Here’s how to choose the right mutual to protect your health and your wallet
By LP
Although membership in health and disability insurance is compulsory for everyone in Belgium, there are significant differences in terms of contributions and reimbursements that each organization can offer you. Hence the importance of choosing your mutual insurance carefully, based on your family and your needs.
Choosing the health insurance plan that is best for you and your family may seem simple enough. Often, when you become an adult, you remain affiliated with the health insurance fund where your parents were themselves to avoid a bit of paperwork… However, compare the organizations and ask yourself the right questions, depending on the health coverage you need. or which we want to take advantage of, can pay off. So, if your company provides DKV type hospitalization insurance for example, you can already save money by eliminating the hospitalization insurance you would have subscribed to with your mutual insurance company. The same goes for your spouse or children if your hospitalization coverage also provides for them.
These are a few tens of euros that you will save each year… But be careful in the event of a change of job or pension: certain organizations therefore plan to pay a small supplement every month to ensure the continuity of your hospitalization cover if the one you have benefit from your employer ended…
But even in traditional health care, there are sometimes significant differences in terms of coverage and benefits granted by mutual insurance companies to their members. And sometimes, these reimbursements even differ depending on the region where you live.
Not all babies are equal…
It may therefore be worth looking into the benefits granted to parents if a birth is on the horizon.
Take the example of the birth bonus. At Partenamut for example, you receive €350 for each child who joins your family. At Solidaris, the premium is €300 for the first child, then €250 for subsequent ones, but there is an intervention of €75 per year for diapers for the first two years. At Mutualité Chrétienne, the birth bonus is €350. Note that this amount previously varied depending on the section of the Mutuality to which one was affiliated, but the amounts are now standardized across the entire French- and German-speaking territory. Finally, the Mutualités Libérales apply variable advantages depending on the affiliation office. Thus, the birth bonus for a child is €470 if both parents are affiliated (€235 if there is only one) for the region of Namur and Hainaut, but €420 (€210 per parent according to their affiliation) for the regions of Liège and Luxembourg.
Speech therapy, courses, sport…
Differences also exist for covering the costs of caring for sick children or speech therapy in particular. If your children play sports, here too, look at the products offered by your mutual insurance company, and ask yourself if they are right for you. Some organizations offer €25 per year, but other organizations go up to €40 or even €50 annually. The same goes for the intervention for sports and cultural courses, very useful during school holidays to keep the youngest occupied…
But comparing is also valid if you are getting older and think you will soon need a tele-vigilance service or home help: not all organizations intervene in the same way in these positions. Be careful, however: contributions increase depending on your age. So don’t change too late so as not to damage your contribution!
Dental care: avoid pain
If mutual insurance companies offer additional insurance, many also have products specifically designed for better intervention in dental care and orthodontic care, which we know are very expensive.
Between braces for younger people, and crowns and implants when you’re older, this type of extended coverage can be interesting. At Solidaris, the complementary insurance provides €350 in additional reimbursement on fitting packages and full reimbursement of the co-payment for follow-up consultations. At Partenamut, the advantage is €359, in addition to the €1,000 provided by compulsory insurance when installing a device. At the Mutualité Chrétienne, the advantage is €375 with the extension of dental protection, and 100% reimbursed check-up care…
Open your eyes
Another significant item for households: glasses. If compulsory intervention has increased in recent months, with Inami increasing the diopter thresholds making it possible to claim intervention in reimbursement for spectacle lenses, the fact remains that a little help is always the welcome.
At Partenamut, this extra is €75 every two years. The Neutral Mutuality also intervenes every two years, up to €100 for frames, glasses or contact lenses. The Christian Mutuality provides €120 every 3 years for your glasses, glasses and lenses, and on the Solidaris side, €75 is provided every 3 years for reimbursement of the purchase of frames, corrective glasses or lenses for ages 18 and over.
Finally, please note that mutual funds provide, depending on the cases and the care concerned, waiting periods when changing organizations. So be proactive.
