A SECOND HEALTH insurer has announced a price increase this week, as Irish Life Health has confirmed that it will be raising the cost of its adult health insurance plans by an average of 3 per cent from October.

It’s the third increase in the span of a year for Irish Life, which has around half a million customers.

The insurer already increased their rates by 3.7 per cent in January and by just under 2 per cent in April to cover the levy increase.

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

The Health Insurance Authority (HIA) today said that consumers will be informed of any changes to their plan, including any price or benefit changes, in their renewal letter.

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

“We know that price increases are unwelcome, particularly during a time of rising living costs,” the HIA said in a statement.

“While insurers are free to set their prices based on commercial factors such as medical inflation and claims costs, affordability must remain a priority,” the statement added.

Health insurance expert Dermot Goode said that the trend of regular price hikes by health insurers throughout the year is “set to continue”.

“Further price hikes are expected as all insurers prepare for the peak renewal period from October onwards when over half the market renews their cover,” Goode said.

He added that Irish Life’s latest increase could cost between €25 and €70 per adult depending on their plan.

“For a typical family, it could add anything from €60 to €185 to their total bill,” Good said.

“For those stuck on dated plans, the increases could be much higher.”

Goode explained that the advice to all consumers now is to “never just accept these increases” – i.e. don’t allow your cover to auto-renew.

“All members should contact their health insurer well before their renewal and challenge them to source similar cover at a lower premium,” Goode said.

He added that customers should not be afraid to disclose their budget for the coming year, and have insurers fully explain the benefit differentials of any alternative plan.