New cover aims to help policyholders lower premiums and meet excess
A new product design - which combines medical insurance with an investment - is to be launched by specialist private medical insurance (PMI) broker The Private Health Partnership (PHP).
HealthSaver, which is to be sold exclusively through PHP, covers policyholders for large claims, but includes an investment element to cover the excess. It has been designed to help address the escalating costs associated with PMI.
Clients taking out the policy are encouraged to save a lump sum and invest it in a high interest savings account, which is set up through PHP's parent company, Skipton Building Society. The money can be used as the client wishes, although the aim is to save the lump sum to self-fund smaller and less expensive elements of healthcare treatment.
To encourage clients to save, an additional bonus is paid after three years if the money remains untouched.
On the insurance plan, underwritten by Exeter Friendly Society, an excess is offered to lower the cost of premiums. The idea being that the excess matches the amount of money invested in the client's savings account.
Peter Bye, director at PHP, said the combination of savings and insurance will help tackle rising premiums as well as misconceptions about healthcare costs.
"The high excess keeps premiums very low and overcomes the biggest object- ion people have had to private medical insurance for a long time - the increasing premiums. People feel if they are not claiming they are losing their money. But by choosing this route, if clients are not claiming, they will still see their lump sum investment grow while their premiums remain low as well," he said.
PHP has also secured ties with Exeter's Go Private scheme to provide clients with information on how to secure the best private treatment and the likely cost of this treatment. It has also tied in with independent care advisory service, Red Arc, to assist the client in the later stages of treatment.
Commenting on the product, Bill Poynton, member of the Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries, said: "This is the sort of thing we have been encouraging our members to do for many years, although on more of an unofficial basis. There will always be room for both new and traditional medical insurance plans."
