Irish Life Health is to increase the price of its policies by an average of 5% from January 2026.
The company, which has around 500,000 customers, said the price increases will apply for both new customers and existing customers whose renewal is due from January 2026 onwards.
Irish Life Health had already increased its premiums in January, April and October.
VHI and Laya also increased their rates from October 1 by 3% and 4.5% respectively. New entrant Level Health are holding their current rates until February 1.
Ann Marie Nestor, Managing Director of Irish Life Health, said that increases in the cost of delivering healthcare continue to be a challenge that all health insurers are facing.
She said that people today benefit from more advanced and innovative treatment options, much of which is delivered in specialised settings.
"I am acutely aware this comes at a difficult time for many households and it's important to us that we offer a broad range of plans to meet different needs and budgets," she said.
"We are also committed to investing in enhanced services that improve our customers’ experience such as better digital tools and proactive health supports," she added.
Dermot Goode, health insurance expert, said the "perfect storm"’ continues for health insurance consumers as nearly half the market, or 1.25 million health insurance customers, are due to renew their cover between December and February.
He said the latest price increase could not come at a worse time.
Mr Goode said the latest increase from Irish Life Health could cost a single adult anything from €65 - €125 for plans covering public and private hospitals. For a typical family, it could add anything from €160 to €255 to their total bill.
For adults on higher-level plans or dated schemes, the increases could well exceed this, he added.
But he added that many Irish Life Health customers renew their cover on December 31, so they will miss this latest rate hike until December 2026.
