Operations in 2020 were dominated by the rapid response put in place to meet changing customer healthcare needs in a pandemic environment
Financial performance was solid with an increase in revenue and a growth in membership for the 6th year in a row
Claims fall due to COVID-19 leading to the return of value to customers through two premium waivers
30th June 2021 - Vhi today announced details of its annual results for the year ending 31 December 2020. In a year in which COVID-19 had a huge impact on society, Vhi responded by rapidly adapting the business and its health and wellbeing services so that they could continue to be accessed by its customers. Through the provision of additional digital and online services and the waiver of a portion of premium for customers during the year, Vhi continued to deliver value to its customers’. Vhi also played its part in supporting the national healthcare response to COVID-19.
Vhi achieved a solid financial performance despite the challenging environment with an increase in revenue and growth in membership for the 6th year in a row. It also made further investments in its health and wellbeing services through the establishment of a Clinical Call Centre and the expansion of its community care services with the opening of a new Vhi 360 Health Centre in Limerick.
Key financial results for the year ending 31 December 2020 included:
- Gross earned premium for private health insurance in 2020 came to €1.506 billion compared with €1.413 billion in 2019.
- Private Health Insurance membership grew in 2020 to 1,131,900 up from to 1,128,000 in 2019.
- After tax results to 31 December 2020 showed a net surplus of €52.7 million for Vhi’s consolidated business activities (2019: €45.1m)
- At the end of December 2020, Vhi had free reserves of €773 million compared to the previous year’s €701 million.
- Total claims paid in 2020 amounted to €1,147 billion, compared to €1,387 billion a decrease of 17 %. In total €265 million was returned to customers in the form of a premium waiver.
- Income from insurance products and services other than private health insurance amounted to €28.6 million during the year, down from €34.5 million in 2019. This was principally a factor of the impact on travel insurance due to the restrictions on international travel as a result of COVID-19. Dental and life services continued to grow strongly.
The impact of COVID-19 was experienced across all sectors and all parts of society in 2020 and the private health insurance industry was no different. Cancellation and deferral of appointments, screenings and procedures directly impacted many Vhi customers and patients. This was in part due to curtailed access to private facilities as the HSE acquired emergency capacity but it was also due to the fact that COVID-19 patients were appropriately prioritised in public hospitals. Recognising the need for customers to continue to access healthcare services, despite the restrictions in place across the hospital system, Vhi responded in a rapid, measured and effective way and adapted and evolved a broad range of services so that customers could access them virtually.
Claims were down for the year and this was acknowledged through the delivery of two premium waivers totaling €265 million which was returned to customers. We also recognised that there were affordability challenges for many of our customers whose incomes had been affected by COVID-19 lockdowns and a number of supports were put in place for these customers. We also waived premium for our Dental customers and extended cover at no cost for those customers with MultiTrip travel cover.
According to John O’Dwyer, Chief Executive, Vhi “The past year has been challenging for everyone – not just here in Ireland but across the globe. Public health took centre stage in a way that it never has before, and all of us had a responsibility to protect the health and wellbeing of others. This informed our approach to our customers as well as our staff. From the early onset of the pandemic, our core focus has been and continues to be, how we can best serve our customers, our patients and their changing healthcare needs while also protecting our colleagues. We worked closely with hospitals, consultants and their representative groups to help patients safely navigate the pandemic. We provided clinical services in new settings as well as virtually and continued to give our customers access to the widest range of treatments, drugs and procedures possible.”
He continued: “We ensured that our Vhi health services remained open for patients making our clinical services COVID-19 safe and transitioning our Vhi SwiftCare clinics from an in person clinic system to a remote healthcare delivery model. Not only were existing services adapted, but new solutions were developed and delivered. For example, a Clinical Call Centre was created, significantly expanding the number of patients that could be treated through Vhi SwiftCare. We opened the Vhi 360 Health Centre in Limerick offering all Vhi customers in the Mid West region access to urgent care for minor injury and illness as well as health and wellbeing services delivered by a multi-disciplinary team.”
Concluding John O’Dwyer, CEO of Vhi said “Our results for the past year were solid with revenue and customer numbers up. As Vhi exists solely to meet the healthcare needs of our customers, we initiated an immediate response to the drop in claims by introducing a waiver of premium. While there is much uncertainty about the short, medium and long-term impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare sector generally there are a number of positives that can be drawn from the experience of the past year. Throughout 2020 our customers, patients, healthcare providers and colleagues embraced change. Innovative healthcare solutions such as telemedicine and remote supports were delivered and proved to be very effective in many cases. It is clear that they will have a role to play in the provision of healthcare services into the future. We remain committed to supporting our customers and the broader healthcare community as the country continues to mitigate the ongoing public healthcare challenge presented by COVID-19.”
“Finally, I would like to thank all my colleagues for their hard work and dedication in the past year. They worked tirelessly to maintain the highest standards of service for our customers and continued to deliver the best patient care, as we transitioned our entire business to work remotely.”
ENDS
Issued by:
Brighid Smyth / Niamh Walker
Vhi Group Services DAC
Ph: 086 827 0905 / 086 608 6764
Brighid.smyth@vhi.ie / niamh.walker@vhi.ie
Vhi_Press
30-Jun-2021