The increases will come into effect from August.

Vhi customers will see the price of their insurance premiums increase by as much as €320 when an average price increase of 6% comes into effective from August of this year. Vhi announced the price increases on Wednesday, saying that they were required to cover the costs of providing Vhi customers with quality healthcare and access to the latest treatments, medicines and technologies and to ensure the cost of the future healthcare needs of its customers in 2020 and beyond can be met. As a result of the increases, the price of the HealthPlus Premium plan, for example, will rise by €26.72 per month (€320.64 per year). The HealthPlus Extra plan, meanwhile, will increase by €15.51 per month (€186.12 per year), the Parents + Kids plan will increase by €11.17 per month (€134.04 per year) and the One+ Plan will increase by €7.14 per month (€85.68 per year). Vhi customers will receive a renewal notice in advance of their renewal date with the details of the increases. Commenting on the price increases, Declan Moran, Vhi Director of Marketing and Business Development said: “Vhi made a commitment to our customers that where we can, we will pass on any savings we make directly to them. We did this in 2017 and 2018 through three consecutive price reductions while also delivering enhanced benefits. Although we have announced price increases today, Vhi customers’ average premium prices are still lower than in August 2017.” “Today’s price increase is necessary so that we can continue to provide our customers with better healthcare now and into the future,” he added. “In 2018, Vhi paid out €1.328 billion in claims and processed almost 1.2 million claims for our 1.1 million customers, providing them with quality healthcare and access to the latest treatments, medicines and technologies delivered in the most cost-effective settings. “Medical inflation globally continues to rise. Today’s price increase reflects rising costs in hospitals, increases in consultants’ fees, increased utilisation of medical services by our customers and the broadening range of innovative treatments and drugs available in healthcare today. “Vhi is very conscious that our customers face financial pressures. Vhi has kept costs down over the last number of years through prudent cost management and has passed the benefits of reduced claims costs, particularly in public hospitals, back directly to our customers in price reductions and increased benefits. “We will continue to make every effort to deliver the best healthcare and value to our customers to meet their health and wellbeing needs long into the future.”