Insurer profile
Irish Life Assurance plc
Irish Life Assurance plc · Ireland
Overview
Irish Life Assurance plc, trading as Irish Life, is Ireland's leading financial services group providing life insurance, health insurance, pensions and investments. Irish Life has relationships with over 1.6 million people, more than 1 in 3 adults in Ireland, and is the chosen partner for Ireland's 10 largest local companies and 28 of the 30 largest multinational employers based in Ireland. Founded in 1939 and part of the Great-West Lifeco group since 2013, the company operates through Irish Life Assurance plc, Irish Life Health dac, and Irish Life Financial Services Limited, all regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
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Products in this market
Company details
- Parent group
- Great-West Lifeco
- Regulator
- Central Bank of Ireland
- Phone
- +353 1 704 1010
- [email protected]
Products from Irish Life Assurance plc
Health4
Private Health Insurance (Irish Life Health)
A range of private health insurance plans offered by Irish Life Health dac, covering hospital treatment, outpatient care, mental health, physiotherapy, and digital doctor access.
HealthDirect Outpatient Plan
An outpatient health plan giving unlimited access to Irish-based doctors via phone, video or messaging, plus mental health support and the MyLife wellbeing app.
Dental and Optical Cover
A supplementary health package that contributes towards dental check-ups, treatments, and optical benefits such as eye tests, glasses and contact lenses.
Corporate Health Insurance
Group health insurance plans for employers providing hospital cover, mental health support, wellness programmes, health screening and preventative benefits for employees.
Life10
Term Life Insurance
A term life insurance policy that pays a lump sum to beneficiaries if the policyholder dies during a chosen term of up to 50 years, up to age 85.
Life Long Insurance (Whole of Life Cover)
Whole-of-life insurance that covers the policyholder for their entire life rather than a fixed term, guaranteeing a lump sum payout to dependants whenever death occurs.
Mortgage Protection Insurance
A decreasing life insurance plan designed to pay off the outstanding mortgage balance if the policyholder dies or becomes seriously ill during the mortgage term.
Specified Illness Cover (Critical Illness Cover)
A standalone or add-on benefit that pays a tax-free lump sum upon diagnosis of a range of covered serious illnesses.
Income Protection Insurance
Pays a regular income of up to 75% of annual earnings if the policyholder is unable to work due to illness or injury while employed.
OnePlan Life Insurance
A flexible single-plan policy that lets customers combine decreasing life cover, bill cover and specified illness cover under one plan and one payment.
Group Life Assurance (Death-in-Service)
An employer-paid group scheme that provides a tax-free lump sum to an employee's family if the employee dies while in service.
Group Income Protection
An employer-paid scheme providing a partial replacement income to employees who are unable to work due to long-term illness or disability, including rehabilitation support.
Group Critical Illness
An employer group risk benefit paying a lump sum if an employee or their child is diagnosed with one of the specified covered illnesses.
Voluntary Risk (Group Life & Income Protection for Members)
Group life assurance and income protection cover offered to members of trade unions, professional bodies and other affinity groups on favourable group terms.
Financial7
Personal Pension (PRSA)
A flexible Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) that allows individuals to save for retirement with tax relief on contributions, portable across employers.
Company / Occupational Pension
Workplace defined contribution pension plans for employers and employees, including group retirement and risk products managed through Irish Life Corporate Business.
Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC)
Tax-efficient top-up contributions to an existing company pension or PRSA, allowing employees to increase retirement savings beyond mandatory employer contributions.
Approved Retirement Fund (ARF)
A post-retirement investment fund that allows retirees to keep their pension savings invested and draw down income flexibly after retirement.
Clear Invest (Lump Sum Investment)
A long-term unit-linked life insurance investment plan for a single lump sum, invested across a range of Irish Life funds for five or more years.
Clear Regular Invest (Regular Savings Investment)
A long-term unit-linked savings plan for regular monthly investors seeking potential returns above a standard savings account over a minimum of five years.
Smart Invest (Digital Investment App)
An easy-to-use online and mobile investment app allowing Irish residents to invest from as little as €100 in one of three Irish Life MAP funds.
Regulatory updates
The Central Bank of Ireland's 2026 Regulatory & Supervisory Outlook confirmed it is continuing a life insurance thematic review examining how domestic life insurers, including Irish Life, take on new investment business. The Central Bank hosted an Insurance Industry event in 2026 focused on changes to the Solvency II Directive and the new EU Insurance Recovery and Resolution Directive (IRRD), both with an implementation date of 30 January 2027. On the health insurance side, Irish Life Health has undergone repeated price rises: an average 5% increase effective 1 January 2026 (115 price and 115 benefit adjustments), followed by a further average 5.9% increase from 1 April 2026 attributed to medical inflation and the Risk Equalisation levy, after earlier increases in January, April and October 2025 (introducing the new HealthDirect outpatient plan on 1 April 2025). Irish Life Assurance plc continues to be authorised as a Life Insurance Undertaking on the Central Bank of Ireland's register.
