Fresh financial blow to Irish Life Health customers as prices rise again

A third price increase imposed by Irish Life Health in just 10 months is a “blow” and will leave many Irish families with health insurance policies with the company worse off by in excess of €500 next year, an industry expert has warned.

The company said its prices will climb again from the beginning of January, with the average increase to be 4.8 per cent, although some policies will increase by 6 per cent.

Irish Life Health, which has some 500,000 customers, increased its prices last March and again in July, with a cumulative increased cost for some policies of up to 15 per cent when the latest hike is included.

The latest price changes will kick in from January 1st and will fall due on individual customers’ renewal dates.

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“We are continuing to see significant increases in customers accessing care with a 25 per cent increase since 2019 in the number of people receiving treatment in private hospitals,” Irish Life Health managing director Ger Davis said.

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“While there is some continuing inflationary pressures for hospitals and other care providers, this is thankfully at a lower level than we have previously seen,” he added.

“We’ve seen a spate of increases this year from each of the private health insurers in the Irish market and this is yet another blow,” said Dermot Goode of Totalhealthcover.ie. Mr Goode said we have now seen the biggest spike in premiums in a decade.

“Most plans are now up 10 to 15 per cent on last year which will cost families anywhere from €150 to €600 extra,” he added.

Mr Goode said that with more than 1 million people due to renew their health insurance cover in the next three months, his strongest piece of advice would be that consumers should not auto-renew at renewal time.

“Each and every individual and/or household should be shopping around or seeking independent advice on their health insurance options before they renew or buy,” he said.

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Responding to the pricing move, the Health Insurance Authority said that the market in the Republic “gives discretion to health insurers to set the prices for their policies”.

“These prices are ultimately based on the cost of the claims that the insurers receive. If the number of claims or the cost of healthcare increases, prices can also increase,” it added, noting as a result of medical inflation and an increase in claims volume since the Covid-19 pandemic, insurers have “effected a number of price increases this year”.

“This trend is consistent with an emerging global pattern post-Covid,” it said.