Last month I reported that VHI were set to increase premiums and that the trend among insurers was to announce increases every 6 months on average rather than annually.
Laya and GloHealth have now both announced that they are hiking up their prices, just a week after VHI announced their increases. The new prices will see average families facing rises of € 300, and some plans could increase by as much as € 700 per annum.Go To
Laya, which has upwards of 500,000 customers, is increasing the price of its popular Essential Connect Family plan by 14pc.
This will mean a family of two adults and two children will see the cost of the plan go up by €272 when they renew on it from May 1. It is also ending its free cover for second and subsequent children on seven plans from May 1.
The premiums on 17 GloHealth plans are going up from May 1, with average rises of 6pc, but some plans going up by 10pc. Aviva is reducing the prices on some plans, but has also hiked the cost for children on a number of schemes and ended discounted child prices.
All the insurers will cite that the decision of the Government to charge insurers when an insured person uses a public hospital, even when they are not treated privately is a major driver of their premium increases. Once again I have to repeat that it’s imperative that policy holders should shop around as soon as they get their renewal notices. The main comparison site is www.hia.ie (Health Insurance Authority )