Competition in the voluntary supplemental health market intensifies as the number of carriers and plans available increases

AVON, Conn., Jan. 04, 2018 -- Carriers offering hospital indemnity/ supplemental medical products in today’s voluntary market are seeing increased competition resulting from new carrier entrants and a proliferation of additional plans, according to Eastbridge’s 2017 Voluntary Hospital Indemnity and Supplemental Medical Products Spotlight™ Report. The increased demand is in response to carriers capitalizing on employer and employee demand for solutions to fill gaps created by major medical coverage and ACA changes.

While the top four carriers (in terms of market share) represent over 70% of hospital indemnity/supplemental medical sales according to Eastbridge’s 2016 U.S. Voluntary/Worksite Sales Report, 11 carriers achieved over $10 million in 2016 sales for this line. This compares to eight carriers in 2015.

Carriers are feeling pressure to modify plans to be more flexible, offer continued guaranteed issue underwriting, and waive pre-existing conditions. Most focus on built-in flexibility and making optional benefits available for customization and to coordinate with the employer’s medical coverage in an attempt to differentiate their plans. The trend towards customization is not without challenges, and many carriers note difficulty in providing comprehensive coverage at a reasonable price point and keeping up with marketing collateral given the myriad of possible plan design combinations.

Looking forward, sentiment towards changes in the overall market and need to modify plan offerings are mixed. Some carriers predict sales will level off in the next few years due to broker uncertainty around ACA changes, while others see increased opportunity for sales of HSA-compatible designs. Some feel plan designs will trend towards simplicity while others see continued flexibility and modularity as the norm. Overall, carriers’ sentiment toward the market impacted their plans to make product changes in the near future.

Eastbridge’s 2017 Voluntary Hospital Indemnity and Supplemental Medical Products Spotlight™ Report provides competitive benchmarking data to help carriers better understand the hospital indemnity/supplemental medical product landscape of the worksite market. The report is now available for purchase for $3,000. For more information or to order, call today at (860) 676-9633 or email us at [email protected].

Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc. is a marketing advisory firm serving insurance and financial services organizations in the United States and Canada.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ginger Bates (803) 782-0560