Furious VHI members jam call centres

THOUSANDS of angry and concerned VHI members jammed the call centres of health insurance companies and the Health Insurance Authority as they sought information on how to avoid price increases of 15%-45% announced by the VHI on Thursday.

There was widespread consumer reaction to the massive price increases which will see some families pay over €1,000 extra per annum for private health insurance with the VHI.

VHI chief executive Jimmy Tolan had admitted that the insurer expects to lose some more customers as a result of the price hikes which take effect from February 1 on top of the 47,000 who quit the VHI last year. However, he has declined to reveal the VHI’s estimates about the potential loss of its customer base.

A VHI spokesperson admitted its services were “busy”, with staff receiving a mix of queries concerning renewals, cancellations and seeking alternative, cheaper policies.

Many callers were unable to get through to helpline staff and were informed that the VHI was “currently experiencing a high volume of calls”.

One caller to RTÉ’s Liveline programme outlined how she achieved annual savings of €800 by switching from her existing family policy with VHI, which cost over €2,200, to Aviva which also provided additional benefits.

VHI’s competitors, Aviva and Quinn, both reported receiving thousands of calls seeking information on their range of policies, with most predominantly coming from customers with expensive family policies.

The Health Insurance Authority said its website had crashed twice on Thursday as a result of the reaction to the VHI price hike. Comparisons of more than 200 different insurance policies offered by the VHI, Aviva and Quinn can be accessed on the authority’s website at www.hia.ie.

“Our basic message is customers should shop around. While savings can be made, it does not necessarily mean changing insurer,” said an HIA spokesperson.

The chief executive of the National Consumer Agency, Ann Fitzgerald, also encouraged VHI customers to seek better value. “This is one area where real savings can be made by shopping around. That really is our core message at the NCA.”

Meanwhile, it has emerged that there have been no recent pay cuts among the VHI’s 900 staff, despite claims by Mr Tolan that its wage costs are now lower than three years ago.

However, it is understood a pay freeze has been in place over the past two years for VHI staff where the average salary is €52,000.

The VHI boss has refused to answer questions about whether he took a pay cut like some other heads of semi-state companies in 2010. Although the chief executive of the state-owned health insurance company, Mr Tolan, who received a total package worth €412,003 in 2009, is not covered by the Government cap of €250,000 on the basic salary of the heads of semi- state companies as he negotiated a five-year contract when he joined the VHI in 2008.