HOW TO SAVE ON... HEALTH INSURANCE:THE SPIRALLING COST of private health insurance has been well documented, and the bad news is that many of the price increases which were announced by the big three companies are about to hit home. In addition, a number of key discount offers are due to expire within the next few weeks.

"In a few weeks, we could see the cost of health insurance effectively double for many families," says Dermot Goode of healthinsurancesavings.ie. But he says that if people act fast, they will be able to make savings of as much as €2,000 on family policies.

He says the savings of this magnitude can be made through a combination of acting before the premium increases come into effect and availing of some of the special adult rates still available, while also taking advantage of the free cover offers for children across all three insurers.

By the end of March, Aviva’s Level 2 Hospital plan will cost €3,128 for a family of two adults and two children – the cost for an adult will be €1,291.30 while the cost for a child is €272.70. “By opting for the Level 2 Health Excess for the adults [which costs €752] and the Family Value for children, which is free now but normally €217 per child, they can reduce the cost of their family cover to €1,504 a saving of €1,624.

Quinn Healthcare’s Essential Plus (with no excess) will cost €3,490 for a family of two adults and two children within weeks. The price for an adult is climbing to €1,390, with the cost of child cover going up to €355.23. Consumers who switch to the Healthwise Plus No Excess plan for adults – a cost of €825 – and the Essential Select for children, which, again, is free now but normally €230 per child, they can reduce the cost of their family cover to €1,650 (a saving of €1,840).

The biggest savings can be made by VHI policy holders. That company’s Health Plus Extra – which used to be known as Plan B Options – will cost €3,557 for a family of two adults and two children once the latest round of price increases take affect on St Patrick’s Day. Broken down, the costs are €1,461 per adult and €317.67 for each child. However, by switching instead to the One Plus Plan for all the family, a person could reduce the cost of insurance to €842.90 for each adult while children will go free on this plan. This reduces their costs to €1,686, an overall saving of €1,871. When the current special offer expires, the normal price of this plan for children will go back to €218.50.

“Consumers are often worried that by changing and getting better value, they are somehow sacrificing important benefits associated with their cover,” Goode says. “This does not have to be the case.”

He says consumers need to move quickly as all three insurers are set to increase their rates again from March 1st 2012 and withdraw free child cover within a few weeks.

“VHI plans are increasing by between 6 per cent and 12.5 per cent with most plans being impacted on the 1st March and the remainder on the 17th March. Quinn Insurance is increasing its individual and corporate plans by 6.5 per cent in the first few days of March with Aviva applying a 15 per cent increase to its corporate plans from the same date.”

Goode also points to an added incentive for any families that cancelled their cover since December last – if they act now, they will be able to re-instate it without penalty and at a much lower cost. They will be able to get full credit for the time already served and they won’t have to reserve this portion of their waiting periods. If their waiting periods have been fully served, they can go back on cover immediately and also get free cover for their children. If their cover has lapsed by more than 13 weeks, then they will be considered a brand new member and will be subject to the normal waiting periods on joining.

When it comes to corporate deals, some of the price discrepancies that still exist are remarkable. Take Quinn Healthcare. It has a plan which is intended for the business sector called Company Care No Excess. The cost of a policy for an adult is €1,087, while a child covered under the policy is €355.

A comparable policy which is marketed at the general public, meanwhile, goes under the name Health Manager. The cost of cover for an adult is €1,950 while the price of a child’s premium is €494. All told then, a family of two adults and two children who switch from Health Manager to Company Care No excess stand to save themselves just over €2,000.

To its credit, Quinn Healthcare makes its corporate plans fairly easy to find and does not engage in the yo-yo pricing – which the VHI is guilty of. Most of the VHI’s corporate plans have incomprehensible names such as “PMI0177”, and it sometimes drops the price of such a plan for a short period while it markets it to big companies and then increases it again, making it more difficult for consumers to find the best value.