BUPA bumper profits after Irish exit

HEALTH insurance company BUPA yesterday announced record profits of €558.91 million for 2007 after selling its Irish interests last year.

But British-based BUPA said its profits for this year were likely to be lower after the sale of its Irish division, along with its British hospitals.

Yesterday, consumer champions said the admissions from BUPA strongly signalled Ireland’s health insurance market was extremely profitable.

“Clearly the profits from Ireland were significant enough in value to have such an impact on their bottom line,” said Consumers’ Association of Ireland chief Dermott Jewell.

“Without a doubt, healthcare is a profitable market and Irish consumers are paying significantly for it.

“The market should become more competitive so we can see some real value for money — and that applies to the VHI as much as anyone else.”

The country’s largest health insurer, the semi-state VHI, last year unveiled profits of €70m for the 12 months to February 2007. Vivas made a profit of €2m in 2006.

Last year, BUPA said it was leaving Ireland because it would be unable to make a profit in future after losing a court case over a compulsory €162m “risk equalisation” payment to rival VHI.

Independent healthcare business consultant Aongus Loughlin said BUPA’s Ireland division would have been profitable during the decade the firm did business in Ireland. “Health insurance in Ireland is profitable regardless of what people say because we have a predominantly young population here,” he said yesterday.

“BUPA Ireland was 10 years in the market and it was profitable because of the age profile (of its customers).”

Last July, BUPA sold its Irish business to billionaire Seán Quinn’s insurance firm Quinn Direct.

On the back of the sale, BUPA in Britain yesterday unveiled record financial results with profits up 19% to sterling £428.9m (€558.91m) and income rising 11% to £4.24billion (€5.53bn).