Hello-Safe: UK health insurers saved £321 million

UK health insurers saved an estimated £321 million during lockdown, as policyholders postponed medical appointments to avoid exposure to Covid-19, according to comparison site Hello-Safe.

A mixture of public information from data providers such as the Office for National Statistics and anonymous claims information from AXA, Allianz, Covea, Swiss Life, Aviva, and Bupa for the period from 23 March to 1 June revealed a 75% decline in private health insurance payouts.

Hello-Safe found that medical appointments fell 35% for general practitioners and 71.1% for specialists since 23 March. Optical and dental care plummeted almost 96.4% during the whole period.

Fewer consultations meant fewer healthcare reimbursements, which decreased 75% over the whole lockdown period.

This fall in health insurers’ payouts reached 84% during the week beginning 13 April (compared to the same week in 2019). As a result, their savings are estimated to be £321.6 million.

Antoine Fruchard, chief executive officer at Hello-Safe, said that “few insurance companies had the initiative to reimburse—totally or partially—these huge amounts of money pocketed during the lockdown.”

“It will be interesting to see if that questionable position evolves from now to the end of year 2020.”

Similar research from Hello-Safe found that car insurers saved almost £1.3 billion in payouts during lockdown.

Mark Dugdale