I have just uploaded the latest edition of my 'weekly' (haha) podcast and one of the subjects covered is the importance of medical insurance renewals.
Listen to the podcast (http://pmicast.podbean.com/e/pmicast-20-episode-69/) then return to read on.
I wanted to cover this subject here in a more general and customer focused way because firstly the audio format doesn't suit a longer discussion and secondly the more I thought about this subject the more important I realised the issue was. Hopefully what I am about to cover will apply equally to both company and personal clients and also be of interest to my professional introducers as well (whose issues on this subject are the primary focus of the above podcast).
First, Private Medical Insurance PMI) 101 :
PMI is an annually renewable general insurance product just like (although I use those words advisedly) car insurance or house and contents. In other words the insurer sends out a new (usually higher) price each year taking into account a number of pricing factors including but not limited to age of the customer(s), changes to the product, where you live, how many claims you've made, do you have an excess and so forth.
So to reiterate, every year just before the renewal the insurer sends out the terms they would like you to accept for the following twelve months. Simple right ? Well you'd hope so but not necessarily.
Firstly insurers sometimes make mistakes. I have several clients who, if not for my intervention would never have received new terms. The insurers (and this is a guesstimate based on personal experience over 24 years) in general will miss, that is fail to issue, around one in every sixty or seventy renewals. So with this scenario the price goes up (according to all of those factors above) but no one tells the client, he or she or they usually notices at some point when a new and unexpected direct debit amount appears on their banking app or statement. This is pure mechanical error and easy to rectify with a diary system. Most brokers, certainly specialists in this area of insurance will have one for their clients (I certainly do).
At this stage I would strongly suggest that any client who is direct with an insurer and not currently using an intermediary like me should do so ASAP. There are two reasons for this. Firstly to avoid not getting the renewal as outlined above - I dread to think how many direct renewals go missing en route to direct clients. But importantly if you only work with one insurer you do not know if you have the right plan at the right price - it really is vital to get professional independent advice in one of the most complex insurance product areas.
Another problem is that of intermediary routing. This (in addition to having a solid diary system) is where I can really add value for my introducer partners. There is a vast tranche of PMI business out there much of it with Aviva and Vitality Health (for historical reasons I won't bore you with) but also BUPA and AXA PPP where the original broker has set up a plan but neglected to ask the insurer to route all documents via the broker. This is where I find a load of problems building up over time.
Think of the PMI insurers who have millions of customers. Some are direct, some via IFA's, some via general brokers some via healthcare specialist brokers. In some cases insurers allow different routing of documents for some types (e.g. renewals) but not others (member certificates). Some just deal with brokers, others not at all. Some clients might have one family member on a group plan with one insurer and others on a personal plan with a different insurer. With all of these splintered outputs it is inevitable that even if the insurer is supposed to send documents to the broker not the client they make mistakes - specialist brokers tend to have better relationships and process in place to mitigate against incorrect routing of renewals and it is a massive reason why specialists can pick up business from IFA's and a big selling point for me in working with my IFA's. As an example Vitality Health have tick boxes on their application form covering routing of documentation out-put but if you leave this section blank when you submit a case then it all, automatically, goes direct to the client. I lose count of how many introducers have had issues with renewals going direct and clients cutting them out of the process. It's an issue easily resolved with a knowledge of Vitality's process.
Lastly timing, theoretically most insurers will say that renewals are issued automatically between four and six weeks prior to renewal. This however can vary based usually on how busy insurers are. Even if the process is automated (which it usually is with the bigger insurers) there are always going to be backlogs at busy times and over the Summer due to holidays. My advice to clients is to consider prepping for renewal no later than three weeks before the due date - this gives us bags of time (even on larger complex SME cases) to receive terms, review the market, meet to make decisions and proceed. Also bear in mind that we can, if required, backdate any changes up to 30 days - time is therefore never as pressing as the renewal sales consultant at the insurer might insist, however shrilly.
I would lastly point out that it is amazing how many cases, even those coming from insurers with an automated process, arrive late when there is a bigger than expected increase. There are I suspect two reasons. Firstly if there are a number of claims on a case it is likely that a manual intervention from the risk/underwriters might be required to establish a final price - that seems fair. However I do wonder if sometimes these larger increases are also held back a little longer so the client doesn't have quite so long to look at alternative options - a little less fair but (insurers might argue) it could be reasonable business practice.
Either way - be aware of your renewal date and beware - make sure it arrives either from the insurer or broker around a month before the renewal is usual - so either put a diary note in your phone/computer or contact me and I will sort it all for you !
Phil Knight
Independent Healthcare Consultant
07792 075748
philknight@pch.uk.com
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