Different insurance companies will come with different business models, and competition will drive innovation, both in terms of keeping costs down and bringing benefits to their customers.

One area where VIVAS has been innovative has been across the area of wellbeing, as opposed to simply acting when people are sickf Wellbeing is core to our business, encouraging people to have more control over health matters. In fact, our catchphrase is "more power to your health". It's about giving people the tools which empower them to take more responsibility over their own health.

This approach will have a number of consequences regarding how we deliver our products and services. Firstly, it will impact on the medical side . . . people will have more choice regarding hospitals, doctors and services. But secondly, it will impact on screening . . . there will be a greater emphasis placed on things such as dental checks, smoking cessation, eye laser surgery, etc.

But what does empowerment actually mean?

Firstly, in terms of primary care and screening, it is about education and information. It is about knowing your family history, and, if there is a family issue, about knowing what you can do about it at an early stage.

But also, if people are ill, it is about knowing how to access the system properly.

We are trying to give people more control over their health, and more control over how they get better. It is the opposite approach to the nanny state, or the paternalistic approach. There is sometimes a notion that "anyone but you knows best", but we believe that people should be knowledgeable enough to have a degree of control in their treatments, and to be able to make choices about the treatments that they will get. Research shows that that is what people want . . . they don't want to be dictated to.

But aren't Irish people terrible when it comes to taking responsibility for their health, even when there is a serious issue involved?

We're definitely moving away from that, and people are far more aware of healthcare. But there are still issues . . . for example, Ireland has the highest rate of cervical cancer in Europe because women were not getting smear tested.

But smear tests are covered by VIVAS.

Aren't men worse?

That's why we're covering men's cancer. That's why we provide for cholesterol checks as part of our product. Modern Irish people are taking control of other issues of their lives, and health is far more important than, say, finance or employment. People want to feel that they have the tools to allow them to take control over their health.