New health insurer Irish Life Health has officially launched in the Irish market.
The company was formed following the acquisition of Aviva Health earlier this year by Irish Life and Irish Life's full acquisition of GloHealth.
Although the new entity means there will now be less choice for customers – with the number of health insurers falling from four to three – Irish Life said the new company “will give customers an innovative and compelling alternative to the existing health insurance offerings”.
Irish Life Health has 21% market share and 425,000 customers here.
As part of the formation of the new company, all 160 employees of Aviva Health and GloHealth have now moved to the Irish Life campus on Abbey Street in Dublin, where the Irish Life Health offices are located.
Irish Life was acquired by the Canadian-headquartered financial services firm Great-West...
Insurers complain about rising legal costs, escalating awards and fraud, problems that already make Ireland an unattractive location for new entrants
There have now been two recent cases of motor insurance companies, both regulated abroad, going bust.
It means potential customers can no longer rely on regulators to protect them.
In that vacuum it is becoming clear that the onus is on consumers to find out more before buying the cheapest policy.
In 2014 Setanta, which was regulated in Malta, collapsed leaving unpaid claims of €90m. Last month, Gibraltar-regulated Enterprise Insurance went bust.
Setanta is currently in liquidation and the Irish insurance industry has had to pick up the bill, which has added to rapidly escalating motor insurance costs.
In Enterprise’s case, its business in Ireland was handled by Wrightway Underwriting,...
What does this announcement mean?
As of today, Irish Life Group has acquired Aviva Health and GloHealth. This is simply confirmation of the planned agreement that was announced in March of this year. From today, a significant new force in the health insurance market has been created and will shortly be called Irish Life Health.
Is Irish Life Health my new health insurer as of today?
Aviva Health will be re-branding to Irish Life Health over the next month or so. For now, we will continue to trade as Aviva Health and it is very much business as usual. We will be in touch directly with you closer to the time of the company re-branding.
Who is the new Irish Life Health CEO?
Jim Dowdall will be the Managing Director of Irish Life Health.
What impact does this announcement have on you?
There is...
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