VHI to raise cost of health insurance plans by 4.8% on average

More than a million VHI customers face price increases on their health insurance plans.

VHI, the State’s largest private health insurer, said it would increase prices by an average of 4.8 per cent across its health insurance plans due to increased demand for healthcare and rising costs.

The price hike will put further pressure on households dealing with cost-of-living increases.

The increase comes after Irish Life imposed an average increase of 5 per cent this month and follows rebates paid to customers due to the reduced use of private healthcare during Covid-19.

Market expectations are growing that Laya, the second-largest insurer, will hike their prices too.

Laya declined to say whether it would be increasing its prices. A spokeswoman for the insurer, which has 675,000 customers, told The Irish Times it continued to monitor healthcare costs, and that it would keep cost pressures “under close review and take a prudent view on claim cost management.”

The VHI said that this was the first price increase in two years, following a price reduction in 2022, and the return of €450 million in premium waivers over the past three years.

“We understand that our customers are already dealing with the pressure of rising costs across the economy, and we have made every effort to keep the price increase as low as possible,” said Aaron Keogh, managing director of VHI.

“However, because of these cost pressures the price increase is necessary.”