PMI offers chinks of light

Demand for health cover was solid in 2012 as the number of private medical cover policies in the UK (insured and self insured) moved upwards by 1.1% to reach 4.033m at the start of 2013. This followed stable demand in 2011 when policies edged down very marginally by 0.1%, but a sizeable contraction in policy numbers of nearly 8% overall during 2009 and 2010. The findings in Laing & Buisson’s Health Cover UK Market Report 2013* highlight that the small rise in policies during the year was driven by a shift towards self-insured medical expenses schemes (typically written under Trust) which offer large companies Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) exemption, and scheme flexibilities. Of the 58,500 rise in company paid policies during 2012, equivalent to 2% growth, 35,700 were self-insured by employers, and 22,800 were insured. While a weak UK economy has prompted more employers to seek cost savings on offer with their health cover, vulnerable household budgets have put pressure on individual demand for cover. While this continued in 2012, as the number of individual paid policies dropped by 1.5% – or 15,500 policies – the decline was much smaller than in previous years (down 31,800 in 2011 and 50,800 in 2010) suggesting that demand for individual cover may be about to level off in the near term.