There are still significant savings to be made in private health insurance – you just have to know where to look
FOR SOME time, the top tip for consumers looking to save money on their private health insurance plan has been to seek out the corporate alternative.
So, while you may be looking for cover for yourself, your spouse and two children, instead of choosing a plan with “family” in the title, generally a far cheaper alternative is to look for a “company” plan.
While many people shy away from such plans on the grounds that they are perceived to be solely for corporate clients, by law these are in fact open to all.
The anamoly in the market existed because health insurers, who were fighting for customers in the competive corporate market, were willing to offer companies lower prices in order to win significant chunks of business.
However, with inflation continuing to rise in the health sector and insurers still losing members, most insurers took the step of hiking up prices earlier this year.
In February, the VHI increased the cost of its corporate plans by an average of 18 per cent, pushing up its Company Plan Plus Level 1 from €805 to €950, while its Company Plan Executive rose by 23 per cent to €2,442.
Quinn pushed up its Company Health Plus (no excess) by 23 per cent, while Aviva increased the cost of its business plans by 14 per cent in March.
However, the nature of the corporate market means that while certain plans may have had their prices pushed upwards, there are always opportunities.
Given that the aim is to bring in large amounts of business from the corporate sector, health insurers have been known to apply “yo-yo” pricing to such products, chopping and changing them to win deals.
For example, the VHI earlier this year launched the very cost effective PMI 06 11, before later hiking it up by 80 per cent, indicating perhaps that it had done its corporate deal and now wanted to make the plan unattractive to the public – a perfectly legal practice.
So, for the consumer looking for a good deal, these practices mean that checking out the corporate market, rather than the more publicised consumer offers, can pay dividends.
At Quinn, for example, you can opt for its popular Essential Plus (no excess) plan, which offers care in private hospitals and money back on outpatient expenses for €1,110 a year (adult) or €318.60 (child), falling to €248.40 for the third and fourth children.
As an alternative, however, depending on your needs, you might find better value with its Company Care Plus option, which costs €880.20 (adult) and €313.20 (child) a year.
If you’re currently on the VHI’s Plan B, which has been subject to some severe price hikes, you could do better by opting for the insurer’s Company Plan Plus Level 1.
For a family of four, you could save almost €500, for example, or you could opt for one of the insurer’s specialist plans, such as its nurses’ or teachers’ plans, which come in at just €888.06 per adult, or €255.56 per child. Remember, by law, insurers must offer access to everyone to all of their plans.
And, while the VHI’s PMI 06 11 may now be one of the more expensive plans on the market, at €1,279.90, it recently launched PMI 10 11, which, although offering reduced cover for certain orthopaedic and opthalmic procedures, costs just €807.22 per adult – and includes more comprehensive outpatient benefits.
Moreover, corporate plans often offer better cover at a lower price. Under Quinn’s Company Care Plus option for example, you can get the same access to private and hi-tech hospitals – and pay a lower shortfall for doing so.
For hospitals such as the Beacon in south Dublin, there is a shortfall of €175 a night, while under Essential Plus, it’s €255 a night for certain procedures.
Moreover, while the maternity benefits under the corporate plan might be slightly less (€3,500 compared with €4,000), the corporate plan does offer a €1,000 grant towards fertility treatments, unavailable under Essential Plus.
And best of all, perhaps, is the fact that while you have to incur expenses of some €440 per family on GP and physiotherapist visits etc, before you will be entitled to a reimbursement under Essential Plus, under the corporate plan, the family excess is just €1.
Similarly, the VHI’s nurses plan has more extensive maternity entitlements, at €4,000, compared with €3,150 under Plan B, and also offers cover for post-natal home nursing and for paediatrician visits.
However, when it comes to getting cover for the entire family, tread carefully and check the small print before you sign up – sometimes the cost for children can diminish any savings you may make.
For example, with Aviva’s Business Plan Choice plan, which costs more than €100 less than the insurer’s Level 2 Family Health plan, the cost of insuring children is considerably more expensive.
With Level 2, you can expect to pay €169.40 for the first child, decreasing to €52.80 for the fourth.
With the corporate option, however, the first three children cost €279.50.
Similarly, under the VHI’s Company Plan Plus Level 1, children are slightly more expensive than under Plan B, at €336 compared with €295.76, with the fourth child free under both plans.
