Everything you need to know about switching health insurance

Like any household bill, health insurance is one thing that you don't want to overpay on. However, when it comes to switching and saving consumers often have lots of questions and concerns around the process. So, we decided to catch up with health insurance expert Dermot Goode from TotalHealthCover.ie to find out more. Dermot, thank you very much for joining us today. So, we know that switching saves; whether it's gas, electricity or, in this case, health insurance and there's always money to be saved. But what do you find are maybe the concerns that people have around switching health insurance in particular? What puts people off switching and saving on their health insurance? - Yeah, health insurance tends to be very emotive subject and, really, it centers around fear So, a lot of people, particularly older members are afraid to change. So, they're afraid of maybe losing benefits or having a break in cover. A lot of people think they'll have to re-serve their waiting periods So, in other words, that they won't be covered for an existing condition and people think they might have to apply these age loadings, where they might

have to pay more for their cover and, in fact, it's exactly the opposite. So, the legislation is completely protective of health insurance consumers So, effectively, if I have served all my waiting periods with the current insurance company it doesn't matter who I switch to, it doesn't matter what I have If I switch to an equivalent plan with somebody else, I'm on cover immediately. So there's no obstacles whatsoever and in fact I can switch right back to my previous insurance company in a year's time if I wish So, it's quite similar to car insurance and home insurance in that there's no break in your cover whatsoever but a lot of older people are just afraid... - And so those fears that are unfounded? - They really are! If you see another policy out there, you like the benefits, you like the pricing, well then the next thing is don't do the Irish thing, which is tell the insurance company nothing, in health insurance you tell them everything because they can't discriminate in any way. They can't vary the pricing based on your medical history, so literally you phone up the insurance company and you tell them "I'm thinking of joining plan X", get them to explain to you what's the difference between that plan and your previous plan, in other words, what are you gaining? What are you losing? And what stays the same? Tell them everything that's important to you, you know, any scan centers, any existing conditions. They

then have to tell you whether you're covered, yes or no, and if you like the answers, then we would say to people, listen, that's it then, you just switch And don't be afraid to switch! - That's interesting so, like you said, it's the exact opposite of what you'd almost do with car insurance you tell them all the conditions, all the illnesses and they can't discriminates? - Exactly and we would say to people... See, a lot of people associate health insurance with life assurance and car insurance and they're afraid if they disclose something, that it'll work against them. So they tell people nothing, they don't even check that cover in advance of going into hosptial So, the key thing if you're thinking of switching; ask them everything, tell them everything It does not work against you in any way. In fact, if it transpires that there's something on the new plan that's missing, well, that's the whole point behind the exercise to identify that and make sure that any plan you switch to gives you the key cover that you require. That's why we would say to be would be very careful you know, there's there's, let's just say, some sites out there that would compare one plan versus the other - that's never enough, they're just a guide only. You really need to get advice on this to make sure you're getting the right plan to suit your needs. - Okay and then if people do decide to switch what can they possibly save? - Well, here's where it gets very interesting

because depending...the older the plan you're on, the more the savings are. So, if If I'm on the same plan for ten years or more, and by the way some of these plans with VHI, Laya and Irish Life, some are on the market between 10 and 30 years So, if I'm on a plan that's more than 10 years old, the savings will be between €500 and €1000 per adult but, here's the thing, Daragh, in most cases for better cover - Right, okay. - Then, if the plan is maybe 3 years old The savings could be half that, between €250-500 per adult and then, if you've only changed recently, the savings might be less but but here's the other catch. A lot of people don't realise, there's special offers launched to the market all the time So, sometimes you get free cover for the second child under 18 or you might get 50% discounts for children under 18. So, it actually pays to shop around at each renewal because sometimes the plan that you're on, that you joined maybe two years ago has just been replaced by a brand new version that's under a different name and with a lower premium. So, if you don't know where to look if you don't watch the moving goalposts, if you let your cover auto-renew each year, which is the biggest problem for Irish consumers too many of them just let it roll over. They don't check anything. They're overpaying

