Average health insurance cost now €1,685 with increase of 4% in 2024

The average cost of health insurance is now €1,685 with an average price increase of 4 per cent so far this year, according to the Health Insurance Authority (HIA).

On Thursday, the HIA released its quarterly market statistics for the first quarter of 2024, which shows that the average adult premium is now €1,685 – an increase of almost 13 per cent on the first quarter of 2023.

Vhi Healthcare retained the largest market share, followed by Laya Healthcare and Irish Life Health.

There were 351 plans on the market as of April 1st, and the majority of consumers have plans with substantial cover in private hospitals (semi-private accommodation), while just 10 per cent of consumers have plans with cover mainly in public hospitals.

The research shows that health insurance continues to grow with 46.8 per cent of the population now has private health insurance, a slight increase on last quarter.

The most popular plans from each insurer are:

VHI: Company Plan Plus Level 1, Company Plan…