Why you should protect your health

More than one in four Irish men and women will suffer from a chronic illness before reaching retirement age (according to 2005 statistics from The Department of Health and Children).

While we can’t always prevent ourselves from getting ill, we can mitigate the effect of medical costs on our income and our families’ financial stability.

How to choose the right health plan

• Always check the excess of the plan for both inpatient and outpatient cover
• Check the number of hospitals and treatment centres covered on your plan and make sure all the hospitals in your area are covered
• Look at the type of hospital your plan entitles you to and the type of bed in that hospital
• Make sure there is adequate cover for A&E abroad (this should also help to reduce your travel insurance premiums)
• Depending on your stage of life, ensure there is adequate maternity cover for you
• Look at the student rates and what the cut off age is for a student
• If you choose a primary care plan, make sure your family can pool their benefits
• If switching health insurers, there should be no loss in cover or no re-serving of waiting periods as long as you are switching to a comparable plan
• Be aware that you don’t have to wait until renewal to switch health insurers

Find out about Health plans from Aviva.

More ways to protect your health

Specified illness protection

Specified illness cover will give you a lump sum payment on the diagnosis and certification of certain conditions. It can be purchased standalone or as part of your mortgage protection cover when you buy a home.

It also comes with excellent standard benefits including Best Doctors, which will give you an expert review of your diagnosis.

Terminal illness benefits

If you are diagnosed with a terminal illness, you and your family may need added financial support right away.

Our Life cover and Level term cover policies offer terminal illness benefits, which can pay out the majority of your lump sum, with the balance payable to your family after you die.