16th December 2024
Trust in Private Medical Insurance (PMI) among consumers has risen from 55% in Spring 2023 to 60% in Autumn 2024, reveals consumer group Fairer Finance’s Trust in PMI Index.
Trust in Private Medical Insurance (PMI) among consumers has risen from 55% in Spring 2023 to 60% in Autumn 2024, reveals consumer group Fairer Finance’s Trust in PMI Index.
The poll among 6,000+ private health insurance customers of the five largest PMI insurers in Autumn 2024, found that trust in PMI decreases with age. The highest trust scores are among 18-30-year-olds (65%), while trust scores drop to just 50% for those aged 65 and older. One possible reason for this could be that premiums tend to rise with age, as do the number of potentially excluded pre-existing conditions. Older customers also consistently report lower satisfaction with the value for money their policies provide, which is consistent with the view that higher premiums and reduced cover account for the more negative views of older customers towards their PMI providers.
Households earning over £70,000 have the highest trust scores (67%), compared to 57-59% for households earning under £30,000. Those earning between £30,000 and £70,000 fall in the middle, with trust scores between 62-63%.
This could be linked to another finding: individuals who rate themselves as confident managing money have much higher trust scores (65%) compared to just 44% among those who are less confident financially. Since wealthier customers tend to have greater financial confidence, these two results make sense.
Trust in PMI increases the longer a policy is held - but only up to a certain point. Trust is lowest among customers who have held their policy for less than a year (49%), but it rises significantly to 66% among those who have had the policy for 2-5 years. This may be because consumers realise the policy’s value when they begin to use it. However, after 10 years, trust scores dip slightly to 59%, indicating that longer time with the cover may expose certain frustrations or unmet expectations, or could be linked to premium rises or loss of no-claims discounts.
Fairer Finance has also found that trust is higher among individuals who receive PMI through their workplace compared to those who purchase it independently or through an adviser. Employer-provided plans may offer better value or reduce the financial burden, both of which likely contribute to this trust gap.
When it comes to individual providers, Freedom Health leads the pack of the large insurers, with the highest trust score at 71%. Vitality has the lowest trust score of 55%.
James Daley, managing director of consumer group and ratings provider, Fairer Finance, said:
“The rise in trust for private medical insurance is encouraging, but it’s clear that there’s still work to be done to close the gaps between different customer groups. Older customers and those with lower incomes are less confident in the value of their policies, and this reflects a wider challenge for insurers to deliver greater transparency and fairness.
“The private medical insurance market has seen significant growth in the last couple of years, driven by more people seeking alternatives as the NHS faces ongoing challenges. While this presents a valuable opportunity for the industry, it also poses risks for consumers - most of whom have never bought this insurance before and are unlikely to understand the nuances of what is and isn’t covered.”
Fairer Finance PMI product ratings are designed to help consumers choose a good quality product. Fairer Finance awards a 5-star rating to the products with a set of features that most customers will need and expect. It sets a high bar so the ratings have real value - no more than 15% are awarded 5-star ratings at the start of each year, and often far fewer.
For more information about Fairer Finance and to read more about its Customer Experience and Product Ratings, visit https://www.fairerfinance.com/.
For further information, please contact:
Karen Mignon, KM Comms: karen@kmcomms.co.uk / +44 7766 651327
Louise Ahuja, KM Comms: louise@louisebcomms.co.uk/ +44 7788 676913
Fairer Finance is an independent consumer group and ratings provider whose mission is to help create a financial services market which is fair for consumers as well as the companies that serve them. With a heritage spanning almost a decade, Fairer Finance’s unique and impartial Product Ratings are simply designed to help consumers make sense of the complex world of financial products. It rates over 6,000 products spanning over 20 sectors, ranging from bank accounts, credit cards, car insurance and travel insurance.
Its Customer Experience Ratings are designed to help consumers make more informed decisions based on quality and service and not just price (eg trust, complaint-handling, transparency etc).