Most of the UK private medical insurance (PMI) growth has been due to self-employed people and very small businesses, rather than the 50 to 100 medium sized firms where many assumed the growth lay.
A report by Research and Markets on the UK health insurance market for the self-employed and small businesses said health insurers were targeting this sector with standard corporate products rather than tailor them for individuals.
The report said the number of self-employed people easily exceeded 5 million, with 95% of firms employing less than five and with over 400,000 people starting up their own business every year.
The rise in policy count and premium income on private medical insurance in recent years had often been attributed to increased corporate sales while private sales fell.
Health insurers, including some who did not sell individual covers, had gone into this market. Most use standard corporate products. Few developed special products for the sector.
Many rebadged personal products as business ones. Other insurers claimed that self employed people and owners of small businesses only needed standard personal products, said the report.
