The UK health insurance market is relatively shielded from macroeconomic challenges, such as the cost of living crisis, with higher-income consumers accounting for a majority of total ownership. However, even among these people, many are looking for ways to reduce financial pressures. This is leading to consumers shopping around for cheaper policies, although very few will cancel entirely.
Through marketing efforts and packaged pricing, private hospitals and healthcare providers have both bolstered the rise in self-pay treatments. To counter this growing trend, insurers need to emphasise the cost savings and additional benefits offered by PMI policies.
Although PMI is perceived as a product for older individuals, due to its focus on secondary hospital treatments, the product is increasingly diversifying towards offering primary care options and additional benefits. This transition has allowed providers to showcase the everyday value a PMI policy can offer younger consumers, who are looking to align with brands that can support their heightened focus on holistic health.
This report examines the UK market for health insurance. The main focus is on PMI (private medical insurance). The Report also touches on other health covers available, including health cash plans (HCPs), healthcare trusts and private healthcare plans.
PMI is designed to cover the costs of private treatment for what are commonly known as acute medical/surgical conditions (ie curable short-term illnesses or injuries). The main advantage of having this cover is that it ensures prompt access to treatment should the policyholder become ill or injured.
HCPs provide cash benefits to cover everyday costs associated with primary care treatment (eg dental examinations), hospital treatment (though not the treatment itself) and post-operative care. The majority of plans do not cover the full cost, but pay a fixed rate usually between 50% and 75%. Plans may also include protection cover, wellness services and telephone helplines. Unlike PMI, HCPs work on the basis of ‘guaranteed acceptance’, meaning that subscribers are not required to undergo a medical examination and premiums are not based on claims history. Some plan providers adjust premiums according to different age bands, although most do not. Some also impose an upper age limit for joining or offer reduced benefits to those over a certain age.
Healthcare trusts are where individual companies (typically larger companies) provide a form of PMI which is administered by insurance companies. The employer sets up the trust and establishes a fund that is used to pay for the medical treatments of its beneficiaries. This provides health cover for employees and their dependents. Subscribers can receive hospital attention or undergo operations in private hospitals more quickly or at a more suitable time that can be offered through the NHS.
This report was written by Charlie Landsborough. Charlie joined Mintel in January 2023 as a research analyst for financial services. Prior to joining Mintel, he had just graduated and was working as an investment assistant at an impact investment fund. Charlie has an undergraduate degree in Advertising and a masters degree in Investment and Finance.
PMI is evolving beyond covering hospital treatments with brands now embedding themselves into consumers’ daily lives to promote healthier living.
Charlie Landsborough
Financial Services Analyst
Mintel is the world’s leading market intelligence agency. We show you how consumers think today and tomorrow. As a trusted partner to industry leaders, we deliver game-changing insights to businesses across the globe, fuelling their marketing and innovation strategies that will shape the future.
Access high-quality market research with every purchase of Mintel’s consumer reports. Here’s what else is included in your report purchase:
From consumer reports to customised growth strategies. We have an option to suit your business requirements.
Find out more£ 5,000 – £ 21,600
Mintel’s 2024-25 Global Outlook on Sustainability: A Consumer Study is designed to help you understand what brands and companies should prioritise in order to educate consumers and ensure...
Find out more£ 500
A compilation of political, economic, social and legal factors impacting the income protection market. Stefania Apostol, Senior Financial Services Analyst ...
Find out more£ 2,195
Term assurance is one of the largest sectors in the protection industry, by value and number of policyholders. It is also a mature market that is experiencing minimal...
Find out more£ 2,195
Travel insurance demand stabilises post-lockdown Travel insurance continues to expand, but with the post-lockdown surge in travel having slowed, so has growth in premiums. Cover for overseas holidays has...
Find out more£ 500
An overview of the key innovations in the income protection market. Stefania Apostol, Senior Financial Services Analyst ...
Find out more£ 2,195
Pet insurance remains resilient despite rising premiums Rising veterinary costs, along with broader inflationary trends, have forced insurers to increase premiums. Despite this, and the wider effects of the...
Find out more
We’ve found it so useful working more closely with Mintel. They helped support our recent flagship event for our top suppliers by providing a really unique viewpoint on the future of online retailing.
Nick Carroll from their Retail Team was also an excellent panelist, sharing useful and actionable consumer insights. We definitely look forward to working with Mintel again on future projects.
Working in a customer-obsessed organization means that data and insights have to be at our fingertips. Mintel’s reports help us support anecdotes with real quantifiable insights. The summary sections (which I really like) helps save time by giving a birds eye view of the content before spending time combing through the pages.
Our business review discussions are strengthened by the relevancy of the reports to help us better understand our customers. In addition, the customer service received from the team (especially in crunch periods) makes the process of understanding customer behavior even better.
We use Mintel Reports, mostly for financial services and ecommerce markets, plus a few retail and technology ones.
As a leading payments provider, we value additional insights into consumer behaviour, opinions and trends that are shaping the many different markets we operate in. Mintel is a very good and very quick way for us to obtain those insights.
We use Mintel to get a view on where a particular market is going, which can support us in product development and help us identify opportunities or indeed risks, it is a very useful barometer of a market’s potential.
There is no question that Mintel is the go-to resource for the best quality market research, but I did not think it was an affordable option for Abacus Marketing to consider. As a small marketing agency, we only work with a few new clients each year.
However, we have a very high-end consultative approach to our work, so we really do need a partner like Mintel to provide the big agency experience we are always aiming to deliver. Our clients come from an incredibly diverse range of industry sectors, so we obviously need access to market research reports from a very wide spectrum of marketplaces – and that is precisely what we got.
Mintel is really good for getting a handle on a particular category quickly. If we are working on a new business pitch in an area we don’t have much experience in, it’s a brilliant way to get up to speed with what’s going on, what’s changing and what the key trends are in any category.
It’s very rare now that anyone will plough through a 200-page report – that’s why the summaries are really useful. We know they are backed up by a lot of detail, so if you need to go into something in more depth you know the information will be all there for you.
From consumer reports to customised growth strategies. We have an option to suit your business requirements.
Find out more
