Bupa's decision to withdraw its individual PMI offering through intermediaries has been dubbed "extraordinary" by a specialist broker.
Cheltenham-based Regency Health principal Brian Walters, said the decision had come at a time when more consumers than ever were buying PMI through intermediaries.
He said: "The ClientChoice range was well supported by specialist PMI brokers, who will understandably feel let down by Bupa.
"It is also bad news for consumers, who will no longer be able to access whole-of-market advice on PMI. The individual PMI market was already suffering from a paucity of good products and the loss of ClientChoice is another blow."
Bupa's ClientChoice, Bupa Care, Local Care, Local Hospital Care and Essential Care products will no longer be offered from 31 August this year to all new and ex-group scheme business; with the exception of specific affinity arrangements.
Linda Wallace, head of intermediary management at Bupa Health and Wellbeing said: "Challenging market conditions mean we need to continually scrutinise our products to ensure they are both meeting customer needs and are distributed in a way that is commercially viable.
"We will honour any outstanding new business applications up to and including 6 September. We are not making any changes to the existing terms for renewal commission for members already with Bupa."
Wallace added intermediaries were critically important and would continue to work with them to enhance products and services for consumer, SME and corporate clients.
