Health insurer WPA has announced a trio of changes, within its individual and large corporate markets and in its relationship with advisers.
WPA is re-launching its suite of individual medical insurance products, stating its aim is to reduce premiums while maintaining benefits, and to target WPA at specific customers rather than being ‘everything to everyone'.
The inclusion of extras within Flexible Health, XSHealth and Active Health, its three individual plans, allows customers to design both their benefits and premiums.
For instance, Flexible Health (premier and elite cover) gives customers the option to add cancer care and Premium Hospitals (mainly situated in and around London) allowing the ability to use the NHS where it excels.
In support of the re-launch and celebrating 25 years of WPA will be offering a 25% discount across all individual products for the next 6 months.
Charlie MacEwan head of communications at WPA, comments: "Through combining shared responsibility and excesses, customers are in control of their benefits and the premiums."
XS Health is aimed at younger customers, Active Health, with no maximum age of joining, is targeted at retirees (group leavers) and Flexible Health is designed for busy people in need of a comprehensive medical insurance policy.
Continuing WPA's long-term strategy, members of Professions and self-employed get a 20% discount.
With the budget on 22 June and an potential insurance premium tax (IPT) rise, WPA has launched Corporate Deductible - a corporate policy to minimise the impact of IPT.
MacEwan says: "This is a high excess policy for 100+ employee plans. These plans know they will claim a certain amount, so it is not an insurable risk, so why pay IPT on top?
"There are stop losses in the corporate market and excess on individual policies, but we think this has never been done in this market. At the current rate of 5% there are savings to be made - this will only be exacerbated if IPT rates rise."
WPA has also begun promoting introducer opportunities to IFAs. If an intermediary is not active in the medical insurance market and has customers ranging from SMEs, the self-employed or members of the Professions, WPA will now allow advisers to submit business to its network of franchisees. Advisers will receive commission and enhance their product range, without increasing work-load.
