Premium income from the individual Private Medical Insurance (PMI) sector continued to surge in 1999 in spite of a slight dip in policyholder numbers, Laing & Buisson's latest market survey shows.
In the last calendar year, insurers squeezed an extra 6.4% in premium income from customers, but the number of policyholders dropped by 4.5% to 6,366,000 in the same period.
Report author Philip Blackburn said: "High individual price increases and the absence of tax concessions have dampened individual demand for PMI in the last three years."
Blackburn added that further premium increases for individuals in the year 2000 would see a growing drop in demand.
The group market continues to grow with an increase of 1.2% in the number of policyholders.
