Retail: High street chemist, Boots, announces PMI venture with PruHealth
By Lucy Quinton
High street store, Boots, has entered the private medical insurance (PMI) market in association with PruHealth.
The offering, available in the pharmacy's 1,500 stores, has been developed following a survey commissioned by Boots, which found 80% of people do not have PMI as it is too expensive.
The survey also revealed that 36% would consider PMI if they felt they were offered a competitive rate.
Boots' aim is to offer a high street PMI product that is highly competitive, and is part of a bigger plan at the firm to encourage policyholders to actively manage their health and wellbeing in return for lower premiums, the firm stated.
Boots is the latest high street chain to offer PMI to its customers. In January, Tesco Personal Finance launched a PMI product in association with Axa PPP Healthcare. Tesco had been the only other supermarket to offer the service following Sainsbury's pulling out of the sector in 2005.
Susie Colley, managing director at West Country Health Care, was less than enthusiastic about the Boots offering. She said: "These large conglomerates seem to labour under the misapprehension that their name alone will induce sales. PMI is too complex to be sold in such a way and it will end in tears as it did with Sainsbury's."
She added that it was a recipe for disaster and said it suggested that "PruHealth is being pressured from South Africa to increase sales".
The Boots policy will deliver rewards to those who make no or low claims and take part in PruHealth's Vitality programme. This will be adapted slightly so that policyholders will be able to collect Boots Vitality points by taking advantage of a range of current offers.
Such offers include completing an online health review or stress test, having an eye test or downloading online meal plans.
Shaun Matisonn, chief executive at PruHealth, said there were a couple of reasons for working with Boots, in particular, in terms of vision and distribution, adding that the two companies "shared a vision to make the nation healthier."
The product launched at the end of April.
