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Health Insurance For The Self Employed And Small Businesses
Ian Youngman, March 2006, Pages: 300
A strategic overview of the UK health insurance market for the self employed and small businesses
There are now a record 4.3 million small businesses in the UK – this is over 500,000 more than seven years ago. Small businesses and start-ups make a major contribution to the health of the economy, increasing jobs, productivity and prosperity.When you count all self employed people and directors, the number of individuals who work for themself, easily exceeds 5 million. 95% of firms employ less than 5 people.Over 400,000 people start up their own business every year.
Increasing policy count and premium on private medical insurance in recent years has often been attributed to increased corporate sales while private sales fell .The hidden story is that most of this growth has been due to self employed people and very small businesses, rather than the 50 to 100 medium sized firms where many assumed the growth lay.
Quietly and steadily, health insurers, including some who do not sell individual covers, have gone into this market. Most use standard corporate products.A few have developed special products for the sector.
Too many have just rebadged personal products as business ones.Others claim that self employed people and owners of small businesses only need standard personal products. For all business people, a product which can be shown as a genuine business expense paid for from gross revenue, is infinitely better than an individual product paid for out of net revenue where the taxman needs convincing it is an expense.
Few of those who have developed or amended products for small businesses have added any relevant services or removed irrelavent ones.
On health cash, there are no products targeted at the self employed.Products for small businesses are almost all the standard company paid cover.For small businesses you have to dig deep into the small print or ask the insurer, to find out that they are available for small businesses.
There is a huge potential in this market, for growth and product development, as 2 million people work in SME's
This report has five key strengths
- detailed background figures on the small business sector
- product analysis of all the known UK products for the self employed and small businesses, all starting at between one and 10 insured on both private medical, health cash and in between products.
- profiles of all providers and potential providers; with information on what they say on the small business sector
- information on other products offered for the top end of the small business sector
- ideas and information on what is and can be done for this sector
PURPOSE OF REPORT
To look strategically at the UK health market for the self employed and small businesses from a business perspective;the companies, the market, the products
WHO NEEDS IT
Health insurers, health cash providers , and intermediaries in the UK and abroad
Consultants, bankers, and advisors
Libraries
QUESTIONS POSED
Who is offering what ?
What are the distribution routes?
What does each product offered cover?
What innovations are coming out ?
What ideas could be developed ?
IT COULD STOP YOU
Being inactive
Taking the wrong direction
Ignoring a market that has huge potential
Letting the opposition steal your business and self employed personal customers
Offering the wrong products
IT COULD HELP YOU
Decide which part of the market suits you best
Develop new products and services
Develop new distribution channels
Know which competitors to watch out for
Offer the right products to the right sector
FIVE KEY POINTS
- The number of self employed and small businesses is increasing fast
- Few have any health insurance
- Many that have health insurance have to buy it as individuals
- Product innovation and development is a must
- There are more insurers in this market than first appears
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