Big insurance brands in the international private medical insurance (IPMI) space have an easier time getting new customers than newer entrants, thanks to the power of their brand, according to Matt Howells, founding partner at Vizion Health.
Howells (pictured left) said: “Brand awareness is something that gives people comfort around health especially in the UK domestic market – whether they are the best provider or not.
“The reality is that people get comfort from knowing that they are with recognised brands.”
Howells was part of a panel discussion that looked at the future insurer landscape during Health & Protection’s third annual IPMI Summit at Sopwell House in St Albans, Hertfordshire last week.
The three-member panel also included Kieran Brown (centre) managing director UK at SIP Medical Family Office and Tyler Ogilvie (pictured right) vice president international benefits at Penmore Benefits.
“So when we get clients and we have these new insurers to look at – how do you choose which client is the one that you put with the new insurer?” Howells asked.
“How do you kind of look at that line and go, ‘you’re going to be the one that I’m going to take this risk with’ and they might not be that one?
“So I think it’s super tricky on a number of different points, and what they might end up with.”
Speaking from a Canadian perspective, Calgary-based Tyler Ogilvie said: “The domestic market in Canada is very efficient. It doesn’t cover a lot but it’s pretty well understood how that works.
“Our number one focus generally with new providers is network partnerships, and that can be primarily be for direct billing purposes.
“I think my biggest frustration is carriers who are not servicing those network relationships enough.
“And second to that is from a compliance perspective.
“So that’s another kind of check mark in the favour of some of the bigger ones, that they’ve got that compliance team built out and network team built out.”
Brown noted: “You look at the UK domestic market and I think health insurance is selling more than it ever has”.
On the issue of integration, he said: “I don’t think there’s any concerns overall for the longevity or the sustainability, but there’s absolutely issues that have to be addressed.
“That’s not just down to us, that’s down to everybody in government.
“You know we’re regulated – so I think from that point alone we all take great responsibility before we make a recommendation because our licenses are at stake.”
And on the issue of big-name insurers, he said: “It’s not always the case that you can trust them to deliver a great service.
“In actual fact, we get better service from some of the smaller providers that we deal with.
“It just brings me back to the point where it’s good to have intermediaries and specialists who have taken the time and effort to build up their knowledge and expertise to get to give the best advice to their clients.”