool) and to identify the best option for one's specific needs. And I have to face into that in the new year with my own...
 
I had Irish Life 4D 3 and switched to Laya Simply Connect Plus; price for IL went up twice in 2023 so looked for alternative. - I have since switched to Excel Care with Laya; we are circa 10 years younger and never say never etc but the Orthopaedic care not as pressing. While the two plans are broadly similar there are differences in the detail. With IL I could attend a scan (MRI, CAT etc) in many centres but with Laya its mainly confined to Affidea & Santry.
The extras in IL were handy, I got some money back for the gym and the kids sports clubs. the free travel insurance was handy too.

I opted for Laya Simply Connect Plus as it has a €1 k limit on outpatients v the €500 for Simply Connect.

I do have quite a few Consultant visits and Laya Excel covers the first 2 visits 100% and subsequent visits by 75%.
 

The €500 limit is shown on the HIA site. Outpatient Policy Limit: '€7,650; the maximum refund is €500 per member for everyday medical expenses'
Please note this €500 probably refers to all everyday expenses...Consultant, GP, optical, dental, etc...etc..
I have to recheck how the Outpatient and Everyday limits work every time I renew.
Laya Simplicity €2201.43 allows the full €7650 for day to day expenses but has a €100 excess for same.
 
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A Laya agent told me a few years ago that if my Everyday expenses were going over the €500 refund amount allowed on Simply Connect, I could simply upgrade the policy at any time (ie during the year) to Simply Connect Plus. The €1000 Everyday limit would kick in straight away. With hospital excesses and co-payments the usual waiting periods apply. You'd have to work out the financial pro's and cons before doing this of course as Plus is more expensive and you'd be paying extra pro rata for the remaining months.

Laya allow you to switch to a different Laya policy any time during your membership year.
 
Thks all for your feedback. Very helpful. I'm thinking of staying with Laya Simply Connect with the option of upgrading to Connect Plus at some stage. As far as I can see the in patient / hospital cover with Laya Simply Connect and Irish Life Health Plan 2 is very similar with Laya offering better orthopaedic cover
 
HI,
Can you clarify if you switch do you get 'pro rata' of benefits for the year. E.g. if I was on Simply Connect and paid upfront from Jan - December and in June I switched my cover to Simply Connect Plus. Would I have €250 of allowance for outpatient expenses from January -> End June; and €500 for the remainder of the year? Given this is pro-rata of the respective €500 and €1000 cover?
thanks
 
Good question. Pro rata limits would make sense. I've always taken it that this particular upgrade would allow €1000 refunds in total for the year, but maybe I'm wrong. You'd need to check with Laya.

What I do remember her saying was that you pay pro rata for the upgrade - so that would be about €75 for the 6 months. If you were at the €500 limit and were expecting least €150 more in outpatient, GP or radiology costs, you would cover the extra outlay. As I said, this conversation was a few years ago so it's best to talk to Laya about this.
 
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