The number of people insured under VHI in Russia decreased by 5 million people

The number of Russians with voluntary medical insurance (VHI) policies in 2022 decreased by 5 million people and amounted to 31.8 million after an increase of 7.9 million in 2021. About this writes Izvestia newspaper with reference to the data of the Central Bank.

The decline was mainly for corporate clients (-5.6 million people), while demand from individuals increased. At the same time, the volume of VMI contributions reached 213.7 billion rubles, having increased by 6.9% over the year. According to the regulator, this is due to rising prices for medical services, imported medicines and equipment against the background of their shortage.

As representatives of insurance companies explained to the publication, such dynamics in the VHI segment is associated with the withdrawal of foreign companies from Russia, a decrease in the purchasing power of retail customers, as well as a decrease in demand from small and medium-sized businesses.

Foreign companies often bought quite expensive programs, and the Russian owners who replaced them either refuse protection or reduce the cost of policies, said Olga Rumyantseva, chief underwriter for personal insurance at Absolut Insurance. The new owners also often remove the option of insuring the relatives of employees, Boris Boldyrev, product manager of VHI “RESO-Garantiya”, drew attention.

The largest players in the insurance segment have not recorded a decrease in the number of insured, the newspaper notes. In Ingosstrakh, for example, the figure increased by 43% over the year to 1.2 million people, although the company noted a decrease in the number of employees who are provided with such protection by employers.

In February was fixed a two-fold increase in the number of customer complaints against insurers in the VHI segment, Kommersant wrote earlier. According to Banki.ru, most of these complaints are related to the fact that the insurer does not coordinate the medical services covered by the policy. In particular, such complaints were published by clients of RESO-Garantia, SOGAZ, AlfaStrakhovanie, and others. The Bank of Russia, in a commentary to the newspaper, called such complaints received by the regulator “single”.

How wrote in December, Vedomosti, the Ministry of Finance proposed to combine the systems of VHI and compulsory medical insurance (CHI). The authorities consider it logical not so much to unite as to supplement the mandatory system with a voluntary one (now both principles of insurance exist in parallel). The Ministry of Finance plans that insurers will administer the common system, added a source in the All-Russian Union of Insurers (VSS), but only those that use the most client-oriented approach and provide control over the quality of medical services.