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Editor’s note: First published in 2014 | Updated in 2026 to reflect current underwriting practice among Irish life insurers.
If you’ve just applied for life insurance or mortgage protection and the insurer has increased your premium, it can feel like a kick in the teeth.
You might have been told your policy is:
At that point most people assume one of two things.
Neither is necessarily true.
Different insurers assess medical conditions very differently. One insurer might apply a +150% loading, while another might offer the exact same cover at +50% or occasionally even the normal price.
Over the lifetime of a mortgage, that difference can run into thousands of euros.
That’s why the order you apply matters.
A life insurance loading is extra you pay on top of the normal price when an insurer believes the risk of a claim is higher than average.
The loading is normally applied as a percentage increase to the standard price.
The reason for the loading can vary, but common causes include:
Insurers look at past claims and statistics. If people with a similar health issue or risk tend to make more claims, they pay a higher premium.
If someone in perfect health pays the ordinary or standard rate, a loading increases that price by a percentage.
For example:
If the normal premium is €60 and the insurer applies a +100% loading, the final price becomes €120.
A +150% loading would increase the premium to around €150.
You can see the standard rate by running a quick life insurance quote on our website. Just keep in mind that all online quotes assume perfect health, so if you have a medical condition, the price you see might not be the price you pay.
Instead of increasing the premium by a percentage, insurers sometimes apply what’s known as a per mille loading.
This is usually temporary.
The insurer adds an extra charge for every €1,000 of cover for a set number of years. When that period ends, the extra charge stops, and the premium drops back to the normal price.
Here’s a real example.
Sarah had a GIST (Gastro-Intestinal Stromal Tumour) and a total gastrectomy four years ago. Her bank declined her application, but when we approached other insurers, we were able to get quotes.
Those quotes looked like this:
Insurer A: €7.5 per mille for three years
Insurer B: €7.5 per mille for five years
Insurer C: €10 per mille for three years
Sarah needed €300,000 cover.
€7.5 per mille means €7.5 for every €1,000 of cover.
So the additional cost works like this:
€7.5 × 300 = €2,250 extra per year
That means the total extra cost would have been:
Insurer A: €2,250 × 3 years = €6,750
Insurer B: €2,250 × 5 years = €11,250
Insurer C: €10 × 300 = €3,000 per year × 3 years = €9,000
So for the exact same cover:
Choosing Insurer A instead of Insurer B saved €4,500.
Choosing Insurer A instead of Insurer C saved €2,250.
After the loading period ends, the premium drops back to the normal price.
But this example also shows the mistake many people make.
If Sarah had accepted the first insurer she spoke to, she could have paid thousands more than necessary.
Different insurers assess medical conditions differently. One may apply a heavier loading, while another may offer the same cover on better terms.
If you applied through your bank, they only have access to one insurer.
If that insurer takes a cautious view of your medical history, you’ll receive whatever loading they decide.
That doesn’t necessarily mean another insurer would reach the same conclusion.
If your premium has been loaded or you’re worried that it might be, it’s worth checking whether another insurer would take a more favourable view.
If you’d like us to discuss your case anonymously with the underwriting teams, complete this short questionnaire, and we’ll get back to you.
Complete the medical questionnaire
Thanks for reading
Nick
Written by Nick McGowan, QFA RPA APA
Nick is a qualified financial advisor and founder of Lion.ie, an Irish life insurance and income protection brokerage based in Tullamore.
He’s been helping people secure fair, transparent cover for over 15 years and was named Protection Broker of the Year 2022.
If you’d like straight answers without the sales pitch, learn more about Nick here.
As Ireland's leading life insurance broker, we specialise in comparing the rates and policies from the top five Irish life insurance providers and offering the very best value quotes to suit the individual needs of our clients. Our expertise lies in finding a suitable insurance plan for those with specific needs, be it a particular illness, occupation or claim history, we've got you covered in every sense!
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