A broader scope of insurance, a new flat-rate payout and improvements to claim payouts – and all this for the same premium as before.
A broader scope of insurance, a new flat-rate payout and improvements to claim payouts – and all this for the same premium as before. These extra advantages for the customer are provided by the improved version of its hospital cash benefit, which is available from Commercial Union as an option to individual life insurance programmes Plus and Perspective.
In 2004, a total of over 7 million people were hospitalised at 643 state and 147 private sector hospitals in Poland. The average time spent in hospital is seven days. According to experts, the health care market in Poland is worth 65-70 billion zlotys (Ł11.2 to Ł12 billion) a year. "These figures provide an idea of the scale of demand for medical services," says Małgorzata Suska-Iwan, health insurance deputy director, CU Poland Life Insurance Company.
The development that has been seen in the medical services and insurance markets has enabled the needs and potential of customers to be identified with increasing precision. In the light of the experience gained in the three years plus since the introduction of the hospital cash benefit option, CU Life will be offering customers an upgraded version of this service from 20 October.
Under the hospital cash benefit contract, the policy-holder will receive a payout at a level determined in advance if he/she has been hospitalised and a medical procedure has been used as part of the hospital treatment process, this payout – related to the particular disease or injury – is described in a schedule which constitutes an appendix to the general conditions. The customer chooses one of four payout levels. The insurance is in effect 24 hours a day throughout the world.
"Our insurance covers protection for time spent in hospital, which is something that frequently leads to considerable expenses. One major advantage of this offer is that the customer receives the payout specifically after hospitalisation. We have tried to ensure that the amount of the payout is closely linked to the actual cost of medical services. This means that in many instances the policy-holder has the opportunity to choose between using the public health service and being treated at private clinics, where the same services are provided, but often on a higher quality level," explains Małgorzata Suska-Iwan.
In the modified version, the number of events covered by the protection has been increased – this insurance now covers some 1,850 instances linked to the treatment and diagnosis of about 540 diseases and about 100 types of injury. "One interesting thing is that our product also covers what are known as same-day procedures, which other insurers avoid by making the payout dependent on the length of time spent in hospital. We do not apply such restrictions, so our product is more flexible," emphasises Małgorzata Suska-Iwan.
A claim payout has been introduced (known as a flat-rate payout) for an entirely new event – hospitalisation for at least seven days caused by none of the items featuring on the schedule appended to the general conditions. The payout on this is 500, 1,000 or 1,500 zlotys depending on the selected payout level. "Such situations had not previously been taken on by Commercial Union, but it was up to us to provide our customers with fuller protection," explains Suska-Iwan.
The modified hospital cash benefit insurance also differs from the insurance available from competing companies in its approach to chronic illnesses, which are excluded by virtually every other insurance on the Polish market. CU only abjures responsibility for diseases which have acquired the character of a chronic disease. This means that the policy-holder receives a payout for the first medical service rendered in respect of a chronic illness.
In determining the right to a claim payout, CU also applies the “24 months’ grace” principle. The general principle is that hospital cash benefit insurance does not provide cover for diseases or injuries that were diagnosed and treated prior to the time of signature of the contract (these are covered by the so-called “clause”). If a period of 24 months elapses after conclusion of a contract and no medical service is required in respect of the diseases covered by the clause during this time, however, CU will regard them as having been cured. If the policy-holder is hospitalised after these 24 months have elapsed in connection with that same disease, he will be entitled to a payout of the relevant claim amount.
All the above customer-oriented modifications have been introduced by Commercial Union without any increase in the premiums payable under a hospital cash benefit contract.
General condition of the hospital cash benefit option are available from the CU website:
http://www.cu.com.pl/Portal?secId=76R54S8KIUH5IF575R8VNJ20
CU Life is placed second in the life insurance market, and is the market leader for individual insurances. In the first half of 2006, CU wrote premiums in the amount of 1.2 billion zlotys or Ł207 million (more than 40% higher than in the first half of 2005), and generated 244.4 million zlotys or Ł42.1 million net profit. The company offers many types of individual and group life insurance with supplementary options, employee pension programmes, annuities and individual pension accounts.
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Information:
Bohdan Bialorucki
Telephone: +48 22 557 43 41
E-mail: bohdan_bialorucki@cu.com.pl
For further information, see www.cu.pl
Notes to editors:
Commercial Union Poland group is part of the international Aviva group – the world’s fifth largest insurance group, and the largest in the United Kingdom by revenues. Aviva group operates in 25 countries. It occupies a strong position in the European Union, including United Kingdom, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Poland. It also has major operations in the USA, Canada, Australia and Asia. Worldwide, Aviva group services about 35 million customers and manages assets valued at over Ł330 billion. For additional information, see the website www.aviva.com