Linda,

In the faq section on the HIA website this an answer to your question. It says the following : "You can take out insurance if you become a resident of Ireland. You may, however, have to serve a waiting period."
The waiting periods that they refer to can be found here http://www.hia.ie/consumer-information/waiting-periods/new-customer-waiting-periods

I Hope this helps.

There are other options too, e.g. With non-Irish coverage like Cigna Global https://www.cignaglobal.com

Thank you, Liam. I guess I was wondering if the status "resident" applies to people in Ireland with a Stamp 0. I want to make sure I am understanding the various definitions that apply to immigration status.

The waiting periods for serious illness coverage are 6 months, but I suppose if we got that sick we would try to return to the States and our US medical coverage would kick in. You can't let coverage lapse in the States while you're over galavanting around Ireland for a year.

And yes, thank you, I have looked at Cigna Global too. I was wanting to compare coverage from an Irish provider with them. The coverage is awesome, at levels unattainable to me through my plans in the States, and it costs 50% of what we are paying now. sigh.

Linda I would suggest contacting one of the Irish medical coverage companies (VHI, Bupa, etc) to get the best answer. I'm sure they can shed some light on what options are available. If you do, please update us here, so we can share the info. Thanks

In answer to my original question, yes, Irish insurance companies sell policies to non-citizens, but coverage doesn't start until we've lived there 6 months. I would then infer that a coverage from them won't meet the INIS requirement. So that means that people in my situation should purchase coverage from a company like Cigna where coverage starts immediately.

Cigna will sell me a policy. I don't need to be living in Ireland yet, in fact it will cover me everywhere in the world except the US. Which was good to hear if one plans to travel while living in Ireland. The quotes are good for 45 days, but since the certificate needs to be submitted with the Leave to Remain application, that means that the insurance needs to be purchased while waiting for a decision on the Leave to Remain, which can take from 2 weeks to 90 days. We may enter Ireland on a 90 day visa after we submit our application, so that could be ok.

I also did what I should have done a few weeks ago which was check with my current medical insurance provider. As it turns out my "PPO" policy covers me everywhere in the world. However, the INIS checklist recently posted here says: "Evidence of private medical insurance with full cover in private hospitals." My PPO isn't "full cover" but "20% of costs after meeting deductible."

I asked the immigration solicitor if the 80% that's good enough, or if I need to buy insurance from Cigna to cover the 20%. She suggested full cover. That extra coverage would be €250-300 per month on an annual contract, which is quite a bite.

Please ask me if this brings up questions for any of you. I'm happy to share everything I learned.

Linda

Wow, I'd actually believed we encountered every roadblock possible during our stay here, but apparently we were lucky in this department.

Our experience was actually rather simple - we purchased insurance with Aviva, a basic policy for the children and myself (as my husband was insured through uni). We were required to purchase private as my husband is here on a PhD visa. We brought our letter in and it wasn't overly scrutinized and all was accepted. Our first six months meant pre-existing was not covered, BUT all other costs were, and that was enough for INIS.

We switched to VHI insurance this year because we find their urgent-care style clinics to be excellent. We've had no complaints, they're very prompt and thorough and follow-ups within 72 hours are no extra charge.

Hope that info helps... but it sounds like this is another bit of tricky subjective-grey-area-GNIB territory.

I heard back from Laya today, which recently consolidated with one of the other providers. For people in my situation who need proof of insurance for their immigration application, the only provider I've found is Cigna. Or, your own US insurance, but most insurers in the States don't provide "full cover" but require a co-payment and only pay partially. Your quote will vary, but plan on an additional €150 or so per person extra for medical coverage.

From the Laya email:

If you are taking out health insurance in Ireland for the first time or it has been 13 weeks since you last had private health insurance with an Irish health insurer, the following waiting periods may apply.

A 52 week waiting period applies to maternity/infertility benefits.

A 5 year waiting period applies to any pre-existing condition. The definition of a pre-existing condition will be an ailment, illness or condition where the signs or symptoms existed at any time in the period of 6 months prior to the insurance commencing.
We will cover you immediately for any new accident, illness or injury that occurs after your date of joining.

@lindarosewood the immigration solicitor that you mentioned before...is that an Irish-based solicitor? I find it strange that they don't consider a comprehensive plan with a co-payment to be 'full cover'.
Thanks for sharing the information from Laya with us.

Yes, it was an irish solicitor. I should be more clear: my plan pays 80%, and there is a co-pay, so that's not exactly "full cover."