Aviva's entry into the Irish health insurance market offers hope or cheaper cover and higher benefits for consumers seeking private cover
Aviva has now announced plans to re-enter the market less than a decade after it upped sticks, and it will be guided through the choppy waters of Irish health insurance via a joint venture with old hands including Oliver Tatten and Jim Dowdall , as well as health entrepreneur Stephen Loughman.Technology developed in Cork allows wedding photos to be shared digitally with the happy couple
“Nobody saw this one coming,” says Dermot Goode of broker totalhealthcover.ie. “We heard a rumour a couple of weeks back about a new entrant but we actually thought it was somebody else, a completely different insurer.”The new venture is set to start selling private health insurance in the second half of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals,“Aviva is delighted to support the set-up of an exciting new health insurance business in Ireland.
Axa’s takeover of the State’s second-largest provider will allow it to cross-promote its general insurance products with ease, and Aviva, no doubt mindful of that, might fancy a bit of that crossover action, too. The expectation, according to sources, is that Aviva will attack the retail market first, followed by corporates.
Whatever about the challenges that will present, it is a challenging time for the existing health insurance providers, which are all facing a surge in claims in the post-pandemic period, as well as a spike in medical inflation.annual results, published earlier this month, showed that it took in a healthy €1.68 billion in premiums for its private health insurance business, with its customer base increasing for the ninth year in a row.
Its market report covering last year also showed that while nearly one in two Irish people have health insurance, the pace at which people are taking out cover has slowed since 2022. A total of 47 per cent of the population have health insurance, with that number increasing by just 1.6 per cent since 2022.
“It’s not an easy market to make money in quickly. But these individuals have done this a number of times, so I’m sure they’re doing focus groups and I’m sure they know how many how many people they need, and I would say they have very clear targets and know what level of membership they need to achieve certain milestones.
It is not speculation to say that older people already pay more despite the supposedly level playing field of the health insurance market.
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