Specialist healthcare intermediary Private Health Partnership, which has recently become part of the...
Specialist healthcare intermediary Private Health Partnership, which has recently become part of the Skipton Group, is developing its own range of healthcare products.
Jan Lawson, managing director of Private Health Partnership, said the company had been frustrated at the limited choice in private medical insurance (PMI) products for clients and felt the next generation was long overdue.
Private Health Partnership has previous experience of devising dental plans and had been developing its own PMI products before the merger with Skipton.
Lawson said: 'As a relatively small intermediary when we talk to conventional insurers the first thing they want to know is what the distribution network is. Unless this adds up to big numbers, you tend to find they are not interested in the development side. This will now change. With Skipton's involvement, we have access to the marketing skills and the distribution to make it a proposition.'
She would not release product details, but said: 'We are looking to bridge the gap between full insurance and the self-pay market. The two have been developing divergently and new people have not been attracted to medical insurance for a while. We will aim to provide insurance for the important bits and operate more as a funding vehicle for more predictable expenses.'
Private Health Partnership is talking to European reinsurers at the moment and expects the lead time on the new products to be less than six months.
Lawson added: 'With its strong marketing and distribution network, we welcome the additional support Skipton Building Society will provide, and importantly it has the same culture as us ' placing the customer first. With its support we can speed up our development as a leader in the private healthcare sector.'
John Goodfellow, chief executive and director of the Skipton Group, said: 'The Private Health Partnership has firmly established itself in the private healthcare market and the society's backing will now enable the team to act on its plans for development.'
