GLO HEALTH Insurance, the health insurance company that entered the Irish market in July, has signed up 8,500 customers in its first quarter.

The figures, which cover the period from July 1st to September 30th, represent a net increase of 800 customers per week. Glo’s chief executive, Jim Dowdall, said the figures compare favourably with the early performance of other providers such as Bupa and Vivas Healthcare. Vivas, which Mr Dowdall formerly headed, reached 8,500 customers after 10 months in business.

While declining to predict Glo’s overall net customer increase for the full year, he said he expects to see a jump in activity in January, traditionally the month when people change their health insurance provider.

Glo Health Insurance became the fourth health insurance provider to operate in the Irish market when it began trading in July.

Glo was set up by former Aviva health executives Jim Dowdall, Stephen Loughman and Oliver Tattan, who have a 51 per cent stake in the company.

Irish Life holds the remaining 49 per cent, while Munich Re is underwriting the policies.

Mr Dowdall said the vast majority of new customers were existing health insurance holders which had switched providers.

He said Glo, which signed up Facebook as a corporate customer in July, was actively targeting the company pensions market, which represents around 30 per cent of the overall health insurance market in Ireland.