Finding a health insurance plan that truly meets your needs can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack.
In Ireland, there are over 320 plans to choose from – each with varying coverage, benefits, exclusions, premiums and excesses. As a result, auto-renewing is common, with just 20% of people in Ireland regularly shopping around.
Getting your health insurance right could prove crucial. Committing to a policy that doesn’t meet your requirements can result in you losing out on the treatment you’d hoped for, missing out on additional benefits, and seeing costs inflate year-on-year.
A personalised health insurance package could be the answer you’re looking for. By tailoring your policy to include the coverage and benefits most important to you, and to exclude those you’re highly unlikely to use, you can ensure you and your family are protected for the year ahead while keeping costs to a minimum.
In this blog, we explore 4 key categories for personalisation that you may wish to consider: everyday health, self-care, family health, and leisure.
Everyday Health
Your day-to-day health needs won’t necessarily be covered by your existing policy – it depends on the plan you have in place. Without coverage for expenses such as GP appointments, health screening and dentistry, the costs can soon mount up if you’re using these services regularly.
While many common, everyday health expenses will be covered by an ‘Everyday Plan’, the services you access regularly will be unique to you. ‘Everyday’ healthcare doesn’t mean ‘everyone’, so you can’t assume your needs are met without reviewing your policy and alternative options.
Irish Life Health offers a range of ‘Personalised Packages’, including a Women’s and Men’s Health package that covers numerous additional services – such as full coverage for flu vaccines and fixed contributions towards a range of health screenings. Likewise, their Dental and Optical package covers various everyday expenses – such as orthodontist visits, eye tests, dental check-ups and more. So if you or someone on your policy uses these services regularly, it might prove cost effective to select one of these plans.
Self-Care
In addition to your everyday essentials, you should also consider any further benefits to support your personal wellbeing. This can encompass a whole range of services, so it’s important you scrutinise what’s available on the market and which services are important to you.
Everyone’s self-care needs are different. While some people will benefit from a range of physical therapies – such as acupuncture, osteopathy or consultations with a nutritionist – others may prioritise their mental wellbeing, with benefits such as stress reduction support, life coaching and yoga classes.
Many physical and mental health support benefits are available through your health insurance, provided you have the right plan in place. Irish Life Health provides a selection of personalised packages to accommodate your personal priorities – including ‘Mind Extra’, which offers fixed contributions towards mental wellbeing services, and ‘Complementary Therapy’, with contributions for physical therapies, including nutritionist and reflexologist appointments.
Family Health
All three health insurance providers offer a range of benefits to support your family from fertility and maternity through to parenthood and your child’s healthcare. Some of these benefits will be subject to a 52 week waiting period – so if you’re planning a family, don’t wait to start thinking about your healthcare!
For maternity cover, for example, you must have been on the policy for one year prior to the birth of your child. 
While all health insurance plans in Ireland legally must include coverage for both men and women of all ages, you may wish to increase or decrease your level of cover depending on your family plans. This may also help to reduce costs by limiting cover for services you don’t intend to use. We explored the benefits of accessing private maternity care and what’s available through the different providers in our recent blog.
Likewise, if you think you might need to access fertility services, you’ll need to have your policy in place for 52 weeks before you can use those benefits. In recent years, Ireland’s health insurance providers have added numerous fertility benefits to their plans – from fertility screening to counselling, and from semen analysis to embryo transfer. There’s lots to consider, and the package that works for you will depend on your personal preferences and requirements. Find out more in our fertility blog post.
Despite all children under the age of six being entitled to a free GP card, that doesn’t mean they don’t need insurance to access other treatments. If you’d like your child to be covered under your health insurance, you’ll need to add them to the plan within 13 weeks of their birth to avoid them serving the new entrant waiting periods – which can be up to 5 years for pre-existing conditions.
Insurance providers generally offer low cost options for children, so be sure to ask what their lowest price is for children’s plans. Many policies for children are hospital-only, while others offer day-to-day cover such as for visiting a consultant. Irish Life Health’s ‘4D Health’ range offers a Children Extra package, for example, with fixed contributions for services such as paediatrician, orthodontist and counselling visits.
Until they turn 18, you child’s premiums should be no more than 50% of your adult rate. Some insurers will also offer reduced premiums for 18-25 year olds, so make sure you explore the options if you plan on keeping your child on your policy into early adulthood.
Leisure
If you do a lot of sport or travelling, there’s also a range of benefits to support you.
You may be surprised by the variety of services available to promote exercise and sport fitness. Some VHI plans cover fitness screening in a Sports Surgery Clinic, as well as money back on strength and conditioning; while Irish Life Health offers a dedicated Sports Extra plan through their ‘4D Health’ range. This includes a whole host of benefits, from contributions towards wearable trackers and gym membership to metabolic testing and sports psychologist visits.
Likewise, Irish Life Health also have personalised packages available for travel. Their International Health and Travel plan consist of contributions towards healthcare when you’re abroad, including prescriptions and A&E. So if you often travel outside of the EU, or plan to in the year ahead, you can ensure your health and wellbeing is looked after throughout your trip.
Choose a Plan that Works for You
The benefits that work for you and your family will depend on several factors – including age, budget, activities and plans for the future. As a result, your priorities and needs are likely to continuously change throughout your lifetime.
It’s essential you review your policy each year and shop around
to see what other benefits are available to meet your changing requirements, rather than simply auto-renewing. A personalised health insurance plan can help you ensure all of your needs are met, while keeping costs low. However, there are also a wide range of off-the-shelf plans that may also meet your specific needs, so it’s important to explore what’s available.
To avoid you overpaying for your plan, missing out on valuable benefits, or paying for services you’ll never use, our experts can help tailor a health insurance plan to suit your age and priorities. We’ll work closely with you to understand what matters most and what budget you’d like to stick to, and recommend a plan to protect you and your family in the year ahead.
You can get started today with a free quote – or enter your details below and we’ll be in touch shortly to discuss your options. Alternatively, you can reach us over the phone or via email using the following contact details:
Call: 01 498 0515
Email: support@hcc.ie