Consumers advised to shop around to save money

SUBSTANTIAL savings can be made on personal health insurance by shopping around and finding the most suitable plan for your personal needs, health insurance experts have advised.

This comes as VHI announced plans to increase their health insurance premium for average family customers by approximately €331 per annum, just days after a price increase of almost 15% by Quinn Healthcare came into effect.

According to Aongus Loughlin, head of healthcare and risk consulting at Towers Watson, many people do not realise that insurance providers have an array of products that often provide broadly similar levels of cover at different prices and that by undertaking some research consumers could save hundreds on their annual insurance cost.

He said consumers should shop around for the best value.

“People need to take a good look at the cover they have and take stock of what is important to them such as whether they would prefer a private or public hospital, and speak to their insurance provider about the best cover for their needs and tailor a plan to suit themselves. For example, someone in VHI could move from Plan B to a Life stage Plan and save a lot of money.”

He also said many people did not realise the health insurance provider must also offer these group plans to individuals if requested.

“Private health insurers have to allow all customers access to any of their plans, and often plans aimed at companies offer insurance cover at lower prices than to those aimed at individuals or families so it is vital to look into these options also,” he added.

lHealth insurance plans can be compared on the Health Insurance Authority website www.hia.ie