‘I’m not sure it’s worth the colossal amount we pay’

Sally Leadbetter is trying to convince her husband, Nameer, that the money they spend on health insurance would be better spent elsewhere. The 47-year-old from Kilkenny, who runs PR Partners, a media relations agency, believes the premiums are too high, particularly when “it’s difficult to see what you are actually paying for”. “This is just the second year that we’ve had insurance as a family as my husband got a discount on it as an employee benefit with his job,” she says. “Without this, I don’t think we would ever have sought health insurance on our own.” He has since left that job to set up a tech consultancy. The family shopped around but renewed with the same provider after it agreed to cut their premium by €400 to about €3,000 a year for the couple and their two sons, Tiger (13) and Omar (7).

“We get hospital cover with a €300 excess, some cancer care, pretty good overseas coverage, and some access to things like physio — but I can’t confidently say exactly what we are covered for.

“It seems like a colossal amount of money, and I struggle to see the benefit,” she adds. “I am not clear on what additional care or services we can access, so I am considering not renewing it this year as I am not convinced it’s worth the money.

“Both my husband and I have set up our own consultancy businesses in the last 12 months and while they are going well for us, I think it’s prudent to try to run our household as lean as possible until our businesses are more established. Dropping the health insurance, along with other cutbacks, would provide a bit of a safety net. Also, I don’t want to miss out on experiences like travel and fun activities, which is why I’m thinking about the insurance and other unnecessary luxuries.

“But Nameer wants to be more careful and is also considering the fact that we are in middle age now, so health insurance may become more necessary.”