The private medical insurance (PMI) industry should do more to provide clear information about polic...
The private medical insurance (PMI) industry should do more to provide clear information about policies if it is to maximise sales opportunities, according to research from BCWA.
Self-employed workers are identified as being a key target market for PMI, but the findings show that while 17% believe cover is too expensive, nearly 74% of the UK's 4.3 million self-employed population were unable to accurately estimate the cost of a PMI policy.
Jack Briggs, sales and marketing director at BCWA, said: "The results from this survey indicate that information on alternative healthcare options is not being adequately conveyed to the nation's self-employed.
"Without this knowledge, owner-managers are unable to make informed decisions on how best to make provisions against loss of earnings while waiting for medical assistance.
"Our research has shown that the nation's self-employed population lose an average of £150 for every day they are unable to work.
"Intermediaries have a duty to make self-employed people aware of the ways in which they can safeguard their income."
Further findings from the research also showed that there is a geographical divide when it comes to basic knowledge about PMI among the self-employed.
Those in the West Midlands were the best informed, with 14% of respondents correctly identifying that a PMI policy would cost, on average, between £500 and £1,000.
However, Wales fared the worst with only one in 10 respondents correctly guessing the true cost of a policy.
A split between industries was also identified.
Just half the respondents from the hotel and catering industry knew the cost of a PMI plan, while 91% of those working in the transport industry over-estimated the true cost of cover.
