Quinn currently has approximately 500,000 customers and is the 2nd largest health insurer in the state.

Taking over Quinn Healthcare would give Irish Life, the State’s largest life and pension’s provider, an entry into the healthcare market. Quinn Healthcare also has a premium income of around EUR300m a year and could sell for around EUR100 million.

Quinn has imposed two premium increases so far this year which could indicate that its profit margins were tight. They have however benefited from consumers switching to them after VHI raised premiums on some of it’s plans by up to 45% in February this year although it seems that Aviva made the real gains on that particular occasion.

Some research suggests that Quinn tend to draw a larger proportion of its customer base from a lower socio economic background than its competitors and as a result, has suffered to a greater degree from existing customers dropping down to lower-value plans or in some cases giving up their healthcare altogether.

Quinn Healthcare is part of Quinn Insurance but it is not in administration, unlike the general insurance side of the company. It was understood that the race to buy Quinn Healthcare was down to Irish Life and a joint bid involving Anglo Irish Bank and US insurance firm Liberty Mutual but instead Quinn Healthcare has confirmed that it was not included in the sale and that the Liberty Mutual-led Joint Venture with Anglo Irish Bank only pertained to Quinn Insurance. The process of the sale of Quinn Healthcare continues.

General Manager of Quinn-Healthcare, Donal Clancy said “It is business as usual for our customers. We will continue to operate business as normal by providing the best value and service in the market. The process of the sale of Quinn-Healthcare continues and we expect a decision to be announced in the near future.”

It could be late summer before the sale is completed, with approval likely to be sought from the Government. A spokesman for Irish Life had no comment to make.

The company was formed in February 2007 after the Quinn Group acquired Bupa Ireland and has around 300 employees, most of who are based in Little Island, Co Cork.

VHI is also due to be restructured and possibly split up, with one part retained to possibly act as a proto type model for the proposed universal health insurance structure and it’s higher net worth and more profitable book possibly sold off.

The future of the private-health insurance market in the State is uncertain. With the new Government committed to bringing in a universal healthcare system it is difficult to define the role private healthcare providers will have in this uncertain environment.

It is my opinion however that any move towards universal health insurance will be subject to many independent reports commissioned by the state and will be part of a bigger overhaul of the state healthcare system (which will be naturally slow to change) as well as having to ask the electorate to pay for this through further taxation. Therefore I believe that if we do see universal healthcare in the future, it will not be for many years to come.

Patrick Brennan
Director of Corporate Business
Irish Health Insurance

Please CONTACT US if you wish to discuss how this impacts your premiums, or if you need help to understand the best deals on the market in Health Insurance.