Health Insurance News

Coffee sniffer nose insured for �2 million

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 10:13:00 GMT

Nescafe has taken out a medical insurance policy for one of its staff that will pay out £2 million: but only for one specific condition.

The policy covers the company against Dave Roberts losing his sense of smell. That's because Roberts is an expert coffee taster who travels the world looking for new varieties of beans to include in blends.

Although Roberts's work also involves tasting the coffee, it's the sense of smell that's important. The tongue alone can only distinguish between five basic tastes. Adding in smell helps distinguish thousands of subtler variations of flavour.

The policy isn't a record even for the narrow field of the sense of smell. A Dutch wine expert once insured his own nose with a policy that could pay out up to £4 million.

And nose insurance has a long history. 1940s American actor Jimmy Durante, who had a distinctive large nose and resulting nasal voice, insured his beak against an injury that might leave him with a "normal" style of

Aviva voted Health Insurer of the Year 2010

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 11:42:00 GMT

Aviva UK Health has been voted Health Insurance Company of the Year at the 2010 Health Insurance Magazine Awards.

The annual industry event was held at the Grosvenor House in London on 21st October with a number of awards given to celebrate the achievements of insurers and brokers in the UK health insurance industry.

Some of the awards and winners were:

Best Individual Private Medical Insurance Provider

Pru Health

Best Individual Income Protection Provider

Unum

Best Individual Critical Illness Provider

PruProtect

Best Healthcare Cash Plan Provider

Westfield Health

Best Provider of Dental Plans:

Denplan

Best for Customer Service

Groupama Healthcare

Health Insurance Company of the Year

Aviva UK

Ombudsman backs public over medical insurance disputes

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT

There's been a steep rise in the proportion of complaints about medical insurance being upheld.

Historically only around half of all insurance-related complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service have been upheld. That may soon be changing as the proportion upheld rose for most categories in the last quarter. Most notably, the ratio for medical insurance went from 35% to 49%.

Once again, payment protection insurance remains the sector producing the most complaints, with a total of 13,520 between April and June. That's slightly ahead of the pace over the past year. More than four out of five PPI complaints were upheld during the quarter, though that's down from 89% across the previous year.

There were almost 10 times as many PPI complaints as in the next insurance category, car and motorcycle cover. This was followed in order by buildings insurance, travel insurance and contents insurance.

Commercial property, pet and legal expenses insurance had the highest rates of rejected claims.

This is the first time the FOS has produced quarterly rather than annual figures for complaints. That's designed to make it easier to track changes and

Health insurance fears underplay scale of Huntington's Disease

Fri, 2 Jul 2010 18:59:00 GMT

The chairman of the National Institution for Health and Clinical Excellence says the attitudes of the health insurance industry mean Huntington's Disease may be far more prevalent than official figures show.

Professor Sir Michael Rawlings says the fact that insurers can charge higher premiums for those at risk of contracting the disease means many potential sufferers may have gone unrecorded.

The child of a Huntington's sufferer has a 50% chance of inheriting the disease, which usually takes effect in people's 30s and 40s. Because this proportion is so high, insurers treat it as an exception to the general principle of not adjusting medical insurance to take account of genetic risks.

Official figures estimate 7 people per 100,000 suffer from the disease. However, 6,702 people are receiving treatment from the Huntington's Disease Association, which works out at 12.4 per 100,000. Taking into account people who haven't been referred to the association, it's almost certain the problem is at least twice as widespread as previously believed.

Professor Rawlins believes there is also a problem in knowing how many people have inherited the disease and do not carry the symptoms (but can still pass them on to children). That's partly through fears that taking

Payment protection insurance complaints at record levels

Sat, 22 May 2010 22:40:00 GMT

Almost 50,000 people complained to the Financial Ombudsman Service about payment protection insurance providers last year. The news come shortly after the Competition Commission announced a major restriction on the way such cover is sold.

The FOS said payment protection was by far the biggest problem among consumers, making up 30% of all complaints over financial products. The next-biggest problem, current accounts, was responsible for barely half as many complaints.

Complaints over PPI are dealt with on a case-by-case basis as there is currently no blanket policy on what counts as unfair behavior by sellers. The FOS also noted that that consumers can contact them directly without using a third party. Two-thirds of complaints about PPI last year came through claims management companies which charge a fee.

The Competition Commission is to ban financial companies from selling PPI alongside products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages. It believes such sales leave customers less likely to both consider whether they need PPI and to shop around for a better deal from other insurance providers.

One exception to the new rules is retail PPI: protection sold to cover repayments for goods and services bought on store credit. The commission will further investigate this

Cup Final appearance puts health insurance payout in jeopardy

Fri, 9 Apr 2010 19:09:00 GMT

A soldier says he may lose part of a £25,000 medical insurance payout after walking on to the pitch at Wembley.

Private Dave Tatlock claimed on a specialist armed forces policy after being paralysed by shrapnel in Afghanistan. He defied doctors' expectations by being able to walk again with the aid of a stick, but remains afflicted and has lost the full use of his left foot.

Tatlock made his appearance as a guest of honour in February during the Manchester United-Aston Villa Carling Cup final and carried the trophy on to the pitch. He now says he has been informed the claim is under review as a result of being seen on television by a representative of the insurers.

Insurers Abacus Cover say the claim is made up of several parts, all but one of which have been completed and paid. The remaining part is dependant upon medical information. Abacus says it did contact Tatlock's rehabilitation social worker as a result of the Wembley appearance but that this contact was for clarification and does not affect the standing of the claim. It adds that the outstanding part of the claim remains under review awaiting medical

Bupa voted Health Insurer of the Year 2009

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Bupa has been voted Health Insurance Company of the Year at the 2009 Health Insurance Awards.

