What do you pay then Suzanne, if you don't mind saying. I feel ours is a bit on the expensive side but it's with Allianz and I prefer to stick with the big companies because when you really need the insurance, I don't want to have any worries. It's hard to compare as most of our friends are in company schemes.
hmm Tracy - you've put ours back into context as we're on 400% cover with everything covered. We both have glasses (mine for driving, Darren for reading/screen work), Jasmine has an overbite so I wonder if we might end up with orthodontic bills in the future.. will have a look at comparison site before we renew in August.
I reinforce the recommendation for Exclusive - they are a lot cheaper than our previous insurer, Generali. We are in similar circumstances to your parents and pay just over 2000 euros a year - it is often a bit cheaper to pay annually if you can.
There are links to comparison sites on the Useful Links page. http://www.survivefrance.com/page/useful-links
We pay 150€ for a family of 4 with 150% cover which works well for us - the only thing is that our dental and optic is very low - about 80€ only for glasses and as I've just moved onto progressives -ouch! I have discussed it with the insurance though and they say it's not worth upgrading to higher unless the kids need orthodontic stuff.
Claire,
Make sure you get the cover you need. Ask yourself how many pairs of glasses you might need or how much dental work.These things get very low reimbursement from the state but cost a lot for cover under a mutuelle. Insurance companies will try to sell you maximum cover that you rarely need. We have just hospitalisation - we had to insist with the mutuelle, but they agreed eventually. Work out what you are likely to need over a 5 year period and compare the cost with a mutuelle over the same period. Basic health cover is for 70% from the state for most of your regular needs - doctor, pharmacy etc. Then pick a mutuelle that has an office close by - preferably with staff that speak English.
My wife and I are in mid 60s and have a top up with Allianz for €114 monthly.
thanks for this Catharine - I really need to sort ours out, it's gone up hugely since we've gone up to 5 people.
Agree Catharine, I know we get more than our money back each month and I dread to think how much it would have cost in the past 3 years with our 3 if we hadn't had top up.....literally thousands.
I would always recommend using a price comparison site like this
And, check it every so often, esp. before you renew - that way you know you are getting the best deal for your personal circumstances.
We have our Mutuelle with Thelem Assurances. We paid 137euros per month last year (just over 1370euros for the year) but have just received a rebate of 660euros. The scheme gives us complete cover but any that we don't get back as refunds is paid back to us at the end of the year. That is for half the payments, so it sort of works at around 60euros per month actually paid. Works for me.
I think it depends on your circumstances. As a family of 5, we are paying around 130€ a month and more than get our money back.
For the last 9 years we have used Exclusive Healthcare insurance, covers all hospitalisation, prescrtiptions, dr/nurses visits, bit of dentistry, but not optical stuff, I am 51 and my husband is 63 and we pay 110€/month as a couple, we have been satisfied with the cover and the policy is all written in English which may be helpful to your parents.
Hi Simon, where do you get this €28 a month cover? We are paying quite a lot for our mutuelle but was only given a choice of three 'plans' to choose from. Any advice would be welcome....
After 32 years in France I find that one inevitably loses out with mutuelle coverage. You pay in €80 odd a month and use perhaps €6 or €15 of this for a doctor's visit. As one gets older you need more medical cover ... but usually for things not covered by the mutuelle (hearing aids, teeth implants).
So now, at 64 years old, I have taken out cover for teeth, glasses and 'hospitalization' which costs me €28 a month. This last one is the most important: if you suddenly feel bad, check into hospital for a couple of days and they find nothing particularly wrong with you (ie, there's no surgical operation or treatment) then you are hit with the full bill: the normal sécu covers almost nothing. YOU MUST have this hospitalization cover. On the other hand, the mutuelle cover for the odd visit to the doctor or to reimburse aspirins is a total rip-off.
Thank you for the link Roger the quotes go from 69€ on that one, we will have to compare the cover carefully. At a glance the best is a mid range 95€. We will look deeply and decide later. Thank you all .
If there are any other suggestions they are still welcome no final decision has been made yet.
Claire, my husband and I are approaching 70 we have top up medical insurance with Smatis and we pay 169.92 every month, we have a very complete coverage with dental and eyeglasses, we have been happy with the coverage and the speed of reimbursements.
I find that the prices using a comparison web site are far lower than quotes given by our local agencies for instance two retirees approaching 70 can be as low as 70€.
Only you can balance the level of cover you wish for but I have now had two different companies, changed as I would when the premium increases and both have provided reimbursement almost immediately and have been accepted by Doctors, Pharmacie and Hospitals.
Check here for starters :-) http://www.assurland.com/mutuelle-sante-v2-17.html#liwioTest=9183&liwioVar=12466