The private medical insurance (PMI) sector may be about to get a shot in the arm. The Association of...
The private medical insurance (PMI) sector may be about to get a shot in the arm. The Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries and the British Insurance Brokers Association's efforts to break the deadlock over claims history transparency within the small to medium-sized enterprise market has, for the moment, got the different parties looking like they will at least discuss the matter. If claims information becomes generally available for smaller firms, it could be the catalyst for a rapid growth in the sector leading to a period of real competition. It is difficult to get genuine competition into a market when just one party is privy to all the necessary information to make a quote.
On the other hand, I have heard arguments that releasing claims data would tempt some in the market to abandon underwriting as a group when selling corporate PMI. It is not hard to envision the scenario: "Well, boss, PMI costs £x. It's a lot, but if we reduce cover on these who have poor health we can save this much." Perhaps this is a bit cynical?
On the protection side, I thought that as we sidled up to Christmas we would see the markets beginning to slow. Not necessarily in terms of business volume as the present economic situation has seen strong sales in a number of protection sectors but, in terms of firms bringing new products to market, we have seen a flurry of this over the last two weeks of November.
You may be thinking that is a bit early for relaxing at the end of the year, but launching a product necessarily results in a lot of work. PruHealth, William Russell, Leadbay and Exeter Friendly Society have each either brought new products to market or radically overhauled existing ones, alongside LV=, Bright Grey and Axa which have changed product criteria. All of these firms are going to have a busy marketing time ahead. I get the feeling that the protection markets are going to become a much more dynamic place over the next year or so.
LifeSearch's efforts to get a generic industry wide protection advertising campaign off the ground are continuing, with managing director Tom Baigrie making encouraging noises of an imminent announcement. As ever, we will keep you abreast as things happen.
