Restructuring of product to meet demands of budget-oriented customers
PruHealth has launched a new cover plan for its private medical insurance (PMI) offering. The plan, known as Select, has been designed by the provider to meet the needs of customers on a budget looking for a product with mid-range benefits at an affordable price. PruHealth said the plan is intended as an alternative to its Comprehensive, Essential and Core plans.
The plan has a standard excess of £250 a year per person. It is similar to, but cheaper than, the Essential plan, with a few differences:
- £750 combined outpatient limit for specialist consultations, physiotherapy, psychiatric treatment, chiropractic and osteopathy (£600 on Essential);
- Up to 14 days of psychiatric inpatient treatment (no cover on Essential);
- Compulsory excess of £250;
- Gym membership is charged at Bronze rates regardless of Vitality status (the amount paid dependent on gym choice and membership levels).
Dave Priestley, sales director at the provider, said: "The reason we've brought this new plan out is because we want to answer feedback from brokers which has strongly suggested that there is a market opportunity for us to have a product that is ideally suited to that which sits between our present plans. It's for customers who are focused on meeting a specific budget with price being the key, and who are prepared to accept an excess. The final point, which is specific to our company, is that there are a lot of people out there who want a healthy lifestyle but are never going to go to a gym so we've restructured the product for that."
He said that the product was being launched solely for the individual market but would be sold across the intermediary sector.
