Switching cover is painless – if you want to change we can do it in minutes. Our health insurance experts carefully guide you through the benefits available on the plan you’re considering and any other options available.
We’ll make sure you’re not downgrading your cover, and that you’re made aware of possible waiting periods involved in upgrading with an existing medical condition.
Comparing all the plans yourself, with confusing insurance jargon like co-payment, out-patient excess, and shortfall is enough to make anyone dizzy! So we cut out all the stress, by comparing all the plans, from all the providers, for you.
If you have a pre-existing condition, and you are considering switching your plan then you need to understand the ‘the upgrade rule’.
The upgrade rule imposes a two year waiting period on people who change their cover in relation to their pre-existing condition. This means for two years following the upgrade, you will still only be covered at the old rate of benefit before the stronger level activates.
This is specifically only related to your pre-existing condition – defined as a condition for which the signs/symptoms were showing 6 months prior to switching or taking out your plan.
If this applies to you, you must think carefully before switching to a plan with a high excess, or a plan with cover for selected hospitals only, as you will not be able to go up to this level of cover for two years.
Mary has an underlying condition, for which she stays overnight in the Bons Secours in Galway twice a year, was covered on a plan with an excess of €75 per private hospital admission.
In 2018, at renewal she switched to a plan with a €500 excess to save on her premium. When she renews in 2019, if she chooses to go back to the €75 excess plan, she will still pay the €500 rate for the first two years for anything in relation to that pre-existting condition – because in 2019 she has 'upgraded' her cover in relation to a pre-existing condition.
But remember, the upgrade rule only relates to pre-existing conditions. If Mary develops a new condition after upgrading in 2019 she would be covered immediately at the €75 excess rate.