As chairman of AMII, Stephen Walker is responsible for driving the private healthcare sector forward. He talks to Angela Faherty about his plans
For a man who fell into the health insurance market unintentionally, Stephen Walker< has come of age. Appointed chairman of the Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries (AMII) in February this year, he has come a long way since his early days as a sales agent for BUPA.
Following a varied employment history spanning the motor, retail and travel industries, Walker joined the private medical insurance (PMI) sector in 1990 and has never looked back.
"I set up a retail business at completely the wrong time. Interest rates went through the ceiling, the recession hit and my business fell flat on the ground. I was losing about £200 a week and needed another string to my bow. I got into health insurance through desperation. I didn't even know what BUPA was in those days," he says.
Nevertheless, Walker secured a job with the health insurance company and spent three and a half years working as a sales manager, a time he values highly. "BUPA taught me how to sell medical insurance. Applying for that job was undoubtedly the best move of my career," he says.
Three months after joining BUPA, Walker was promoted to area sales manager, and firmly established his place in the health insurance market. But nearly four years later, a company restructure prompted Walker to reassess the direction his career was taking.
"There was a big management upheaval at BUPA. The sales force increased from 150 to 700 nationwide in the space of 18 months and all these sales agents were chasing the same business. Eventually, they wanted to sell medical insurance as if it was double glazing and that is when I decided to leave," he says.
Following a short-lived partnership with another area manager from BUPA, Walker set up his own PMI intermediary business, Medical Insurance Services, in June 1995. Specialising in individual business, the company has come far, but the market has changed a great deal since he first set up alone over nine years ago.
Tough opposition
"In the first two to three years, the business grew quite dramatically, but it has gradually slowed down in line with changing market conditions," he says.
With his business running smoothly and his passion and knowledge of the market increasing, Walker seemed the ideal candidate to assume the role of chairman of AMII earlier this year.
As chairman, Walker is responsible for promoting AMII and the PMI cause. Since assuming the role, he has introduced a number of initiatives including a quarterly newsletter and also helped to spearhead the organisation's inaugural exhibition and conference.
"The newsletter was instigated to improve communication within the Association, something I felt it had been lacking for quite some time. It is important that we communicate with our members. They have to know what the Executive Committee is doing," he says.
Though he relishes the job, it is not without its challenges. With Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulation on the horizon, AMII has looked at ways in which it can increase its profile and industry standing. With just over 100 member companies currently signed up, it proposed extending membership to include firms who were members of a network, rather than only those currently directly regulated by the General Insurance Standards Council. But as with most positions of authority, Walker found he had some adversaries.
"The AMII Committee debated long and hard over the changes needed to accommodate FSA regulation," he says. "Our view was we needed to admit firms that were members of a network, so it was put forward at one of the Association's general meetings for members to cast their vote."
However, despite the good intention to grow AMII's membership, Walker found he faced some tough opposition. With concerns and discontent among AMII's members about the implications this may have on its reputation, Walker has come up against one of the toughest tests of his career.
"The communication I had from one particular member suggested those people who chose to become appointed representatives of a network were going to somehow be regulated to a lesser degree and would be less compliant than directly regulated member companies.
"The other thing that prompted objection was that AMII's standing would be somehow tarnished, and that insurers would discredit us. If anything, it would enhance our reputation because we would be opening the door to new blood in the industry," he says.
Despite securing a majority when the proposal was put to vote, it failed to make the rule book because it was not the two third majority needed to introduce new laws. The decision means that member firms of a network can only be associate members of AMII and therefore have no voting rights or right to sit on the Executive Committee.
While he accepts the decision, Walker is clearly disappointed. "A lot of new blood coming into the industry will initially come through the network route. AMII needs new blood, otherwise we may stagnate. This is quite sad. All we are trying to do is look to the future and act in the best interest of AMII and the industry," he says.
Awareness
Walker is also concerned about the implications the vote may have on existing member companies. "A number of our existing members are going to be downgraded, because they have chosen to go the network route. This is very sad because if they have been good enough to be full members in the past, then why should that change because their regulation and compliance is being handled by a network. I think the decision is a step back for the Association," he says.
Despite this setback, Walker is keen to move on. He remains set on increasing awareness of AMII and the PMI industry and says changes in the healthcare landscape will help his crusade.
"The noises in the market suggest the whole healthcare sector is going to change dramatically over the next few years. Both the Labour and Conservative Parties have been talking about choice, and this is the way forward. Increasingly, the Government is bringing the private sector into the NHS arena to reduce waiting lists and eventually, this will drive down costs," he says.
Walker hopes that with new providers such as PruHealth entering the market, the industry's profile will be raised. "PruHealth has come to market with an interesting concept. As a product, it is a little bit complicated, but that is not to say that it cannot be explained. It is a step forward for the industry. It is making people think outside the accepted format," he says.
As the public healthcare system remains a key objective of both the Government and the Opposition, Walker is adamant the market will see more product redesign and innovative thinking.
"As the private and public sectors become increasingly entangled, costs are going to be driven down. If the Conservative approach of introducing a 60-40% split in the cost of healthcare comes into force, the sector could see the introduction of top-up plans, which would also lower premiums and open the market up to a broader customer base," he says.
While he firmly believes the healthcare sector will change, he admits it is out of his hands. His main priority for now he says, is to champion its cause. "My aim is to raise AMII's profile significantly. I am not saying AMII is the answer to everything, but it certainly has a key role to play in taking the industry forward."
