Three in five people ‘pay too much for health insurance’
Adult The Could Per Plans And Those Are By On With Insurance Overpaying Cover For Up Of Be Found Health To €500 Potentially Wrong Their 60% That Around Research
Almost three in five consumers with health insurance are paying far more than they need to, with €500 on average needlessly going out of their bank balance every year.
Research from consumer health website TotalHealthCover.ie found that a misguided sense of loyalty to health insurance providers is among the main reasons for customers, especially older people, to stick with their plans.
The website's managing director, Dermot Goode, said that not enough people analyse what they are paying.
“Buyer behaviour within the health insurance market continues to improve with increasing numbers of older members, in particular, reviewing their cover and switching for better value," he said.
"However, our analysis shows that, still, too many people do not review their health cover annually and, as a result, are either paying too much for health insurance or do not have the cover they need, or often both.”
He advised consumers to shake themselves out of their fears and explore more value in the health insurance market.
“Our message to policyholders is don’t let fear of change or inertia hold you back. Saving €500 to €1,000 on your health insurance bill could cover your car and home insurance premium so take steps now to avoid overpaying for your cover,” he said.
The firm’s research found that around 60% of those with health insurance are potentially on the wrong plans and could be overpaying by up to €500 per adult for their cover.
The research looked at around 1,000 health insurance policy plan reviews.
The firm said that those over 60, in particular, are reluctant to change, due to factors such as fear of losing benefits and misplaced loyalty, and that many are on outdated plans.
Plans such as VHI Health Plus Choice — now replaced by a scheme called Advanced Care, which Mr Goode said is even more expensive — Laya Essential Plus Excess, and Irish Life Health Level 2 Hospital, provide good cover but are poor value for money, TotalHealthCover.ie said.
Half of those surveyed are unaware that anybody is eligible to take out a corporate plan, and that due to their target market, these plans tend to provide the best value in terms of price and benefits, the firm added.
The research also found that a third of people are enquiring about private rooms on their policy, with Covid-19 prompting concerns around sharing facilities.
Travel cover has been a major concern for all customers in 2020 due to the uncertainty surrounding travel guidelines and rules, TotalHealthCover.ie said.
The inability to access essential treatment for ongoing medical care in many private hospitals for the three months that the HSE effectively leased the private facilities was also a major concern, it said.
Many commented that there was no way they would cancel their cover and rely totally on the public health system, the firm said.