PlanGoblin — Plan Optimizer for InsuranceMarket.ae

Overwhelmed by 80+ healthcare plans? Let your personal finance goblin run the numbers and highlight the best value for you.

Welcome to PlanGoblin, your helper for exploring health insurance plans on InsuranceMarket.ae. This guide walks you through every feature, every setting, and how to get the best results from your simulations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. BEFORE YOU START ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What you need: • Simply open the InsuranceMarket.ae health insurance results page. • PlanGoblin automatically recognizes the data and activates itself. Required field: When you run a simulation, you must give it a label — something like: - Family of 3 — Light usage - My doctor’s network only - Diagnostic-heavy year Labels help you identify your saved simulations later. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. RUNNING A SIMULATION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You’ll see a tab called Simulate with three major parts: scenario weights, usage bands, and the number of simulations. PlanGoblin simulates thousands of realistic years, estimating what you might spend under each plan. To do this, you adjust your expected usage patterns. The customization happens using: A) Scenario Weights ------------------- These define how often each scenario occurs in your life. Example: • Light usage: 55% (0.55) • Medium usage: 35% (0.35) • Heavy usage: 10% (0.10) This means: "Most years I hardly use healthcare, some years more, and occasionally a heavy year." The weights must add up to 1.0. The UI shows if you're over or under. B) Usage Bands (Light / Medium / Heavy) ---------------------------------------- Each usage band defines typical annual spending for: • Consultations • Diagnostics • Pharmacy For each category, you can provide your: • Mean (average annual cost) • Standard deviation (how much it varies) Example: Light-year diagnostics: Mean = 1000 AED StdDev = 800 AED This tells the simulator: "In a light year, diagnostic costs usually fall between ~200–1800 AED." You don’t need to be a statistician — the defaults are chosen to be reasonable for a typical adult in Dubai. C) Number of Simulations ------------------------ Default: 10,000 simulations This determines how many “virtual years” the goblin runs. Effect: • Higher numbers = More simulations = smoother, more reliable statistics • Lower numbers = Fewer simulations = faster, but less precise Most users should leave this untouched unless they’re experimenting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. FILTERING PLANS BEFORE SIMULATION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PlanGoblin gives you tools to narrow the 80+ plans into something manageable. 3.1 Network Filters ------------------- InsuranceMarket lets you search for specific hospitals or doctors, but it doesn’t let you filter by entire network directly. PlanGoblin adds: "Only show plans in Network A / B / C" This is useful when you: • already know the network your preferred doctor is in • only trust a certain hospital group • want predictable coverage without guesswork 3.2 Co-pay and Coverage Controls -------------------------------- Some plans split co-pays differently per category. InsuranceMarket filters co-pay values but doesn’t let you filter by them individually. PlanGoblin lets you enforce: • maximum consultation co-pay • maximum diagnostic co-pay • max/min pharmacy limits • coverage minimums • maternity limits Example: “Only show plans where diagnostics copay is ≤ 20% and pharmacy is ≤ 10%.” 3.3 Company Exclusions ---------------------- If you’ve had a bad experience, or a friend warned you, you can simply click a company pill to exclude it. This adjusts your simulation to reflect your preferences — without judging any insurer or altering their offerings. 3.4 Additional Benefit Requirements ----------------------------------- Toggle plans that include specific benefits you want, such as: • Dental • Optical • Physiotherapy • Alternative Medicine The rule is simple: If a benefit is checked, PlanGoblin only includes plans that definitely include it. 3.5 Maximum Premium Price ----------------------------------- Need to keep to a budget? PlanGoblin allows you to limit your spend to a certain maximum price, and will help you find the best coverage option that won't break your bank. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. UNDERSTANDING SIMULATION RESULTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After running the simulation, you see the ranked list. 4.1 Mean (Average) ------------------ Average yearly cost across all simulated years. Good for general budgeting. If you want stability and predictability, focus on this. 4.2 Median (50th Percentile) ---------------------------- Half of the simulated years were cheaper than this number, half were more expensive. This is the “typical” year for your usage profile. 4.3 P95 (95th Percentile) -------------------------- A crucial metric: “In only 5% of simulated years, costs were higher than this.” If you want protection from rare but expensive surprises, P95 is the number to watch. Example: Plan A: cheap premium, low mean, but P95 = very high Plan B: slightly pricier premium, much lower P95 Interpretation: Plan B can be the safer long-term choice because it caps the worst-case years more effectively. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. WORKING WITH SAVED SIMULATIONS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PlanGoblin saves every simulation you run so you can compare them later. View a saved simulation: Click on a card in the History tab. Open plan on InsuranceMarket: Click the plan result to scroll to the exact plan on the website. Useful for verifying details like exclusions, maternity limits, and full T&Cs. Reset simulation settings: Restores everything in the Simulate tab back to recommended defaults. Useful if things start to drift. Clear saved simulations: Deletes all saved simulations. Useful when: • Switching to a new family member • Resetting for a new scenario • Starting fresh ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. TIPS FROM THE GOBLIN ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ✔ Look at P95 when you want safety Big medical years happen. The goblin is here to help save you from “big surprise bills.” ✔ Look at Mean when you prioritize long-term value If your usage is steady, mean may matter more. ✔ Use network filtering first It quickly cuts the list from 80+ plans to just a handful. ✔ Exclude companies only when needed Don’t over-filter; it's worth it to let the simulation explore more options. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. SUMMARY ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PlanGoblin helps you: • Compare plans more precisely • Filter by things InsuranceMarket doesn’t expose directly • Understand how plans behave across many possible future years • Avoid decision paralysis • Make confident, data-backed decisions faster All while keeping the InsuranceMarket website as the source of truth. PlanGoblin enhances the InsuranceMarket interface while keeping it as the source of truth for all plan details and official information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.0 What is PlanGoblin Doing Behind the Scenes? ---------------------------- PlanGoblin uses a Monte Carlo simulation — which is just a fancy way of saying “run a bunch of realistic what-if scenarios and see what usually happens.” Instead of guessing which plan looks cheapest, PlanGoblin simulates thousands of possible healthcare usage patterns (light, medium, heavy), adds premiums, copays, deductibles, and benefit caps, and then tallies the total annual cost. By running these scenarios over and over, it reveals: • Which plan is cheapest most often • How much you’d pay on average • How bad things get in a “rough year” (95th percentile) The result isn’t a promise — it’s a statistical flashlight that cuts through the overwhelming plan list and highlights the ones that are consistently solid. 8.1 Data Privacy Statement ---------------------------- This extension does not phone home, message abroad, gossip with servers, or whisper your data to mysterious cloud goblins. Everything runs directly on your computer. No information is collected, transmitted, stored externally, or shared with anyone. Your data stays entirely on your device, exactly where it belongs. 8.2 Unofficial Product, No Warranty Disclaimer ---------------------------- This extension is an independent, unofficial tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or connected to InsuranceMarket.ae, any insurer, any broker, or any related entity. All trademarks, names, and assets remain the property of their respective owners. This software is provided 'as is', with no warranties, guarantees, promises, assurances, hand-holding, or implied suitability for any purpose. Use it at your own discretion and risk. 8.3 Personal Use License Notice ---------------------------- PlanGoblin is free for personal, non-commercial use. You may use it for yourself, your family, or your friends at no cost. Commercial or professional use is not permitted without written permission from the copyright holder. This includes (but is not limited to): • Insurance brokers • InsuranceMarket employees or contractors • Insurers or reinsurers • Consultants, agencies, or organizations using the tool for client work • Anyone integrating its output into a commercial workflow If you fall into any of these categories, you must obtain a commercial license before using PlanGoblin.