Irish Life Health has joined VHI in coming close to doubling its net profit last year as medical insurers implemented a series of premium increases, citing higher claims costs.
The State’s third-largest health insurer said its profit soared 84 per cent to €31.1 million, according to its latest solvency and financial condition report, published on its website. It marked its sixth straight year of profitability.
Irish Life Health’s insurance revenues – mainly comprising premiums – rose 10.3 per cent to €655.2 million. Premium income increased by 7 per cent due to growth in the number of customers and increases in average premium.
The company, which has a 20.2 per cent share of the market, according to the Health Insurance Authority, increased coverage plan costs three times last year.
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The profits “reflect the conditions prevalent in the market, where significant increases in medical costs necessitated price increases to maintain a sustainable margin”, it said.
“Operating profits were also positively impacted by a number of one-off items, including legislative changes relating to the risk equalisation scheme.”
This refers to the State’s decades-old subsidy scheme for older and higher risk citizens with health coverage.
Customer numbers increased by almost 200 to 515,328. Irish Life Health, led by managing director, Ann Marie Nestor, paid out €590 million in hospital and day-to-day claims and benefits in 2025, up 11.3 per cent on the previous year.
[ VHI doubles profits to €71m as it grows subscriber numbersOpens in new window ]
The company’s investments in government and corporate bonds as well as money market funds returned a €4.2 million profit.
State-owned VHI, which has a 48.3 per cent share of the market, reported last month that its group net profit jumped 96 per cent last year to €71.2 million. The figure was slightly higher than the €70.8 million for the group’s regulated insurance entity, VHI Insurance, in its solvency and financial condition report.
Irish Life, which is part of Canada’s Great-West Lifeco, entered the health insurance market in 2011 by taking a 49 per cent stake in start-up GloHealth. In 2016, Irish Life acquired the remainder of the business and the entirety of another industry player, Vivas, from UK-headquartered Aviva and merged the two to create Irish Life Health.
Axa Ireland acquired the second-largest player in the market, Laya Healthcare, in 2023 from US insurer AIG. Axa Ireland recorded gross written health premiums of €672 million last year, as it began underwriting Laya policies, according to its latest solvency and financial condition report. The French-owned company did not give a breakdown of profitability on this line of insurance. Laya has a 27.9 per cent market share.
Level Heath, which is half owned by Aviva Insurance Ireland, entered the market in late 2024 and had about a 1 per cent share of premiums last year. The remaining 2.6 per cent of the market is with restricted membership undertakings, which provide coverage to members of common occupational groups such as An Garda Síochána or ESB staff.
Some 2.55 million people in Ireland had private health insurance policies at the end of last year, up from 2.52 million a year earlier, according to the Health Insurance Authority. The average premium for an adult policy rose by 9 per cent last year to just over €1,902.
