Guide to buying health insurance

Health insurance has become increasingly complex over the past few years. It can be extremely difficult to sift through the multitude of plans available to find the one that’s best for you. On the plus side, there is real choice in the market when it comes to provider and type of policy. Shopping around can result in you saving money and/or having access to more benefits.

Key considerations when buying health insurance:

• what is your budget, i.e. how much do you plan to spend?
• what type of hospitals do you want to be covered for, e.g. public hospitals only or public and private hospitals?
• what type of accommodation cover do you want, e.g. would you prefer a private room or would semi-private suffice (no more than 5 beds)?

Additional cover options that you may wish to consider:

• Routine medical expenses cover – ‘Day to Day’ cover such as GP visits, routine dental, physiotherapy and other costs. Before adding this to your cover, calculate what your average annual spend is, as you normally only get a refund of approx. 50%
• Maternity expenses cover – if you are planning a family, you should note that all insurers only give a ‘grant-in-aid’ towards maternity, so you will never be fully covered for these costs
• High tech hospitals cover – for hospitals such as the Mater Private, Blackrock Clinic or the Beacon Hospital
• Private psychiatric, convalescence or travel cover

By considering the above in advance, you are better positioned to select an appropriate plan that suits your individual requirements. As these will change over time, we recommend that you have your cover reviewed on an annual basis to ensure that you hold appropriate cover.

Here are some tips to make real savings on your health insurance.

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