Comparing Health Insurance Schemes

Our dedicated switching team are here to help

Here are three simple questions that’ll make it much easier for you when comparing health insurance cover.

1) Would you like private treatment at public hospitals only, or at private hospitals too?

You can get private treatment at both public and private hospitals.

If you choose private care in a public hospital, you’ll be eligible for a bed in a private or semi-private room. You’ll also have access to the private consultants attached to the hospital. 

If you go for private care in a private hospital as well, you’ll be able to see consultants who only work with private hospitals. The range of hospitals you can choose from will also be bigger.

A word of advice: check to see whether there is a private hospital in your area. Some parts of the country don’t have any. The nearest one to you might be a long journey away. In that case, it may not make sense to take out cover for treatment at a private hospital.

Also keep in mind that while your scheme may cover the cost of a private or semi-private bed, one may not be available. That’s outside our control, sadly. It depends on how busy your hospital is.

Finally, something you might not know: all A&E departments are in public hospitals. So, if you ever have to call an ambulance in an emergency, that’s where you’ll go. You don’t need to look to a private hospital for A&E treatment. The same goes for paediatric care. All children’s care is done at public hospitals.

So keep your desired hospital cover in mind when seeking to compare health insurance schemes.

2) Do you have a lot of day-to-day medical expenses?

Day-to-day medical expenses are things like GP bills and physio visits, that sort of thing.

If you rarely go to the doctor, you can keep your premium down by reducing the amount of cover for these costs. On the other hand, if you anticipate a lot of day-to-day costs, it can be worthwhile making sure you are covered for them. Factor this into any health insurance comparison you do.

3) How much are you willing to pay towards your treatment?

When you choose a scheme, you can decide how much you are happy to pay directly towards each treatment you receive. This is known as the ‘excess’.

The more you feel comfortable paying towards your treatment, the lower your scheme’s premium will be. On the other hand, if you’d prefer to pay less towards treatments, you can reduce the excess. Bear in mind that health insurance schemes with smaller excesses are more expensive and your efforts to compare the costs of cover should consider this.

If you start with those three questions, you’ll find it much easier to compare health insurance options and find a scheme that fits you.

Once you have these in place, you can look at adding cover for things that are more specific to you.

And if you need help with any price or cover comparisons you are doing, our dedicated switching team are here to look after you, always. Call 021 202 2000 or get a quote online.