Hi All,
It is a long post but please bear with me. This is about an issue that most of us care about: safe return from holidays back home in Ireland, alive or not, and insurance cover.
I am in the process of shopping around for a travel insurance. I want my safe return to Ireland, in case of medical emergency or death abroad, to be covered. We all have heard stories about how stressful and costly it can become.
So first I started checking what exactly my partner and I are already covered for under our existing Laya private health insurance schemes Essential Assist & Flex 500 Explore in this respect.
Below are my findings.
1. Death abroad/ repatriation of remains: Not covered under any of the two Laya schemes.
Is anyone aware of any Laya scheme that would cover such an eventuality? If not - I guess travel insurance.
2. Medical emergency:
Laya General Rules – Policy Booklet reads as follows:
p.22 under ‘Treatment Overseas’: Emergency hospital admission overseas ‘limit allowed on a members scheme applies to each episode of illness or injury. An episode means a continuous period of illness or injury. Periods of illness separated by less than 28 days shall be treated as continuous.’
‘Your membership of the scheme will end immediately if you stop living in Ireland for a consecutive six month period.’
p.22 under ‘Repatriation’: ‘This is benefit of up to €2,000,000 towards the cost of medically evacuating a person to the nearest medically appropriate country (…)’
p.23: ‘(…)We will only pay the costs of repatriation or evacuation which is arranged by a laya healthcare approved overseas provider.’
I understand that Laya will cover medical evacuation of a person only to a nearest medically appropriate country, which may not be Ireland at all. Hospital stay may turn out to be longer than 6 months. So this person, possibly able to travel,
- may be left without medical cover before the 6 months are up, as there is a limit per ‘episode’,
- will be left with no medical cover at all after 6 months, as they have 'stopped living in Ireland',
- when back in Ireland, will most likely be unable to resume membership of Laya as it was before going abroad.
Is my interpretation correct? How to ensure return back home and family, to a hospital in Ireland, if Laya representative says 'no'?
Your comments and advice will be most appreciated.
Many thanks!
Mona
It is a long post but please bear with me. This is about an issue that most of us care about: safe return from holidays back home in Ireland, alive or not, and insurance cover.
I am in the process of shopping around for a travel insurance. I want my safe return to Ireland, in case of medical emergency or death abroad, to be covered. We all have heard stories about how stressful and costly it can become.
So first I started checking what exactly my partner and I are already covered for under our existing Laya private health insurance schemes Essential Assist & Flex 500 Explore in this respect.
Below are my findings.
1. Death abroad/ repatriation of remains: Not covered under any of the two Laya schemes.
Is anyone aware of any Laya scheme that would cover such an eventuality? If not - I guess travel insurance.
2. Medical emergency:
Laya General Rules – Policy Booklet reads as follows:
p.22 under ‘Treatment Overseas’: Emergency hospital admission overseas ‘limit allowed on a members scheme applies to each episode of illness or injury. An episode means a continuous period of illness or injury. Periods of illness separated by less than 28 days shall be treated as continuous.’
‘Your membership of the scheme will end immediately if you stop living in Ireland for a consecutive six month period.’
p.22 under ‘Repatriation’: ‘This is benefit of up to €2,000,000 towards the cost of medically evacuating a person to the nearest medically appropriate country (…)’
p.23: ‘(…)We will only pay the costs of repatriation or evacuation which is arranged by a laya healthcare approved overseas provider.’
I understand that Laya will cover medical evacuation of a person only to a nearest medically appropriate country, which may not be Ireland at all. Hospital stay may turn out to be longer than 6 months. So this person, possibly able to travel,
- may be left without medical cover before the 6 months are up, as there is a limit per ‘episode’,
- will be left with no medical cover at all after 6 months, as they have 'stopped living in Ireland',
- when back in Ireland, will most likely be unable to resume membership of Laya as it was before going abroad.
Is my interpretation correct? How to ensure return back home and family, to a hospital in Ireland, if Laya representative says 'no'?
Your comments and advice will be most appreciated.
Many thanks!
Mona