See China’s international private medical insurance inflation in new report

Pacific Prime China is proud to announce that its global parent company has released the newest version of its annual inflation whitepaper, the International Private Medical Insurance Inflation – 2018 report. This industry-valued resource outlines the rate of premium inflation for international insurance products across ten locations where such products are common. China features again in this report where a range of global and local factors set to influence the cost of premiums in 2017 and beyond.

The guide is completely free and can be downloaded here or, for more information, read this Pacific Prime China blog article.

Important figures from the International Private Medical Insurance Inflation – 2018 report

As with previous years, the main focus of the report is to highlight the global average inflation rate for international private medical insurance (IPMI). 2017 saw the IPMI inflation rate fall to 7.0% – a significant drop from 9.2% in 2016, and 12.8% in 2009. The figure is also an all-time low for this report, indicating that IPMI premiums increased significantly slower in 2017 than before.

This mirrors our previous beliefs in the costs of IPMI being linked closely to the medical trend rate. According to Aon’s 2017 Global Medical Trend Rates report, the average medical trend rate around the world was 8.2%. Compared to previous years, this continues the linked relationship that medical trend rates and IPMI inflation have of being within 1-2% of each other.

By country, Dubai saw the highest IPMI inflation rate of any other location listed in the International Private Medical Insurance Inflation – 2018 report. Its figure of 9.6% sits well above Indonesia, which had the lowest at 5.3%. An IPMI inflation rate of 6.9% was the average in the Asia region for 2017.

International private medical insurance in China

China is a significant market for IPMI products. The strong economy continues to draw a large number of international companies and workers, many of whom depend on comprehensive health insurance to secure their wellbeing whilst they reside here. There are a number of key local factors that have impacted premium costs in the country, including:

• Increased competition as more foreign entities enter the insurance market.

• An imbalance of healthcare resources as seen in the health sector’s challenges in keeping capacity and service levels adequate to high rates of urbanization.

• Better understanding of insurance products due to increasing wages, and people’s desire to use discretionary income to secure their health and wellbeing.

• China’s ageing population which is rising quickly and poses a significant challenge to existing medical services.

• Greater focus on tech benefits and innovation to improve healthcare services and reduce costs in the industry.

As a result, China’s international private medical insurance inflation rate was 6.3%. This is a hugely reduced number from 2016’s rate of 12.1% and was largely affected by the premium changes of one particular global insurer. Outside of this, the premium adjustments across the rest of the eight insurance providers in the report remained consistent with other locations.

What else to expect from the IPMI inflation report

At Pacific Prime, we’re committed to building a reputation on simplifying insurance. The International Private Medical Insurance Inflation – 2018 report is just one of a number of helpful resources we produce each year to help both consumers and industry players alike better understand the market. For this particular report, you’ll find a wealth of medical insurance inflation data, such as:

• Premium inflation insurance figures from eight globally recognized IPMI insurers.
• Graphs and data showing the average global IPMI premium inflation rate from 2009-2017.
• Comparisons with other measures like the Consumer Price Inflation index and the Compound Annual Growth Rate of premiums.
• Regional and country-specific IPMI inflation rate data including information on China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, and the UK.
• Analysis of the inflation data including discussion on key inflation drivers globally and for each of our focus locations.

Our inflation driver analysis includes both current impacts and emerging trends to watch out for as the market develops. Readers have used the report on international private medical insurance inflation in the past to help them make sense of any premium changes in their products, as well as make better informed decisions for their future.

Download your free copy of the report today

The International Private Medical Insurance Inflation – 2018 report is completely free. Our global parent company, Pacific Prime, worked with our consultants, claims, and marketing people across our seven global offices to ensure that this year’s report meets the same high standard that our audience has come to expect.

Check out our download page here to get your free copy of the report today, or contact our team at Pacific Prime China to learn more.

Disclaimer: Pacific Prime China solely represents, operates and manages locally regulated insurance products and services in the territory of PR China. Any references to Pacific Prime Global Company or Group, the international services, insurance products or otherwise stated written or verbally, is for introduction purposes about our overseas network only as each entity is fully independent.