The annual industry event was held at the Grosvenor House in London on 22nd October with a number of awards given to celebrate the achievements of insurers and brokers in the UK health insurance arena.

Some of the awards and winners were:

Best Individual Private Medical Insurance Provider

National Friendly

Best Individual Income Protection Provider

Unum

Best Individual Critical Illness Provider

PruProtect

Best Healthcare Cash Plan Provider

Simplyhealth

Best for Customer Service

Groupama Healthcare

Health Insurance Company of the Year

Bupa

Employer health insurance spending rises despite recession cutbacks

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:12:00 GMT

According to research by Employee Benefits magazine and Simplyhealth (HSA), employers remain committed to looking after their staff despite the recession and widespread cutbacks.

The findings of the annual survey show that spending on employee healthcare benefits, in the form of Health Cash Plans, has risen by a huge 180% over the past 12 months. The survey results also reveal that 14% of UK companies now offer an employee healthcare Cash Plan scheme, compared with just 5% of companies last year.

It appears that small to medium size businesses are largely responsible for the continued rise, with 27% of companies employing under 100 people now offering a Health Cash Plan, compared to just 17% of 100-500 employee sized businesses and 3% of enterprises with employees between 501-1,000 doing the same.

Employees working in the pharmaceutical industry receive the best provision with 33% of industry employers offering healthcare benefits, followed by the building and construction industry at 26%.

Corporate Sales and Marketing Director for Simplyhealth, James Glover, commented: "Amidst all the doom and gloom we keep hearing about, employers are recognising how important it is to look after staff wellbeing in these changing times. As employees struggle with money worries and the

Support for UK workers needed to avoid workplace health time bomb

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:29:23 GMT

New research by Bupa Health Insurance has highlighted the need for greater support for UK workers if a workplace health time bomb is to be avoided.

The survey of the UK’s ten biggest cities revealed that more than 40% of people say they are overweight, around 66% don’t eat the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, and more than 40% tuck into a fast food meal at least once a week.

Only about a third of people admit to doing some form of moderate physical activity every day, and only around a quarter say they are a member of a gym or sports centre. When it comes to sleep, around four out of 10 people are getting less than the recommended seven to eight hours rest a night.

What's more, stress levels are also on the rise with 45% of the people questioned, admitting that they are feeling under pressure with concerns about their family health and rising costs related to the credit crunch.

A healthy business requires a healthy workforce and employers should be encouraged to create a climate in the workplace where employees are motivated to take greater interest in their wellbeing.

Bupa offers a free online health assessment tool to all its

Bupa Cash Plan Gets Record Customer Satisfaction

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:00:23 GMT

A Bupa survey of it's customers has resulted in it's healthcare cash plan achieving record customer satisfaction scores, with a substantial 92% of customers rating the service as either 'very good' or 'excellent'.

The scores come as the Bupa Cash Plan celebrates its 10th year of providing cover for healthcare expenses such as eye tests, dental care and chiropody plus other treatments that are not readily available on the NHS.

Head of Bupa Cash Plan, Stuart Wright commented: "Customer service is our top priority, so we're really pleased with these results. In the last 10 years, we have seen a three fold increase in customers and the popularity of cash plans continue to rise. It is an outstanding achievement by our dedicated team that they have sustained such high quality customer service alongside our strong expansion."

The Bupa Cash Plan was created when company bought Mercia Health Benefits, which was originally founded in 1870 as the Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital Saturday

Norwich Union Launches New Income Protection Plan

Wed, 9 Jul 2008 14:09:23 GMT

Norwich Union Healthcare has launched a new personal income protection product named Income Protection Solutions which is designed to combine competitive premiums with no standard exclusions, guaranteed or reviewable rates, flexibility options such as limited benefit terms and retirement ages from 50 to 70.

Marketing propositions manager at Norwich Union Healthcare, Nick Homer said: "State incapacity benefit currently only provides £75.40 per week (rising to £84.50 after 52 weeks) which for most people is nowhere near enough to meet their needs. Consequently many people are currently vulnerable to the potentially devastating financial effects caused by long-term incapacity. Also, the State welfare system is set to be reformed further in October this year, meaning the need for long-term income protection has never been greater."

Norwich Union is also providing individual claims advisers, many of whom are trained counsellors, who will complete claims forms for customers over the phone in additiona to a rehabilitation service which is provided by medically trained staff who can help get policyholders back into

Employee Stress Proving a Big Headache for Large Companies

Thu, 5 Jun 2008 13:45:23 GMT

A recent survey conducted by Employee Benefits Magazine and HSA Healthcare has highlighted that stress appears to be particularly concerning for large companies including those operating within the public sector.

The annual benchmark survey which surveyed over 500 readers of Employee Benefits magazine, showed that 47% of companies believe stress is a primary cause of sickness absence which increases to 64% for companies with more than 10,000 employees. Again this figure risies to to 86% among public sector organisations.

Glenn Rhodes of HSA, commented: "Over the years we have supported this survey, stress has increasingly become an issue for organisations. Despite this, many seem to be burying their heads in the sand over the problem. This is especially prevalent within larger organisations, which suffer more sickness absence from stress, yet almost half have no strategy in place to tackle it."

Editor of Employee Benefits Magazine, Amanda Wilkinson, sais: "The percentage of organisations citing stress as a major cause of sickness absence has risen for the third year in a row and now stands at 47%. Yet, a large proportion of employers (63%) still do not have a strategy in place to reduce stress in the