A price war has broken out among private healthcare insurers, with all three slashing the cost of insuring families. Families with young children are hugely attractive to health insurers because they make fewer claims than older people.
This has prompted the VHI, Aviva and Quinn to heavily discount health plans for adults, and to offer to insure children for nothing on some of their plans. The offers mean families that switch could save up to €650 by signing up for the cut-price deals.

Kids go free
The VHI is offering to insure children for nothing on its popular Plan B Parents and Kids policy for those who sign up before October 3 next. Members who sign up for this deal will save between €191 and €197 for each child. A family with three children would save up to €591 by opting for the Parents and Kids offer.
VHI is also free cover for children on its new One Plus Plan. Normally priced at €190 for children, the saving for a family with three children is €570.
Aviva is offering its Level 2 Hospital plan at a reduced cost of €780 per adult (normally €825) and €95 per child (normally €190) until the end of this month.
This is one of Aviva's mainstream hospital plans and has no excesses in private hospitals - in other words, the bill is fully paid.
Quinn Healthcare is offering free cover for children on its Essential Health plan. However, this is a basic plan with no cover for a private room in a public hospital.
Quinn is also offering reduced costs for adults, with the rate cut from €730 to €694.

Corporate plans cheaper
The offers of free cover for children mean families can reduce their health cover bills even more than the savings available by opting for a “corporate plan”.
Corporate plans are only marketed to companies when health insurers are trying to sign up all the firm’s staff, but by law they must be available to everyone. Corporate plans are cheaper and the benefits are often better. These plans are available to everyone but healthcare providers do not advertise the fact that they are better value for individuals.
Consumers can cut the cost of their health cover by around €400 and increase the level of benefits by opting for corporate plans.
Families giving up health insurance
The price war has broken out as new figures show that 800 people are cancelling their policies or allowing them to lapse.
State health insurance regulator, the Health Insurance Authority, says there were now 2.2 million people with private health insurance - down 42,000 from the figure in June last year. And insurers have begun heavily discounting in a desperate bid to keep customers.