Growing popularity of personal private medical insurance

For the first time in recent years, the number of subscribers to personal Private Medical Insurance policies has gone up.

 

Latest figures from insurance trade association ABI show that in 2006, 1,030,000 people subscribed to personal PMI policies, an increase of 1.8% from 1,012,000 in 2005.

 

Personal and corporate PMI plans now cover 5.9 million UK adults and children. Corporate figures do mislead about the real figures, as any individual buying a business policy is counted in the same ‘corporate’ grouping as companies like Barclays.

 

Nick Starling, the ABI’s Director of General Insurance and Health, says: “Private Medical Insurance offers people greater choice of treatment and other services for a wide range of medical conditions and injuries. It also takes pressure off the NHS, so by buying PMI, people are effectively reducing the burden on Britain’s hard-pressed health service. It is encouraging that more individuals are choosing to buy PMI for themselves and their families.”