# Help with medical insurance



## soppik (Apr 30, 2012)

Hi my husband and I are planning to move to Cyprus in October and have been trying to get quotes for medical insurance. We hàve been quoted between €1,432 - €7,481 per year for the two of us. Is this reasonable?


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

over 7K per year is ludicrous
Don't pay anything over 2K.


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## soppik (Apr 30, 2012)

Veronica said:


> over 7K per year is ludicrous
> Don't pay anything over 2K.


Thanks again Veronica, I thought some of the quotes were outrageous.


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## Mycroft (Sep 9, 2009)

soppik said:


> Thanks again Veronica, I thought some of the quotes were outrageous.


Do you have pre existing conditions as unfortunately this will load the premiums? Try one of the smaller insurance company, however you may find you have to pay part of the claim (for example the first 200 euros), or you may find they exclude some conditions, what ever you do read the small print very carefully.


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## soppik (Apr 30, 2012)

Mycroft said:


> Do you have pre existing conditions as unfortunately this will load the premiums? Try one of the smaller insurance company, however you may find you have to pay part of the claim (for example the first 200 euros), or you may find they exclude some conditions, what ever you do read the small print very carefully.


Thanks for your reply, the quotes were without pre-existing conditions. Do you know of any companies out there?


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

We use Prime, (used to be interlife). We pay 115euros per month but chose to pay 800euros excess as we use the general for minor problems and only use private for hospitailisation ect. It would have been about 2K per year without the excess but by opting for the excess we have saved 800 euros per year (except for this year as Dennis had an op in a private clinic)so its worth doing that if you are entitled to use the general. The only reason we have bothered with insurance is because we really don't fancy having to be in the general for any serious things


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## soppik (Apr 30, 2012)

Veronica said:


> We use Prime, (used to be interlife). We pay 115euros per month but chose to pay 800euros excess as we use the general for minor problems and only use private for hospitailisation ect. It would have been about 2K per year without the excess but by opting for the excess we have saved 800 euros per year (except for this year as Dennis had an op in a private clinic)so its worth doing that if you are entitled to use the general. The only reason we have bothered with insurance is because we really don't fancy having to be in the general for any serious things


That's a great help Veronica, will look into this company.


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## Anna-bel (Jun 17, 2012)

soppik said:


> Thanks for your reply, the quotes were without pre-existing conditions. Do you know of any companies out there?


I use BUPA, but it is on the expensive side (would be around 5k / year). Universal is Very popular here, and my friends who use it say that it is good (about 150-200 Euro/ month if I remember correctly) - but it will not cover the cost of medication, of course- just emergencies and doctors' consultations/diagnostic procedures etc.


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## soppik (Apr 30, 2012)

Anna-bel said:


> I use BUPA, but it is on the expensive side (would be around 5k / year). Universal is Very popular here, and my friends who use it say that it is good (about 150-200 Euro/ month if I remember correctly) - but it will not cover the cost of medication, of course- just emergencies and doctors' consultations/diagnostic procedures etc.


Thank you for this info.


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

A few things to watch out for with medical insurance:

1. Many policies define Pre-existing conditions to include those you don't know you have. Thus if you have a problem which they can determine must have started before the policy they can refuse to pay.

2. Many policies cover the initial treatment of a condition only and not any ongoing therapy. Thus an operation to treat cancer would be covered but not the ongoing chemo or radio therapy.

3. Policy costs come from a table based on age in every policy I have seen. There is no loading for pre-existing conditions. They simply exclude pre-existing conditions that you admit to together with any related condition. Thus if you are on blood pressure pills they exclude any form of heart disease, stroke etc. Despite this exclusion of a substantial part of their risk, there is no lowering of premium.

4. Most companies want your premium upfront and release the policy document some weeks later. Only then will you be aware of the exclusions they are applying. You can of course choose to cancel the policy, you normally have 14 or 30 days to do this, and await your refund. They can have your money for up to 3 months this way!

I know it sounds negative but it's best to be aware of these points before they become problems.

Pete


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## soppik (Apr 30, 2012)

Thanks for this info.


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