Laya hits 700,000 customers with third price rise in a year

The move will see its 700,000 customers having to pay 7pc more if they renew or join the health insurer from April 1.

The cost of renewing on the same plan for a family of two adults and two children will rise by between €98 and €375 from this latest hike alone, according to calculations by health insurance broker Dermot Goode of TotalHealthCover.ie.

The insurer increased premium rates last October and last April.

The combination of the three increases could see the cost of policies rising by more than 17pc.

It comes after three hikes in just over a year for VHI Healthcare and three from Irish Life Healthcare

Laya said demand for healthcare has reached an all-time high, so too has the cost of delivering healthcare.

Managing director Dónal Clancy said: “We’re seeing the highest volumes of claims in two decades and the highest cost of claims in over 25 years.

“In particular, activity in private and hi-tech hospitals has accelerated and across the board and we’re seeing record levels of demand among our members for healthcare services.”

He said overall claim costs have increased by 35pc in the past 24 months.

VHI to hit families with cumulative hikes of up to €600

Last month VHI has announced price increases that will affect more than a million customers amid the cost-of-living crisis.

The move means couples with health cover from VHI are to be hit with increases of up to €900 after the third hike in premiums in a year.

The health insurer is increasing its premiums for the third time since last March, with benefits also being removed from some plans.

Families with two adults and two children are to be hit with hikes of up to €600 if they renew on the same plans due to the three increases.

As well as the rise in the cost of plans, VHI is increasing the excess for some out-patient claims. An excess is the amount a policyholder has to pay before the insurer covers the cost of the rest of the claim.

This latest increase of an average 7pc for VHI’s 1.2 million customers will affect all members joining or renewing from March 1 this year.

The latest increase comes on the back of the 4.8pc average announced by Irish Life Health from the start of January. It was the third rise in a year for Irish Life.