Health insurance: is it worth it?

Many people in Ireland who are covered might as well not be, which poses a big problem for the market

The health cover quandary the sector is facing huge problems, with rising costs for insurers hugely in excess of the initial estimates

A series of austerity budgets, and the resultant extended period of belt-tightening for Irish consumers, spelled bad news for health insurers.

Couple the effects of austerity with problems in the health insurance market, as well as policy volatility, and it was a cocktail for disaster, resulting in a cycle of price hikes and thousands of consumers cancelling their cover.

But now the narrative is changing. The latest figures from the Health Insurance Authority ...