In most cases the savings will be between, let's just say, €100 up to... €1,000 per adult. - That's huge and, I suppose, the insurer is very seldom going to let you know that you're overpaying or that your plan is maybe five, ten or fifteen years out of date. It's this loyalty, kind of, premium that people end up paying. People are punished for being loyal, isn't it? - Well, we would say to people, in health insurance, there's no such thing as loyalty. So, you don't get any credits, any extra benefits for being loyal Loyalty exists in your head only. So, we would say to people genuinely forget about the name over the door, we have three fantastic health insurance companies. They're all bound by the same legislation, so the rules that you're familiar with, with your current insurer, that's generic across all three. So, if you find another plan with somebody else that has better benefits, at a lower premium Tell them everything, ask them everything, and if you like what you hear definitely switch because the savings are really so worth it! And, also, another new trend is that we're seeing a lot of older people who are very fearful of change, particularly if they have existing medical conditions. What we're now seeing is that their siblings, their sons and their daughters, are doing the reviews

for them and they're saving Mam and Dad thousands on their cover but Mam and Dad wouldn't do it themselves, you know? And that's a good, positive trend - Something that often comes up, and it's probably important to reiterate it, is that anyone can sign up for any plan, can't they? So, if it's a corporate plan or if it's a plan that's aimed at, maybe, the nurses or the doctors or anyone... Anyone could sign up, you can't be discriminated against? - Absolutely, you can join any plan that's on the market and we would say once again, you know, to all of your customers...if they're on the same plan for three years or more, if they haven't split their cover, in other words maybe put Mam and Dad on a different plan to the children, if they don't have a small excess on their policy, if they haven't looked at joining a proper corporate plan and as, you say, forget about the names, anybody can join any plan but they're the best plans on the market by a mile - or if they're paying the full adult rate for anybody who's aged 18 to 25...Well, if the answer is yes to any of those, you are now definitely overpaying and you need to get your cover reviewed because you're missing out on phenomenal savings and often with the same insurance company and often for better cover.

- And is there a particular time of year that people should switch insurers? Is there any time that's better than others or is it just when it's up for renewal? - Pretty much when it's up for renewal... but the key period for renewals is from November right through to the end of March that's when about, let's just say, nearly 75% of all members will renew in that period and that's when we tend to see the special offers from the insurance companies as well, but really there's no point doing it mid-year But really, we'd say to people you get your renewal notice a month beforehand; start your homework, start your shopping around then because a significant number people renew on the 1st of January but with Christmas and everything else they just forget about it and suddenly they find that they've auto-renewed and they're locked in for another year and there's nothing they can do. So, definitely once the renewal notice lands, now that's the time to start getting advice and shopping around. - Ok, so finally, if someone is looking to switch so, they've heard what you've said where should they start? What are the first steps? What would you recommend? - Well, straight away, we would say engage with your insurance company first of all. So, literally pick up the phone and put them under pressure to find you a lower cost equivalent plan to what you have and tell them you don't

mind joining a corporate plan, you don't mind taking on a small excess, and get them to explain what deals they have. If that doesn't give you what you need, we would now say to people you need to get advice. There's 340 plans out there There are plans to suit everybody's budget and there's lots of tricks of the trade to help you reduce your costs and still maintain good cover but, like you say, the insurance companies won't often volunteer that information. So, you know whether it's investments or whether it's pensions, people get advice, we would now say to people, because health insurance is so important but also so expensive you know, talk to an experienced advisor who just does health insurance and that's what they specialise in, because the savings are well worth it. So, people can contact bonkers.ie because obviously we have a relationship with your yourselves where we would do reviews for your clients. They can contact Total Health Cover but we would say to all of your customers, don't auto-renew and make sure you get your cover checked because the savings are too big to ignore! - Okay, Dermot, thank you very much for joining us! So, we hope that interview helped you answer some of the questions you might have around switching health insurance provider

and if you have any more questions feel free to comment below catch us over on social media and, while you're here, feel free to watch a few more videos. Thanks for watching!