Vhi has announced that it is waiving a portion of its premiums this year, marking the third time it has done this since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The private health insurer made the decision as a result of a continued reduction in customer claims in 2021. The pandemic has limited access to healthcare services and this has had a knock-on effect on claims.

Vhi had previously said it would return additional value to its customers if claims were lower than anticipated as a result of Covid.

The premium waiver will vary according to the health insurance plan that a customer has in place. However, it will range from a minimum of €75 per adult and €25 per child for those on public hospital-only plans, up to a maximum of €300 per adult and €100 per child for those on plans with the highest level of cover.  

All customers who have a health insurance policy with Vhi on May 1 will be eligible for the premium waiver. 

VHI has also announced that it is reducing its prices by an average of 3% across its plans from May 1. It said it was doing this because even at this early stage, it is expected that claims will be lower than pre-pandemic levels.

While claims from the private hospital sector are beginning to show signs of normalising, it is expected that claims from public hospitals will take longer to recover.

“While we are still only in the first quarter of the year, we can already determine that claims’ levels will not return to pre-pandemic levels this year. The continued pressure on the public hospital system in particular means that customers won’t access as many procedures as in pre-pandemic times,” explained Vhi chief executive, Declan Moran.

He emphasised that the Covid-19 pandemic “utterly changed how healthcare was delivered and accessed over the past two years”.

“Public health was correctly prioritised and the healthcare system as a whole played a vital role in supporting the needs of people in Ireland during these difficult times.

“The impact, however, was that access to both planned and critical care was limited and challenging. The ability to provide access to our customers to healthcare settings has been severely limited and as a result, claims are down,” he noted.

Vhi is advising customers that they do not need to contact it about the premium waiver as the company will shortly be writing to them with full details. It will transfer the relevant amount to policyholders directly into their bank accounts where these details are known, or alternatively, customers will be sent a cheque.