Consumers mull health insurance as confidence in NHS wanes

Nearly one in two British consumers would consider buying private medical insurance to cover shortfalls in NHS provisions, according to research published today.

Some 48% of adults expect to see the NHS deteriorate over the next year, according to an independent YouGov poll commissioned by FirstAssist. The concern was worse among people aged 55 and over – 57% of them expected state provisions to worsen in the next 12 months.

Asked whether they would consider purchasing a product that provided access to the NHS provisions they were concerned about, 3% said they would, 38% answered maybe, and 9% already had.

Consumers were most interested in products that focused on reduced waiting times or providing better access to aftercare treatments.

But the NHS emerged as the preferred provider of private healthcare, with 44% of respondents saying they would consider buying services from the NHS, compared with 42% who would pay for a health insurance provider. Insurance brokers were lower down the list – 13% said they would consider buying health care provisions from them while 10% would buy services from a supermarket.

Chris Jones, head of products at FirstAssist said: “It is up to us as an industry to rise to the challenge and deliver affordable, accessible and simple products and services that help address our customers’ needs, particularly in areas such as speedier diagnoses or better aftercare.”