Health insurance - Lifetime Community Rating (LCR)

UrbanFox

We are trying to work out a problem for a relative who is a bit baffled by the regulations !!

HISTORY.

My uncle is 60.

He has not worked for 20 years due to illness.

He has been in continuous receipt of Disability Benefit and then Invalidity Pension since 1996 from Social Welfare.

He was retired by his employers on medical grounds - no redundancy involved.


INSURANCE.

He was insured under a private / in-house medical scheme. I think it was not risk equalised.

The scheme closed 10 years ago and time served did not count with insurers on the open market.

He took out cover with BUPA in Ireland, then Quinn then Laya.

Cover has been continuous since 2006.


QUERY.

Premiums are becoming financially problematical for him.

He is wondering about dropping cover totally (as distinct from dropping the level of cover).


Q1. If he dropped cover for say 5 years would he face a LCR loading if he insured again ?

I suspect that he probably would.


Q2. Assuming he continues to receive social welfare benefits does he get any form of LCR credit because of his social welfare benefits history.


He seems to have got ideas about this from Irish Life's well detailed website pages on the subject. Two links

i) http://www.irishlifehealth.ie/lcr/

ii) http://www.irishlifehealth.ie/lcr/Below-are-the-Social-Welfare-payments-that-you-must-be-in-receipt-of-to-be-assigned-an-LCR-credit.pdf

Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Atlantic Dawn

Q1. If he dropped cover for say 5 years would he face a LCR loading if he insured again ?

Yes once there's a break of 13 weeks the loading will be 2% for each year over age 34 so at age 65 he would be paying 62% more than the standard premium, so if standard premium was €1000 a year he would be paying €1620.

Q2. Assuming he continues to receive social welfare benefits does he get any form of LCR credit because of his social welfare benefits history.

No he won't. Has he applied for a medical card, I assume he would qualify for one.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/health/health_system/private_health_insurance.html

NUTLEY BOY

Much obliged.