With just 8 days left before the introduction of Lifetime Community Rating (LCR), IHI can report that finally things are hotting up on the phonelines.

The past few weeks has seen a notable rise in interest from consumers investigating their options before being subject to penalies.  While the interest for the most part has remained just that, this week has seen a notable rise in people taking out policies.  The range of interest has been from young families to older retirees who have emigrated here from the UK and beyond.

Indeed there has aslo been a rise in interest from companies wanting to know how this will effect them with regards to new employees post April 30th 2015.  Employers are faced with having to make decisions as to how they will treat the loading where it applies, among many other considerations.  Another particular consideration is for those employers who send staff to work overseas for a period.  As and from May 1st 2015, these staff could find themselves facing an LCR loading on their return!

We have reseached and analysed all the data produced on LCR in conjunction with the Health Insurance Authority www.hia.ie and the four health insurers, Aviva, GloHealth, Laya Healthcare & Vhi Healthcare.  We have produced publications for employers to better understand the changes and their obligations from May 1st.  For consumers we have also provided a comprehensive webpage http://www.irishhealthinsurance.ie/lifetime-community-rating-calculator.html with FAQ’s, examples, a video and an LCR Calculator.  Our Company guide is also available there to download.

If you are a Family, Individual or Employer, please call us to ensure you are fully aware of the implications of these measures prior to the deadline of April 30th.

Patrick Brennan

Director of Irish Health Insurance

01 4030700