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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 differently. One insurer might apply a loading while another might offer the exact same cover at a much lower loading, or occasionally even the normal price.
Over the lifetime of a policy, that difference can run into thousands of euros.
We see big differences between the five main Irish insurers for exactly the same medical history.
The person hasn’t changed between applications, it’s that the insurers simply don’t all price the same risks in the same way.
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, so if people with a similar health issue or risk tend to make more claims, they may charge a higher premium.
One of the biggest misunderstandings about life insurance loadings is that people think the insurer is saying they’re likely to die soon.
That’s not what a loading means.
Imagine there are two groups of 100 people.
For any one individual, the chances are still very small. But the second group has double the risk of making a claim.
Because insurers price policies based on the experience of thousands of similar people, they charge the second group a little more. That extra cost is called a loading.
In other words, a loading reflects relative risk, not a prediction about what will happen to you personally.
This is probably the most important thing to understand if you’ve been offered cover with a loading.
No two insurers view every risk in exactly the same way.
For the same person with the same medical history, one insurer might offer the normal price, another +50%, another +75% and another +100%.
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 a €60 standard premium to €150.
You can see the standard rate by running a quick life insurance quote on our website.
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.
Situation: Sarah had a GIST (Gastro-Intestinal Stromal Tumour) and a total gastrectomy four years earlier. She needed €300,000 of life cover.
Problem: Her bank declined her application.
What we did: We approached other insurers to see whether they would take a different view.
The offers:
| Insurer | Loading | Duration | Total extra cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | €7.50 per mille | 3 years | €6,750 |
| B | €7.50 per mille | 5 years | €11,250 |
| C | €10 per mille | 3 years | €9,000 |
Here’s how Insurer A’s figure works:
€7.50 × 300 = €2,250 extra per year
€2,250 × 3 years = €6,750.
Choosing Insurer A instead of Insurer B saved Sarah €4,500. Choosing A instead of C saved €2,250.
After the loading period ends, the extra per mille charge stops.
The lesson: Sarah’s medical history was identical in every case. The difference was which insurer assessed it.
If you apply through your bank, you’re generally dealing with the insurer available through that bank.
If that insurer takes a cautious view of your medical history, you’ll receive the terms that insurer is prepared to offer.
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, you don’t necessarily need to start making applications to different insurers yourself.
Tell us a little about your medical history and we’ll discuss your circumstances anonymously with underwriting teams to establish where you’re likely to get the best outcome.
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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