Irish Life Health is to increase its prices for the fourth time since the start of the year with the latest hike averaging 5 per cent set to see some family policies jump by over €250 a year.
The increase comes into effect from January 1st with the cumulative impact of multiple increases over recent months likely to see the cost of some policies jump by well over 10 per cent when renewal time comes.
The company rolled out a 3.7 per cent average increase last January followed by a 2 per cent hike in April and a 3 per cent increase on October 1st.
The busiest time for health insurance policy renewals is the first two months of the year and the timing of the latest announcement from Irish Life Health means a large percentage of those who renew their cover with the provider – the third largest in the State – will be hit with three increase simultaneously within weeks.
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Some customers who renew at the end of December will, however, be spared, the latest increase.
The company blamed higher medical inflation and more expensive treatment options.
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“Increases in the cost of delivering healthcare continue to be a challenge that all health insurers are facing,” said Irish Life Health’s managing director Ann Marie Nestor.
“People today benefit from more advanced and innovative treatment options, much of which is delivered in specialised settings.”
She said the “essential improvements we are seeing in our healthcare settings mean that people are getting access to better and quicker treatment. This is very positive in terms of the standard of care our customers receive, but these improvements do, in turn, affect premium prices.”
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Ms Nestor said she was “acutely aware this comes at a difficult time for many households and it’s important to us that we offer a broad range of plans to meet different needs and budgets. We are also committed to investing in enhanced services that improve our customers’ experience such as better digital tools and proactive health supports.”
“The ‘perfect storm’ continues for health insurance consumers as nearly half the market or 1.25 million health insurance customers, are due to renew their cover between December and February, so this couldn’t come at a worse time,” said Dermot Goode of healthinsuranceireland.com.
“This latest increase from Irish Life could cost a single adult anything from €65 – €125 for plans covering public and private hospitals. For a typical family, it could add anything from €160 to €255 to their total bill. For adults on higher-level plans or dated schemes, the increases could well exceed this,” he warned.
He said that some consumers may escape the latest increase as not all plans will be increasing.
For example, their health guide and health cction plans may not be increasing at this time. Others may be hit harder with the highest increase on a small number of plans reaching as much as 11 per cent.
“As always, members need to be wary of the average figures quoted by health insurers,” Mr Goode said.
“The actual increase could be much higher depending on the plan held. The cumulative impact of multiple rate hikes since the last renewal could leave members facing total increases of 6 per cent – 10 per cent or even higher, depending on the plan in question.”
He said he anticipated price movements from the other insurers across a limited number of plans that may not have been impacted yet in 2025.
“The advice to all consumers now is to never just accept these increases. At the very least, contact your existing health insurer and challenge them to find you a similar plan at a lower premium.
“Tell them your budget for health cover and have them fully explain the benefit differentials of any alternative plan you may be considering. In particular, ask them to focus on any new plans they’ve launched in the last 12 – 24 months, as these tend to offer better overall value.”
