The VHI is to increase premiums by an average of 4.8% across all plans from March 1st.
The company said the change was due to the increased demand for healthcare and the rising costs of providing healthcare to customers.
"The price increase is necessary to ensure that VHI can continue to meet the costs of providing healthcare to its customers in 2023 and beyond," it said.
This is the first price increase in two years following a price reduction in 2022.
Dermot Goode from Totalhealthcover.ie told The Hard Shoulder this was expected.
"We were wondering who would blink first because of the rising costs in the whole healthcare system," he said.
"Irish Life announced an increase on the 1st of January, an average increase of 5%.
"As expected now VHI are following suit with a similar increase from the 1st of March."
'Between €60 to €270'
He said the increase is based on average figures.
"A very quick cursory glance of the figures: this is going to cost a family - two adults, two children - anywhere between €60 maybe to €270 for the year in additional premium," he said.
"We only have the average figures at the moment.
"It looks like some plans could go up by 6.6% - and some plans at the lower end, we just don't have that detail just yet.
"This was expected and, whilst I'm not going to defend the insurers, we were aware of all kinds of cost pressures with the hospitals, labour costs, all the inputs were going up.
"Two of them have gone, and I'd say an announcement from the other insurer - Laya Healthcare - is not too far away either."
'Potentially avoiding increases'
Dermot said there are still savings to be made.
"Probably half of all renewals will have taken place between December and the end of February," he said.
"So a lot of consumers are going to miss this increase, and it won't hit them until this time next year.
"I would say to anybody who sees their premium going up: you need to pick up the phone and engage with the insurance companies.
"They've launched a whole range of new plans, they've retired a lot of the older plans.
"If you're still on the same plan for more than five years; if you're spending more than €1,850 per adult, or if you have the whole family on the same plan - or if you've never looked at a corporate plan - not only could you potentially avoid these increases, you could still be knocking hundreds maybe even thousands of your overall premium.
"If ever there was a reason to shop around, well this is it," he added.
