Insurance Q&A: Should private customers continue to pay their premiums?
On March 24, the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, announced that all private hospitals in Ireland would operate as public institutions for the next three months, in the State’s battle against the coronavirus.
Yes, they should, or, at the least, they should consult with their insurer.
The Government’s move has opened up a vast can of worms, not least because the three major health insurers (VHI, Laya Healthcare, and Irish Life Health) were among the last to be consulted on the move.
Probably because the commandeering of the private hospital system was such a mammoth and unforeseen task that securing the services of the private consultants was the overriding priority.
And that situation has not yet been sorted to the satisfaction of many of those private physicians, who say that, as it stands, they could be forced to abandon long-standing private patients.
Their initial response, it seemed, was to eliminate coverage — at least temporarily — for all medical work done in the country’s 19 private hospitals.
Representatives from those companies met with the Department of Health and the Health Insurance Authority last Wednesday to thrash out the situation.
Afterwards, industry body, Insurance Ireland, described that meeting as “good,” but added that the insurers required “further clarifications” to divine what the impacts would be on customers, many of whom have recently lost their employment and some of whom are, doubtless, not in a position to continue to pay their premiums.
In a nutshell, the companies want to know whether or not they will have to continue to pay claims out of private hospitals for the next three months.
You could, but if you lost health cover in a post-Covid 19 world, that might not be ideal.
The insurers have not yet made it clear how people who cannot pay will be dealt with, but they have underlined their commitment to playing “a constructive role in the crisis.”
Health insurance consultants, TotalHealthCover.ie, suggest that customers shop around hard in the coming days to see if they can get a better deal, particularly those due for renewal or on a plan for more than five years.
They advise that people take an excess (uninsured portion) on their policy, or increase the one they have.
Temporary ‘backloading’ of premiums is being considered by insurers, seeing temporary reprieves granted for monthly payments (the money will still fall due at a later date).
Those wishing to strip to the bare bones are advised to lower their cover to ‘entry-level’ plans, or consider canceling cover for “those on the policy who represent the lowest risk.
- Shop for essential food and household goods;
- Attend medical appointments, collect medicine or other health products;
- Care for children, older people or other vulnerable people - this excludes social family visits;
- Exercise outdoors - within 2kms of your home and only with members of your own household, keeping 2 metres distance between you and other people
- Travel to work if you provide an essential service - be sure to practice social distancing
