The growing need for the PMI market to lift static sales out of a rut was once again highlighted at ...
The growing need for the PMI market to lift static sales out of a rut was once again highlighted at Laing & Buisson's annual conference. Insurers are failing to motivate individuals to get cover and, although the group market has seen a modest increase, it is still not reaching its potential.
John Dean of Gissings, summed the crisis up well when he spoke at the conference, describing the market as getting 'very boring'. He spoke of the 'desperate need' for new product ideas and the urgency for smaller insurers to increase their market share. The fact that BUPA and AXA PPP healthcare still control 60% of the market is often cited as the reason behind the market's inability to innovate. And after over a decade of decline, BUPA's market share is beginning to increase once again.
Standard Life Healthcare's Mike Hall added to the gloomy forecast when he spoke of the impending bill for new cancer treatments. It seems insurers will have to come up with some fast solutions to absorb increasing costs.
However, there is some light on the horizon. This month we saw a new insurer enter the market with some product ideas that seem far from 'very boring'. Not a million miles away from the Government's patient passport proposals, PatientChoice has created two group products that pay out a lump sum benefit, allowing policyholders to buy treatment where they wish, and even keep the cash they save.
WPA's shared responsibility scheme has also brightened dull sales forecasts, as the insurer insists the scheme is becoming more popular with clients. However its intentions, revealed exclusively in COVER, to move all policyholders onto the scheme could leave some disgruntled – something no-one in the market can afford to do.
Kirstie Redford, editor
