OK, hands in the air it has been many weeks since I last put 'pen to paper' here at the blog. I can only apologise, managing a growing business is far more important in some requests than writing fun blog posts although I still think that it is important to include my thoughts on current market events and so forth when I have chance.
What I wanted to do today was put up some of my thoughts about my PMI business over the course of 2017 along with some important information on changes to the data protection regime in May 2018 which will, potentially, affect my industry moving forwards.
To all of my professional introducers. 2018 has been a busy year and I've had both fun and challenges working with you and all of your clients. My business now works in such a way that I essentially don't really market direct to either personal or company clients any more. Other than referrals from existing clients virtually all the business I look after comes from my team of professional introducers - IFA's, general broker and accountants plus a smattering of other professions. So thank you to you all and I wish you and yours a fantastic Festive period and of course a succesful 2018 for us all.
As always I've learnt a lot as the year has progressed and been able to put in place some excellent medical insurance solutions for many of your clients. Life is never dull (although of course insurance most definitely can be!) but I am of the opinion that once we stop trying to actively learn from experience both personally and professionally we are always the poorer for it.
One of the biggest themes I have noticed in the medical insurance market over the last year or so has been on-going larger increases in insurers renewal premiums which along with the enforced increase in IPT of 2% which has prompted me to review many more clients this year and in many cases move them to alternative lower cost insurers products.
I would stress that my automated renewal process never begins with the pre-supposition that the client needs to be moved to another insurer but I see time and again the need to intervene, review the market and move clients. This is never ideal as I prefer stability and being loyal to an insurer who carries a vital risk for my clients and I feel that, over the piece, that it is important to allow insurers the chance to make a profit on a case over time - in other words I strongly feel that when things work well the relationship between insurer and client is a mutually beneficial one allowing the insurers business to make a decent profit whilst giving the client the right cover and thus peace of mind without their having to over-pay. In some respects one might characterise this relationship at present as a little bit uneven in the UK medical insurance market.
In 2018 and moving forwards I see no sign of this pressure on costs decreasing especially taking into account the on-going effects of Brexit. Whether one agrees or disagrees with leaving the EU it is true to say that the UK financial services industry is facing a time of great change and potential upheaval. The uncertainty that exists within the markets will drive I suspect more and more medical insurance clients to seek to contact costs on personal insurances and employee benefits and that in turn that enables me to demonstrate the value to you of having a proactive specialist in the medical insurance field working with your practice. In other words, in the same way that I succeeded when I set up my business in 2010 in the thick of the financial recession I also feel that Brexit marks an opportunity for our businesses moving forward. One just has to be canny, professional and transparent with clients.
2018 was also a year of reasonable stability in the medical insurance markets with limited insurer and broker consolidation. However things are on the change and we may well look back on 2017 as a bit of a haven in time or perhaps the eye of the regulatory storm. The advent of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) the new EU data protection management regulations which despite Brexit will still become law in May next year will I suspect have long term impacts on the sector. Given the level of sensitive information handled by both medical insurers and specialist brokers like myself I would make the following predictions. Firstly that some less professional intermediaries will leave the market unable to handle the nuance of the new rules and the associated increased regulatory burden. In turn GDPR will make Private Medical Insurance even less appetising for non-specialist intermediaries and thus I feel that a level headed and professional approach to this new data handling regime can only benefit my practice and the introducers that I work with.
In short those of use who can see the opportunities within a more heavily regulated sector and are poised to take advantage will once again reap the benefits.
If you need assistance with any aspect of medical insurance marketing, sales or administration please feel free to get in touch. Even if we don’t end up working together on cases I am always delighted to help other industry professionals with their PMI queries.
If you would like to discuss any prospective cases with me or need general advice on medical insurance - just call or e-mail me.
Phil Knight
December 2017
07792 075748
philknight@pch.uk.com
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