Older people urged to shop around for health insurance

Older people are being urged to shop around for their health insurance.

A million people are due to renew their cover in the new year - including more than 300,000 over the age of 50.

Recent price cuts have not benefited plans favoured by older people.

Dermot Goode from totalhealthcover.ie said: "A lot of older people are not comfortable shopping around, and using the internet and accessing the information online.

"For those reasons, if there is any bit of doubt, they will stay where they are.

"A retired couple on some of these plans, that’s €5,000 out of their pensions, they don’t have that kind of money anymore."