The broadened membership of direct-to-consumer Benenden Healthcare will provide choice, but its non-intermediated offering can cause confusion for adviser clients, a PMI consultancy firm has said.
Debbie Kleiner-Gaines, managing director of Best Health, said more market choice was always a good thing, but providers like Bendenden muddied the waters for the end consumer.
She said: "Intermediaries cannot offer Benenden products so they cannot really be included when comparing the market.
"I fully support the greater choice the widened membership will offer, but clients can come to us having already got these products, and we only have access to limited literature so it can be difficult. It can cause confusion for the end consumer."
Benenden said with GPs on strike, NHS turmoil and an uncertain future for UK healthcare, there was a role for non-profit and low-cost providers to play in delivering healthcare services.
Kleiner-Gaines said: "Who knows what way the NHS will go? The private sector is never going to replace the NHS and it will not be the case that it cannot survive without it."
Ken Hesketh, chief executive at Benenden Healthcare, said Benenden Healthcare's widened offering aimed to complement, not replace, NHS services.
He said: "Removing membership restrictions means that choice is openly accessible with no discrimination due to employer background. We support this choice with low contribution rates, high quality customer service, prompt consultation."
The Benenden Healthcare Society annual conference voted yesterday to remove the last of its membership eligibility restrictions. It followed a year-long membership consultation.
Membership previously had been restricted to current or former public sectors workers and credit union members, co-operatives and charities.
