Health insurance premiums rise 11% to an average of €1,830

VHI remains the dominant player in Ireland with 48.3% of the market, followed by Laya

More than 2.5m people hold health insurance policies.

Ireland's private health insurance market has grown again, with 2.53m people now holding policies, representing more than 46% of the population.

However, the latest market bulletin for the second quarter from the Health Insurance Authority (HIA) shows a continuing trend of a gradual slowing of growth in the health insurance market. There was an increase of 4,130 people with private health insurance in the second quarter, down from an increase of 7,318 in the first three months and 13,633 in the third quarter of last year.