The country’s largest health insurer, the VHI, recorded a financial surplus of €65 million last year.

The State-owned company also said it had finalised a four-year reinsurance agreement with Berkshire Hathaway, the insurance giant headed by investor Warren Buffett.

The company said it had made an application for its long-planned authorisation by the Central Bank of Ireland and that it would not need support from the exchequer to achieve the required solvency levels.

VHI said its surplus for 2013 represented a margin of 4.4 per cent and was an improvement on the surplus of €54.3 million, or 3.8 per cent margin, achieved in the previous year.

It said that at the end of 2013 VHI Healthcare had free cash reserves of more than €389 million, bringing the company’s solvency level to 156 per cent, compared with 108 per cent in 2012 and 100 per cent in 2011.

Special investigation unit

VHI said its special investigations unit – which examines claim of overcharging and erroneous payments to hospitals and doctors – and its medical review process had recovered €14.8 million.

VHI chief executive John O’Dwyer said: “VHI Healthcare continued to perform well in a challenging market in 2013. We recorded a strong surplus on our consolidated business, improved our solvency position and maintained a low operating cost ratio. The improved financial results have been achieved on the back of a number of key initiatives taken in 2012 and 2013 which will continue to bear fruit in future years.”

He said a key business priority in 2013 was preparing to submit an application for authorisation by the Central Bank. He said a significant element of this submission was the inclusion of a long-term, sustainable business plan that would secure the viability of the business.