We're just looking at renewing the health insurance for our baby and we were wondering what excess option to go for? We were thinking of going for quite a high excess but we weren't sure if the costs of standard baby checks/vaccinations normally count towards the excess amount or not?

Standard for babies is zero franchise, you just have to pay 10% on everything up to a certain limit (as you do above your own franchise). Some insurers, mine included, give you option of a few hundred franchise for slightly lower monthly cost for kids, but honestly I don't think it's worth it. For most babies you will find yourself at the doctor so many times for check ups, coughs and colds, etc, even for a perfectly healthy baby, just go for the zero franchise, it's much easier and less to worry about.

agree with rachel kids especially with winter coming tend to pick up bugs esp if they have siblings of school age.

0 franchise is the norm, you don't even want to think about money when it comes to your child's health.

Fully agree. Zero franchise for the kids, or you will regret it. We have 4 kids, and it really gives us peace of mind to be able to go to the pediatrician or any other doctor when needed. The possible savings of increasing franchise for us are just not worth it.

Thanks for the advice - we'll go for zero then, although even if we hadn't we would never not take her to the doctor if she needed it no matter what the cost! Having said that she actually hasn't needed the doctor apart from routine checks at all in her first year.

We were also wondering about dental insurance for as well as she already had quite a lot of teeth - is this worth doing this for kids rather than paying as you go along? Does the insurance cover you for regular check-ups?

Our insurance won't cover you for regular dental check-ups, only for surgical intervention (not sure what exactly is included in that either!) and you can pay extra to get covered for if the child needs a brace. At one year old, I wouldn't bother.

But maybe other insurers are different.

The - mandatory - first year check-up alone is something in the region of CHF 350 (not including the const of vaccines). Go figure.

Our normal child insurance with saints covers something toward childhood dental, cant remember what so might be worth checking your policy or asking first. We decided not to go with extra dental cover fit the kid until she has her second teeth, but I don't know whether that's a good idea or not!