Latest report release: State of Health Insurance in China

2018 was a breakthrough moment with the release of Pacific Prime China’s first report on the state of health insurance (SOHI). Not only did it make headlines with our followers, readers and policyholders, but it proved to be successful in providing everyone with a broad and informative outlook for global health insurance.

‘Simplifying insurance’ is our motto so going by that very slogan, Pacific Prime China is proud to announce the 2nd edition of the state of health insurance.

So far in 2019, as a global insurance brokerage specializing in health, we continually aim to bring to our readers a more definitive approach to understanding health insurance – particularly for expatriates, local individuals and businesses in China. Our goals are simple: facilitate the decisions of our readers and empower them to make the most informed choice as it pertains to health insurance.

In this article we will provide our readers with a glimpse of what to expect in our report. However, if you are already keen to get the latest report, then head straight to the source by clicking the following link ‘State of Health Insurance in China 2018-2019’ for a complimentary copy.

What to expect in the latest 2019 report

The State of Health Insurance in China 2018-2019 report aims to simplify the process of selecting insurance, by providing in-depth insights on the news and trends across the global medical insurance landscape. By providing a clear snapshot, we offer our readers a better understanding of what to expect in the future.

For this year, Pacific Prime China has pooled together the following commonly asked questions based on the main insurance trends of 2018, and categorized them into several clear distinct sections to help answer them in the simplest way possible:

Commonly asked questions

• What is the cost of international health insurance?
• How much have premiums increased by?
• What are developing trends and insurance industry changes being seen globally?
• What are the top insurance issues faced by individuals and businesses?
• How has Pacific Prime developed in 2018?

State of Health Insurance report sections

Straight-forward, simple and yet informative. These sections are designed to provide answers that are in depth and relevant to the above questions.

1. Changes to the global insurance landscape

In this section we have identified some of the most important changes and consumer updates to the insurance market worldwide as listed below:

• Increased regulation

What Pacific Prime China has noticed is that insurers around the world are constantly adapting to changes in their country of operation. With an influx of new government policies and regulations comes the need for insurance companies to review their products in order to cater to the requirements of individuals and businesses.

Some may ask, “What impact will changes in a country’s regulations have to the world?”. Well, often we will see other governments follow suit due to countries being part of an economic or political block such as the EU or ASEAN. Insurance companies are therefore subjected to regulations that they must adhere to. Failure to do so can lead to major implications, e.g. in terms of partnerships and penalties.

The report looks at the impact and touches on the latest from the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As technology advances so does the importance of protecting data belonging to citizens of the EU. All companies have to adhere to these additional policies to keep them licensed to operate.

• Continued inflation

Continued inflation comes as no surprise; the report looks at some root causes with the input of Pacific Prime’s insurance experts. We look at the impact of increased inflation and the consequences it has on policyholders and private medical facilities in China.

• More flexible employee benefits

Employers around the world have shown a tremendous change in direction when it comes to attracting the best talent, and ensuring they remain motivated and loyal. The report provides a balanced review of how investments made to secure the best and most appropriate employee benefits package for their staff can yield excellent results.

• The rise of insurtech

Without a doubt, computer technology has a revolutionary impact on the way insurance companies operate and respond to changes. The technology associated with many insurance companies nowadays can solve many real-world insurance problems. Pacific Prime China’s report indicates the areas that insurtech companies are making positive changes and improvements for policyholders.

• An ever increasing focus on client experience

As ever, insurance companies are trying to change old habits, and improve on how they choose to deliver their products and services to consumers. This report looks at how companies are focusing their operations around client experience in order to maximize their effectiveness for doing business.

• Clients demand simpler products

The findings from working with our partners, as well as feedback from our clients, show that products need to be simpler and meet the needs of the market. Fully acknowledging this, the report by Pacific Prime China will identify some insurance products that in 2019 will significantly address this demand and help simplify health insurance for certain demographics.

• Insurers making sure clients are better informed

The future’s looking bright in terms of the plethora of ways employed by insurers to deliver precise and simple information in relation to the plans of policyholders. Providing a holistic idea of exactly what to expect helps to bridge the understanding between the policyholder and their plans. Oftentimes, we do hear news and feedback from policyholders misunderstanding the nature of their plans from the very beginning, which has implications further down the line when claiming and so forth.

2. Insurance trends

In order to provide a broad view of insurance trends going beyond 2019, we have approached some of our major insurance partners: Aetna, Bupa Global and Cigna, to share some of their thoughts and ideas with our readers.

Some of the questions we mentioned to them include the following:

• What are the key trends among the IPMI market you have noticed in 2018?

• What are the key trends among corporate employee benefits you have noticed in 2018?

• Are there any worries or requests you are hearing from clients to a greater degree than in previous years?

In the report our key experts will provide their insight to the above questions and many more as we come to accept the movements of the future in insurance.

3. Top insurance issues faced by individuals and businesses

A huge topic in itself, Pacific Prime China is pleased to report on the key medical insurance issues facing individuals and businesses around the world. We also include analysis of the insurance market in China supported by our 2 offices (Beijing and Shanghai), provided by Pacific Prime China’s Country Manager, Jason Armer.

For individuals we will focus on the following issues:

• Burgeoning local market
• Maternity focus
• Renewability concerns
• Foreign insurers move in

For businesses we will focus on the following issues:

• Wellness focus
• Cost control
• Medical facility partnerships

Examining the above issues in the report will help us approach effective solutions to remedy these issues.

4. Insurance costs and inflation in 2018

The ‘cost of insurance’ throughout 2018 has received immense attention globally and in China. Due to various factors including the demand for visiting high-end hospitals as part of growing demand, to the flexible policies on offer, the cost of inflation is dramatically increasing.

For this particular report we will cover these topics and illustrate several key findings.

In addition, for a number of years, Pacific Prime China and its other global offices have covered these topics in great detail in separate comprehensive reports. See below the links to our separate reports relating to the subject of IPMI:

• Pacific Prime’s Cost of International Health Insurance (COHI) report
• Pacific Prime’s International Private Medical Insurance (IPMI) inflation report

5. Pacific Prime in 2018

Looking back on the past year, Pacific Prime has advanced and grown immensely.

With worldwide offices as illustrated in the report, you are always within reach of an expert ready to give individuals and businesses the impartial advice they need. We also pride ourselves in creating a truly global footprint as depicted in this section.

With numerous award winning services and products, we are not limited to what we can do for our clients and policyholders. A truly momentous year!

By establishing ourselves solely on the quality of our service and working closely with everyone, ranging from our expert colleagues to individuals, partners and government organisations, we hope to continue growing organically and remain a top brokerage firm. As technology becomes more integrated into our lives, we are constantly striving to maintain our services in line with new regulations and policies.

The report will go into detail our achievements and milestones. 2018 was truly a remarkable year to reflect on!

Get your free copy of the State of Health Insurance report today

The above is just a short summary of the key insights generated by our latest Pacific Prime China study, so be sure to download the full report today for a comprehensive review of all findings.

If you’re looking for regional analysis on the state of health insurance in Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, or Thailand, or would prefer an overview of the global state of health insurance, please download the report(s) from their respective websites.

If you have any other questions about international health insurance in China, or the global insurance industry as we know it, please get in touch with our team today. We’re standing by to answer all your questions, guide you through all aspects of your insurance process, and give you a free quote!

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.