Customers urged to compare prices and save money on health insurance

Over one million people in the country are being urged to review their policies to find the most suitable health insurance in the coming months and save themselves some money. 

The Health Insurance Authority (HIA) have launched their renewals campaign to support the public in finding the best health insurance policy suited to them. 

With over one million people due to renew their health insurance between November 2022 and March 2023 the HIA is encouraging people to review their health insurance policies to get the best cover for them and their family.

Laura Brien, CEO of the HIA, commenting on renewals said: "At this time when money is tight, and households are looking at all their spending, the HIA is here to offer support and advice. Health insurance can seem daunting when it comes to reviewing your policy, the HIA is there to support consumers through providing impartial expert advice to help you through that process. We can demystify complex terms, understand what their plans cover, and compare options available to them. People often have elements included in a policy that they do not need or lack cover for important areas that they might value at other times. We can help identify if there are better value options available for consumers.”

Health Insurance policies can be hard to understand and knowing what you should look for is often difficult to figure out according to HIA. 

Five plans were retired from the market during 2022, however there are still almost 70,000 people on these plans.  When it comes to their next renewal date, they will have to review and decide on a new plan.

With 11 new plans being introduced and some insurers notifying price increases from 1st January, it is important for consumers to have up to date information to help make better choices.  The Health Insurance Authority provides free, independent, and trusted information for consumers to help them navigate the often-complex world of health insurance policies.

The HIA today also published their Q3 Report on the Health Insurance Market 2022. The report identifies health insurance trends and provides important insights into the evolving health insurance market. 

Key findings show that the health insurance market in Ireland continues to grow, with 2.42 million of the population holding private health insurance with the Average Adult Premium being priced at €1,412.

The population with health insurance has grown by 20,509 at the end of previous quarter. This translates into a 0.9% quarterly growth and 3% year on year, compared to 0.7% and 2.8% in Q2 2022. This trend shows that people still place a high importance on their health insurance cover despite the cost of living rising.

Other key findings included:

Health insurance coverage has increased among 18–26-year-olds in Q3 2022, whereas health insurance coverage among adults 26 and over has remained steady at 69.4%. This translates into a 2.2% quarterly growth and 5.5% year on year.

The market share trends for Q3 2022 reveal that VHI continues to have the largest market share at 48.5%. The rate of decline has slowed considerably compared to several years ago.

Laya Healthcare continues to increase its market share, and it now stands at 27.6%. Irish Life Health and RMUs have remained steady at 20.5% and 3.5% respectively.

Total premium income has decreased slightly over the previous 12 months and now stands at 2.9 billion euros. This translates into an average premium value of-2.8% on Q3 2021 (please note this is an average of the total premium income and not an average premium per person).

As there have been price changes across existing plans and the introduction of new plans, the HIA encourages all health insurance customers to review their policies before they renew, and to use the HIA’s comparison tool to assess plans -  https://www.hia.ie/comparison- tool/#/