Aviva clashes with rival over health plans claims

HIBERNIAN AVIVA has introduced two new health insurance plans that it claims are easier for consumers to understand, offer improved benefits and are cheaper than comparable products from competitors.

Jim Dowdall, managing director, Hibernian Aviva Health, said with more than 100 different insurance products in the market his company had decided to simplify its plans.

Savings of up to 21 per cent were possible under the new plans, he said. Any cost savings were not as a result of new agreements with service providers or a below-cost price structure, but because Hibernian Aviva “is not burdened by huge legacy costs or overheads like VHI”, Mr Dowdall said. He said his company had raised premiums by 2.5 per cent last year compared with an average 23 per cent rise for VHI customers.

Hibernian Aviva claims its new ‘Level Two – hospital’ plan for two adults, two children and a student costs €455 per annum less than an equivalent VHI Plan B Options product.

VHI responded by saying its Life Stages now accounted for over 60 per cent of sales and when compared with this product the gap between it and Hibernian Aviva was only €200. A VHI spokeswoman said it paid out an average of €750 per member last year compared with €350 for Hibernian Aviva because it had the majority of those aged over 65.

To assist consumers in making comparisons between the many different products available, the Health Information Authority (HIA) provides a number of comparator tables on its website. Hibernian has about 9 per cent of the health insurance market, with approximately 200,000 customers.