Insurers deserve credit for creating a product consumers truly value meaning retention rates for private medical insurance (PMI) have held up in spite of cost of living challenges, according to UsayCompare director Sunny Solanki.
Participating in a panel session at Health & Protection’s second annual Health Summit Solanki (pictured centre), told delegates while the firm had seen “significant growth” in demand for PMI among consumers over the past couple of years, retention rates had been greater than in “a long time” even amid cost of living challenges.
“A lot of consumers are reacting to what they see in the media,” Solanki explained.
“So you’ve got the doctors’ strike, you’ve got various other areas of strike, there are probably challenges to go and see a GP. That does lead consumers to go and look at private healthcare.
“One of the biggest strains and one of the biggest questions and issues we are having is people saying ‘We can’t get in to see a doctor, what services have you got?’
“We’re advising and educating the client about virtual GPs and the hospital options they’ve got and that is driving that [PMI] demand.”
And even though Solanki conceded premiums were on the rise in the region of “a couple of hundred pounds” a year since the pandemic, PMI consumer retention rates have held up.
“Pair that up with the cost of living and you would think that people would start to look at what they are doing and they would be going to go more down the cash plan route,” Solanki continued.
“But the retention of private healthcare has been really good and some of that credit really needs to go to the insurers for their innovation and the product.”
And Solanki added the firm had just had one if its busiest Januarys to date: “We expect the trend to continue especially in an election year but hopefully we’ll see some advancements on the NHS side as well as on the private.”