Authority seeks to reassure consumers over health insurance changeover

CONSUMERS are able to switch health insurance companies as well as switch policies by the same provider without any penalty regardless of their age or any pre-existing medical condition.

The Health Insurance Authority (HIA) yesterday sought to reassure consumers that there is nothing to prevent them from changing their existing cover to a different policy or insurer.

The HIA said it believed there was some concern and confusion among people with private health insurance about their ability to switch from their current policy based on the large volume of calls it has received over the past week.

“This is a common misconception, particularly among older people,” said HIA chief Liam Sloyan.

“Consumers can be assured that any person can switch health insurance product without penalty, whilst maintaining existing benefits.”

The HIA confirmed it had received thousands of calls and visits to its website since the VHI announced last week that it was introducing dramatic increases to its annual premiums.

The VHI sparked major public anger and concern after it stated the annual cost of its policies would rise by up to 45% from next month.

The price hikes will see some VHI customers with a family policy having to pay more than €1,000 extra per annum for private health insurance cover.

The HIA has advised any consumers with concerns about their private health cover to contact the authority’s helpline on 1850-929166 or its website on www.hia.ie, which provides comparisons on more than 200 health insurance products provided by VHI and its competitors, Aviva and Quinn.

The HIA said it believed consumers could make substantial savings by comparing similar policies.

Meanwhile, the VHI has confirmed it plans to increase premiums on corporate plans from next March.

Most insurers offer corporate plans, which are rarely publicised to individual customers, but offer a similar range of benefits at a cheaper price. However, there are no restrictions on such policies being available to individuals.

It is believed a large number of VHI customers have already sought to switch to the cheaper policies.

Several politicians, including Junior Health Minister John Moloney and Fine Gael health spokesman James Reilly, have already called on the VHI to postpone the price increases.