Cancelling and switching
In general, health insurance policies are 12-month contracts. All insurers must provide a 14-day cooling-off period from the start of the contract. During these 14 days, you can cancel and get a full refund. No claims will be paid for these 14 days.
If the policyholder has died, you can cancel the policy mid-contract without any charge. You should confirm this directly with the insurer.
Current Market Practice
Irish Life Health
Irish Life Health has a 14-day cooling-off period from your joining/renewal date where you can cancel, get a full refund, and switch to an alternative policy or insurer. If you have made a claim and you want to cancel your policy from the start date, the cost of any outpatient claims that you have made will be deducted from the refund due and you will be liable for paying any inpatient charges.
On certain policies, Irish Life Health will allow you to switch your policy mid-contract to another Irish Life Health policy. However, you can’t switch from Irish Life Health to another insurer mid-contract without penalty.
If you cancel your policy mid-contract, you will have to pay a mid-term cancellation charge. The cancellation charge consists of the health insurance levy calculated on a pro-rata (proportional) basis for each person on the policy based on the time left in the contract, along with an administration fee of €25 for each policy that you are cancelling.
You can cancel your policy by phone, email or post.
Laya Healthcare
Laya Healthcare has a 14-day cooling-off period from your joining/renewal date where you can cancel, get a full refund, and switch to an alternative policy or insurer. Laya Healthcare will allow you to switch your policy mid-contract to another Laya policy. However, you can’t switch from Laya Healthcare to another insurer mid-contract without penalty. You will have to pay the full cost of the 12-month policy if you cancel mid-contract.
You can cancel your policy by email or post.
Vhi Healthcare
Vhi Healthcare has a 14-day cooling-off period from your joining/renewal date where you can cancel, get a full refund, and switch to an alternative policy or insurer. On certain policies, Vhi Healthcare will allow you to switch to another Vhi Healthcare policy mid-contract. Terms and conditions apply. However, you can’t switch from Vhi Healthcare to another insurer mid-contract without penalty.
If you cancel your Vhi Healthcare policy mid-contract and you have had no claims, you will have to pay a cancellation charge. The cancellation charge consists of the health insurance levy calculated on a pro-rata (proportional) basis for each person on the policy based on the time left in the contract, along with a €50 administration fee for each policy that you are cancelling.
If you cancel your Vhi Healthcare policy and you have had claims since your last renewal date, you will have to pay the full cost of the 12-month contract if you cancel mid-contract.
You can cancel your policy by phone, email or post.
Why am I being charged the full health insurance levy on my subsequent contract?
The Health Insurance Act requires health insurance companies to charge all customers the same amount for a particular health insurance policy regardless of age, gender, health status or medical history. This is known as community rating. The insurer is required to charge everyone the same amount whether the customer is taking out a policy for the first time, renewing an existing policy or switching mid-contract from another insurer.
The cost of your health insurance policy includes Stamp Duty, which is sometimes referred to as the health insurance levy. The insurer must pay the Stamp Duty to Revenue. This stamp duty helps support the community rating.
When you cancel your health insurance policy mid-contract you may be charged a cancellation fee. This cancellation fee includes the Stamp Duty. Stamp duties are paid to Revenue upfront, and refunds are not allowed under Revenue rules. This means that even if you cancel your policy mid-contract, you will still be charged the full Stamp Duty.
If you then take out a second health insurance contract shortly after with the same or another insurer, the insurer must charge you the same amount for that contract as it would charge to any other person purchasing that contract. This means that you may pay Stamp Duty twice in the same 12-month period. The insurers must do this to comply with community rating legislation.