Aviva gave its Health Insurance business in Ireland

Canadian-owned Irish Life assured that it has now taken control of both companies.

The move will decrease the number of health insurers from 4 to 3.

The deal is the greatest in the sector since Aviva's larger rival Laya Healthcare was sold to AIG previous year in a deal understood to have been worth in the region of €90m.

Aviva Health is Ireland's 3^rd greatest health insurer after VHI and Laya. It sis 70pc owned by Aviva with AIB holding the other 30pc. Irish Life is purchasing the Aviva stake.

Irish Life was already a 45pc shareholder in GloHealthcare, and the Aviva Health deal will catapult it close to 2^nd-ranked Laya in terms of market share.

The latest Irish Life health insurance business will have 400,000 private healthcare consumers.

Insurers across Europe are being compelled to assess their deployment of capital as an outcome of incoming regulations called as Solvency 2 which will compel institutions to hold more capital as a precaution against possible losses.