BUPA reveals fall in customer numbers
There would appear to be a sea change going on in the UK health insurance sector with healthcare giant BUPA announcing that the number of customers in the UK is falling at its fastest rate for over 12 years. It seems that unemployment and the ongoing recession have forced many households across the UK, and businesses, to re-evaluate their primary income requirements and ultimately reduce or ignore areas such as health cover.
It is interesting to see that even though the US is suffering a similar demise in economic activity the fall in customer numbers has been nowhere near that seen in the UK. It will be interesting to see how the figures respond as and when the UK economy recovers and whether those who have cancelled or reduced their policy premiums will return in due course. Prior to the recession there had been significant interest in the corporate healthcare market and individual health care policies. As the pressure continues to grow on the NHS the UK government would like nothing better than both corporate entities and individuals to "look after their own healthcare".
Whether we will see the reintroduction of various tax incentives to those who take out their own healthcare insurance remains to be seen but one lost customer for BUPA is one extra customer for the NHS.
Share this..
Related stories
Does Insurance Against Accident, Sickness And Redundancy Pay?
The last few weeks have seen a substantial rise in the number of the UK population looking towards some form of personal cover for accidents, sickness and redundancy with many fearing the worst in the weeks and months ahead. But do these policies really pay and are there any catches?
On the surface it seems very sensible for someone to put themselves and their family's financial se...
Could the UK banking sector really have collapsed last year?
As we look back to the UK banking disaster of last year and the rumours that the Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS were literally on the verge of collapse, could the UK financial sector really have failed?
The truth is that the UK government, and worldwide governments, could not afford for the UK economy to collapse and this meant shoring up the UK financial sector with whatever finan...
Can Loyalty cards really save you money?
In the supermarket and retail market competition is forever increasing. Companies are constantly creating more and more ways to entice shoppers away from potentially cheaper stores, and they are actively encouraging us to frequent their own on a regular basis. They use a variety of tactics such as discounts, marketing campaigns and of course, loyalty cards. With Morrisons launching its new ‘...
Read MoreIs British Airways being targeted by the shorters?
It has become apparent that over the last few days the number of short positions in British Airways has increased with the number of shares "on loan" rising from 22.47% to 29.54%. This is effectively investors selling British Airways shares (which they do not own) in the hope that the share price will fall, they will be able to buy back the shares, close their positions and create a profit. It...
Read MoreUK government support for electric car market
After a period of relative uncertainty regarding the future of electric cars in the UK, the UK government has today reiterated a subsidy programme introduced by the Labour government which will see up to £5000 handed over to those who acquire an electric car, a plug-in petrol/electric hybrid or a car powered by hydrogen fuel cells from January 2011. There had been concern within the UK car mar...
Read More