Dermot Goode, Health Insurance Expert with totalhealthcover.ie joined Pat to discuss new research has found at least half of all enquiries are still overpaying for their health insurance.
“There is a lot of accidental non-disclosure in the home insurance area,” says Jonathan Hehir of Insuremyhouse.ie.
“I’ve seen a claim turned down because someone thought their previous claim was €9,000 when it was €13,000. The insurance company had a threshold of €10,000. The customer didn’t get it wrong on purpose, they just didn’t know it made a difference.”
It’s important to check before you get a quote.
Health insurance broker Dermot Goode warned of more rises to come from other insurers after the Irish Life Health increase. “There is no doubt others will follow suit. Consumers need to brace for what is coming,” he said. The 2.5pc average rate increase will mean annual costs rising from between €30 and €150 for a family of two adults and two children.
Motor insurance is one of the biggest expenditures for the so-called ‘white-van man’, according to broker Jonathan Hehir of Insuremyvan.ie.
The grant, worth up to €1,000 per person, is aimed at sole traders such as plumbers, electricians, carpenters and other SMEs that do not pay commercial rates and therefore do not qualify for the Government’s Restart Grant Plus scheme.
Jonathan Hehir, Managing Director of Insuremyhouse.ie and Insuremycars.ie advised: “Ireland is no stranger to high winds and heavy rain brought about by storms – but this summer storm is forecast to be stronger than anything we’ve experienced in quite some time.
https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/storm-ellen-road-safety-weather-22545118
Irish Independent: Your questions – Will I get credit from health insurers for having a cash plan?
According to Dermot Goode of TotalHealthCover.ie, unfortunately for this reader the insurers are only allowed to give credit for membership of other health insurance plans from Laya, Vhi or Irish Life Health.
Typical holiday home cover will insure you in case of fire, burst pipes and water damage, or break-ins, according to the managing director of Insuremyhouse.ie, Jonathan Hehir. One of the key elements of holiday home cover generally is that all services (gas, electricity, water) must be switched off when the home is not occupied, Mr Hehir said.
Irish Examiner: Making Cents: You have made your home beautiful in lockdown, now make sure it is properly protected
Recent market analysis undertaken by www.Insuremyhouse.ie revealed that there are 15+ home insurers in Ireland and quotes from providers can vary hugely, with prices differentials ranging from anywhere between €100 – €700 on a typical home.
“We took three typical home insurance cases, researched just how much each provider was quoting for each case and compared this with the optimum quote that we were able to get from the insurers we deal with,” Managing Director Jonathan Hehir explains. “Rather than just get a limited number of quotes, we were able to get quotes from 15 insurers and price differences we saw were staggering”.
Insurance brokerage Coverinaclick.ie says figures from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) suggest that 33,000 drivers would have passed their test between the months of March and July.
But due to Covid-19 the test centres are closed, and people are unable to take a test. Deirdre McCarthy of Coverinaclick.ie said this is leading to thousands of motorists looking at another year of high premiums.
Jonathan Hehir, Managing Director of insuremycar.ie said the current reduced claims environment offered insurers the opportunity to get competitive with prices.
“Overall claim costs for 2020 will almost certainly be lower as a result of the lockdown,” he said.
“This gives insurers some incentive to lower their premiums and compete for business based on price. This is good news for motorists of course and it could be just the start of falls to come, in terms of premiums.”
