Health insurer Irish Life has announced that it is set to increase its insurance prices by an average of 3.7 per cent, effective January 1st.
Changes will be applicable for new customers and existing customers whose renewal is due from that date onwards.
This marks Irish Life’s third hike over the last 12 months, with the insurer increasing its premiums by 5.3 per cent in July and 4.8 per cent in January 2024.
Irish Life attributed rising cost of delivering healthcare, expensive drugs, and increasing day-to-day benefit claims as reasons behind the hike.
“The sustained demand for health care and associated claims cost inflation has regretfully led to the need for increased prices across the health insurance market,” said Ger Davis, Irish life Health managing director. “We understand that customers are dealing with rising prices on a number of fronts and we have taken steps to mitigate our level of increase, and in some instances applied decreases where possible.”
Softening the blow, the insurer stated that child prices for the MyPlan range and Benefit plan will reduce by 19 per cent to €200 per child.
It also claimed that it will reduce the price of First Cover, Irish Life’s entry-level policy, by 2.5 per cent, which essentially means that a customer will spend €500 annually or €41.66 per month.