INSURER VHI has predicted that rising unemployment could force as many as 200,000 people to pull out of private healthcare policies before the end of next year.
VHI, which has a two-thirds market share, said it had lost some 70,000 customers in the first seven months of this year, some 4.5 per cent of its client base.
The number of people pulling out of private insurance policies could reach 150,000-200,000 by December 2010, the insurer said.
VHI’s two main competitors, Quinn Healthcare and Hibernian Aviva, said that despite the recession they have gained members so far this year, and have picked up 26,000 and 35,000 customers respectively from VHI.
The latest Central Statistics Office figures show the number of people signing on the Live Register reached 423,400 last month, 12.2 per cent of the workforce.
A spokeswoman for VHI said it has introduced a new package for customers who have lost their jobs and had to pull out of schemes.
Those who provide proof of redundancy and renew their policies within 12 months will not have to wait to get regain their benefits.
Last week the Health Insurance Authority said numbers with health insurance fell in the first quarter of the year for the first time since quarterly figures began to be compiled in 2001. In March 2009 there were 2,286,000 covered by private health insurance, or 51.7 per cent of the population, which represented a small reduction of about 13,000 people on the figure for December last.
