Over half of Laya Healthcare policies are set to increase by an average of 4% from September, the health insurer has announced.

Earlier this year, the company said that it had no plans to increase its premiums, however it has now confirmed that 55% of its policies will increase from September 1.

It said this was necessary as a result of a big increase in the volume and cost of claims over the last 12 months.

Laya's managing director, Donal Clancy, insisted that the company is ‘acutely conscious of the impact this adjustment will have on some of our members'.

"We have tried to minimise the impact across our schemes. This price review has been driven largely by the significant increase we have experienced in the number and costs of medical claims in the past year. We have seen an 18% increase in the volume of claims, while the cost of claims has climbed by 15% versus the same period in 2014," he explained.

However, he said that children's rates will be reduced on a number of schemes.

Insurers, GloHealth and Aviva, have already announced price increases this year. The country's largest insurer, VHI, has previously said it does not have any plans to increase premiums, however many experts now believe a price hike before the end of the year is inevitable.