BoI may challenge VHI in health insurance

VHI Healthcare says it welcomes the prospect of competition amid reports Bank of Ireland plans to challenge the health insurer’s dominance in the private medical insurance market.

“We welcome them with open arms,” a spokesperson said last night. “We relish competition, we perform extremely well in competition and we’re not afraid of anybody else coming into the market.”

For 40 years, VHI held a monopoly in the Irish market until BUPA’s entry five years ago. VHI claims a 86% share of the market and 1.5 million customers. BUPA has nearly 300,000 members.