The Health Insurance Conundrum!
In Ireland 1.724M people currently have health insurance; this represents around 46% of the population.
However up to 200,000 people have dropped health insurance cover since the downturn began in 2008 and in the last year alone some 64,000 have stopped paying health insurance with VHI, Laya, Aviva and GloHealth.
The reason for the drop off is down to price with an increase of some 11.4% in total premium for health insurance between 2001 and 2011.
In 2006 health insurance as a percentage share of wallet was 2.7% however by 2011 this had escalated to 4% with no increase in the average disposable income for the same time frame! VHI alone has had five (5) rises since January 2009 putting massive pressure on household budgets and to compound matters Health Minister James Reilly will hike the cost of a private bed in a public hospital as part of the Budget resulting in a knock-on impact on health insurance costs, forcing more premium rises!
However, here's the conundrum! A recent survey on health insurance showed
* 62% of people say that having health insurance means you can skip the queue!
* 62% of people also believe that having health insurance means you always get a better level of service!
* While 59% of people believe that health insurance is a neccesity not a luxury!
* By contrast only 20% of people believe that there is no need to have health insurance as public services are adequate!
* 23% of people have switched insurer!
* 43% of people will consider switching!
So, with some 700,000 people due to renew their health insurance in the first quarter of 2013 it becomes even more important to ensure that people are sure that they have the correct cover in place and are not paying over the odds for their health insurance benefits.
We would see this as an opportune time to carry out a Health Insurance Review/Health Check so please complete the enquiry form and Alasdair will be happy to help. Alternatively you can contact Alasdair directly on 01-810 1912 or via info@agsfinancial.ie