PruHealth announces major changes

clock • 2 min read

PruHealth has announced major changes to its private medical insurance (PMI) offering including the launch of new benefits to comprise a ‘Lifestyle Health Insurance.'

From 1 Jan 2014, the insurer is to fully integrate its PMI and Vitality wellness programme, to streamline all customer portfolios into one version of Vitality, at no charge for individual customers.

Meanwhile, the insurer has revealed it will focus on providing access to the best clinical care at point of need.

Referrals for MRI and Ultrasound can be now be made direct by physiotherapists to improve greater access to treatment.

Healthcare at Home is now to be offered to members with breast cancer at point of diagnosis, PruHealth also said.

In addition, lifestyle surgeries, previously only available on group schemes, are now being made available to individual and SME clients.

The insurer has also made a raft of changes to its Vitality offering including:

• Health checks will now be free to all customers
• A new chronic condition management programme, called Vitality Med has been introduced for those at risk of diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
• Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking programme is now free for policyholders (was previously offered at a 75% discount.)
• Weight Watchers, Lloyds Pharmacy and travel firm Mr& Mrs Smith have all been introduced as new partners to incentivise customers.
• Bariatric Surgery has been extended to individual clients
• Increased techology - Vitality points can also be earned through a wider range of devices and mobile apps
• The maximum no claims discount has increased from 65% to a maximum of 80% (dependent on Vitality status.) In addition, a new benefit has been introduced, at no additional cost, to allow members to protect their no claims discount.

Neville Koopowitz, chief executive at PruHealth said until now PMI had focussed on sickness provision for acute treatment and care whereas PruHealth had developed a model that lent equal weight to both "prevention" and "clinical provision."

He attributed the changes to PruHealth's policies to increased engagement with wellness driving better outcomes for customers and corporate clients.

Koopowitz added: "Wellness drives consumer engagement far more than sickness does. If we move from consumers to the corporate market, we believe the corporate market is looking at healthcare in a different light and going beyond traditional PMI cover. We are firmly of the belief that the issue of productivity, engagement absenteeism, presenteeism is becoming a major focus.

""What we are starting to see is corporates are wanting more than just a tick box approach to cover. They want to make sure there's a bigger picture in place and all employees both sick and healthy, are going to get value from their policies.

 

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