Private premiums climbed 10% in 2023 with more price hikes announced this year already
With Irish Life Health, Laya and VHI all announcing further price increases in 2024, the cost to employer’s of some sponsored schemes will have increased by €200,000 in recent times, said Dermot Goode, head of the healthcare division at Lockton Insurance Brokers. Photograph: iStock
Private health insurance premiums surged by 10 per cent in 2022, or around €500 from 2022 to an average of €1,594, figures from the Health Insurance Authority published in the spring revealed. The rate of increase has accelerated this year with average premiums up 13 per cent at the end of March 2024 compared with the first three months of 2023, HIA said.
“This has created a huge financial dilemma for employers who are keen to continue to offer this benefit to workers but are finding the escalation in costs a huge challenge,” he said. “Most employers have only budgeted for increases in line with medical inflation, meaning the rises they’ve been hit with over the last year are up to three times more than they budgeted for.”According to Lockton, some 520,000 people have their health insurance paid in full or partially by their employer.
Against this backdrop, employers may have to set monetary limits on the extent to which they cover employee premiums. They may also have to pare back spending on other benefits if they are “double paying” for other initiatives like health screening or a company doctor, Lockton said.
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