Thursday 15th May 2014:

Aviva recognises the concerns raised about our position on cover for the cancer drug Ipilimumab and is fully aware of the effect of our position on those who are regrettably directly impacted. We want to explain the background to our position.

We take advice from the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE) as independent advisors for Health Technology Assessments on all new drugs.

Each new drug is assessed by the NCPE on both its clinical and cost effectiveness. The NCPE have advised against covering Ipilimumab at the price quoted to Aviva by the drug company based on the measurement of its benefit in terms of patient outcomes.

The approximate price for Ipilimumab is over €100,000 per four week treatment. If the price quoted to Aviva by the drug manufacturer were to fall in line with the NCPE advice, Aviva would review its position.

As an insurer, our first obligation is to make sure we are in a strong position to meet the medical claims of all our customers.  We also aim to provide a range of products to suit our customers’ needs at an affordable price. That means we have to make choices about what we cover: in doing so, we are guided by the independent expertise of the NCPE.

Aviva Health Insurance Ireland Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland