VHI to hike premiums in blow to more than 1.2m customers

A third health insurer has announced plans to hike its premiums in a move that is set to pile pressure on family budgets.

VHI, which has more than 1.2m customers, is to increase the cost of premiums by 3pc across its family plans from the start of October.

The insurer said 50 of its 88 plans are going up.

This is set to cost a typical family of two adults and two children around €180 a year when they renew.

For an adult on the top Premium Care scheme, which costs €5,118 a year, the increase will be around €153 a year, said health insurance expert Dermot Goode.

The State-owned insurer last hiked the cost of all of its family plans in March, and in August it increased the price of seven corporate plans.

Rivals Laya Healthcare and Irish Life Health have announced similar-sized price increases in the past two weeks.

The hikes will impact those renewing plans, and taking out cover for the first time.

For people who are mid-contract, the cost of their insurance won’t change on October 1, only at renewal.

VHI said the price increase is necessary as it navigates the dual challenges of an increase in demand for healthcare and an increase in the cost of delivering that healthcare.

The volume of healthcare delivered to members in private hospitals, day hospitals and non-hospital settings has increased by 9pc in the last 12 months, it said.

And the cost of delivering that healthcare also continues to rise.

In 2025, Vhi saw a 13pc increase in private hospital claims costs when compared to 2024 and a 9pc increase in the cost of primary care claims.

The three main health insurers in the market have announced multiple price rises in the last year, with hikes now being announced on a monthly basis.

Last week, Laya Healthcare said it was increasing the cost of its plans again, as price hikes are now being announced on a monthly basis by the main health insurers.

Premiums are going up by an average of 4.5pc on a range plans from October, although there are also some reductions.

The Cork-based insurer has more than 700,000 members.

Some families will see the cost of their plan rise by more than €700 a year.

It is the second Laya price hike this year. The latest rise will see 84 out of 116 plans go up from October 1.

And earlier in the month Irish Life Health said it is to raise the cost of 99 of its plans by an average of 3pc from the start of October, in a move that could add €185 over a year to a family’s cost of cover.

Irish Life’s latest price-rise announcement comes days after Laya Healthcare said it was hiking 84 of its 116 plans by 4.5pc from the same date.

Irish Life said the price rises will apply for new customers from October 1, and existing customers whose renewal is due from October 1 onwards.

Mr Goode said the latest increase from Irish Life Health could cost between €25 to €70 per adult, depending on the plan held.

“For a typical family of two adults and two children, it could add anything from €60 to €185 to their total bill,” he said.

For those stuck on dated plans, the increases could be much higher, Mr Goode warned.

He said his initial analysis shows that not all plans especially those recently launched will be increasing so consumers might escape this latest increase.

Irish Life Health already increased its rates by 3.7pc in January, and by just under 2pc from April to cover the levy increase.

A further 10 plans had another small increase from July 1.

Regulator for the sector, the Health Insurance Authority (HIA), said insurers are free to set their prices based on commercial factors such as medical inflation and claims costs, affordability must remain a priority.

Source: Charlie Weston, Irish Independent, 26th August 2025.