Report Says 87% of Brits Without Medical Insurance Don’t Want Coverage

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c32712) announced the addition of UK Private Medical Insurance 2005 to their offering.

With premium rate increases in private medical insurance leading to a decline in individual subscriber numbers, the market has been stalling in recent years. However, providers are responding by looking for innovative ways to boost consumer sales and improve conditions, and early signs indicate that this is proving to be successful.

Scope of this title:

* The latest data and market research, including information on GEP, policyholder numbers, premium costs and underwriting profitability
* Information on GWP growth in the individual sector, and on the methods being used to bring down personal policy premiums
* Insight into the competitive performance of the market and an in depth look at changes in the market share and ratios of the top ten insurers
* Two scenarios forecasting the markets GWP growth until 2010, based on primary research and in-house expertise

Of the 87 percent of people without PMI in the UK, the majority are reportedly not interested in taking out cover. Insurers are therefore focusing on boosting customer awareness and generating interest in PMI policies through new product innovation and heightened marketing campaigns.

Providers are looking to attract more people into the market with new, more sophisticated offerings, that cost the consumer less, but in return for a lower premium, offer a lower level of cover. This has helped PMI providers to mitigate the effects of increasing claims costs, while also trying to address the problem of falling policyholder numbers.

Standard Life grew its share of the PMI market faster than any other competitor in 2004. The company took on an estimated 30 percent of First Assists business in September 2005, following its acquisition of the insurers PMI book. It believes that this may boost its PMI market share to as much as 10 percent, taking it ahead of Norwich Union.

Topics covered in the report include:

* BUPA
* Standard Life
* Groupama
* Clinicare
* First Assist
* Norwich Union
* BCWA
* Royal & SunAlliance
* WPA
* AXA.