The Central Bank has today told health insurance providers to give consumers more information before their policy renewal date.

The body says annual renewal notices don’t give enough information to enable customers to make informed decisions.

Providers will be asked to make it clear that policies will automatically renew - if the consumer doesn't contact their insurer prior to the renewal date.

The Bank has also called on consumers to make contact during the renewal process to ensure the provider checks if there are more suitable policies available.

The moves have been welcomed by Dermot Goode of totalhealthcare.ie and he told Newstalk Lunchtime that the new guidelines will help consumers save money in the long term:

“What it will mean over the medium to long term is that they’ll (consumers) have more protection and they’ll get better quality information from the insurance companies. 

“It should mean that less consumers over the long term will be overpaying for their insurance. I would suggest right now that four out of five of all consumers with health insurance are to one degree or another paying way too much for their cover," he added.