The number of applications for corporate voluntary health insurance policies exceeded pre-couple indicators

Applications for medical assistance under corporate programs of voluntary medical insurance (VHI) are growing, their level has exceeded the pre-Covid level. According to market participants, clients of insurers returned VHI to social packages after the pandemic period and even began to expand them to retain and attract new employees. The increase in the number of applications for medical care under such programs has already led not only to an increase in payments, but also to an increase in prices.

In the second quarter of 2023, the level of negotiability (the ratio of the number of clients of insurance companies who applied for certain services to the total number of insured persons) for corporate VHI exceeded the figures for 2019, major market participants said.

Sogaz noted that the turnover dynamics exceeded the pre-COVID period by 2%. The growth in negotiability was significantly higher than in 2019 and reached 90%, according to Rosgosstrakh. Sovcombank Insurance recorded a 15% increase in turnover in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2022, which corresponds to the pre-pandemic level.

Yugoria points to an increase in the number of requests by almost 12%, up to 33% from VHI clients, in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. The frequency of client requests for VHI in the second quarter of 2023 was 30%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the same period in 2021 and 2022, the BestDoctor service specified.

“In 2020, covid began, and company employees worked from home – under lockdown conditions, they were physically unable to freely visit clinics. Regular cuts in budgets for voluntary medical insurance began, and the number of refusals to renew increased. In 2021, many employees continued to work remotely, so the referral rate actually did not grow, although it began to recover, however, in the budgets for the next year, VHI began to pay “pre-COVID” attention.

The following year, large corporate clients left Russia, many were forced to terminate their VMI contracts. At the same time, Russian companies began to return VHI to social packages and expand them, including in order to attract employees of foreign companies that entered the market and to retain their own, the VHI market gradually returned to the pre-Covid period,” Sovcombank Insurance explains.

According to market participants, payments for insured events are also growing against the background of the market recovery after the pandemic and the departure of foreign clients. In AlfaStrakhovanie, it is estimated at 10% compared to last year’s figures, which is comparable to inflationary expectations in the paid medical services market.

Rosgosstrakh noted an increase in payments by 15%, to 1.7 billion rubles, in the second quarter of this year compared to April-June 2022. According to Renaissance Insurance, payments increased by 10-15%. Sovcombank Insurance registers an increase in payments by 20%. Sogaz indicated that in the first five months of this year, the growth in insurance payments amounted to 18% compared to the same period last year.

Experts note that in connection with the growth of payments, the unprofitability of the segment is growing. According to Oleg Khanin, general director of the insurance broker Soyuz Insurance, despite the increase in the cost of medical services, insurance companies could not raise the renewal rate in order to retain customers.

However, the rise in prices could not be avoided. According to Absolut Insurance experts, the price growth in the market as a whole amounted to approximately 5-7%. In “RESO-Garantiya” prices increased by 7-10%. Sogaz records an overall increase in premiums for corporate voluntary medical insurance: for the five months of 2023, it amounted to 10% compared to the same period last year.

Julia Poslavskaya