As consumers face spiralling health insurance costs, what are their options?

Don’t let your cover auto-renew — at the very least ring your provider and challenge them to check all their plans for you, writes health insurance expert Dermot Goode

For those consumers still insured on dated plans, they will be hardest hit by the latest round of rate hikes.

As we approach the busy period for private health insurance renewals, consumers need to brace themselves for significant rate hikes across the market. In addition to increases announced earlier in the year, VHI, Irish Life Health, and Laya have announced further increases from October 1.

The average increase is between 3%-4.5%, but the real impact could be multiples of this depending on the plan held. When you consider the cumulative impact of these increases over the last 12 months, some plans could increase by as much as 25%.