Allianz Premium Increases come in under 5 year Inflation Average

Posted on Nov 08, 2012 by Sergio Ulloa (G+)

Globalsurance, with great excitement, can announce that as of November 1^st 2012, Allianz Worldwide Care individual premiums will increase by just 5 percent. This increase rate is all the more impressive when put into context with the 11 percent global average increase over the past 5 years across the Private Medical Insurance sector. Despite bleak global economic outlooks and rising inflation, Allianz has remained successful in the iPMI sector and in the last five years their average increase has come in at only 8 percent as highlighted within Globalsurance's latest Insurance Review. In other promising news, Allianz has also adjusted its premium zones to include three new areas, named K, L and M, offering customers more options when it comes to their premiums and coverage. This change will reduce the cost of premiums by an average of 10 percent in more than 70 countries, and will only increase in 3 countries (see attached list of price zones). These new prices are indicative of healthcare costs in the affected countries. Many of those countries affected by theses changes, such as Egypt, Belarus and the Czech Republic, will move from the J zone to be included in the K zone and will experience lower premium increases as a result. This adjustment in Allianz's pricing zones, for the most part, will have a positive impact on policyholders. Allianz's lower inflation rates in regard to their premiums, compared to other providers in the international health insurance industry, are partly a result of the company's unique pricing structure for expatriates living in different countries and regions. "As a client-focused business, we work very hard to restrict the impact of medical inflation on client premiums, across all markets" commented Claude Daboul, Director of Sales, Marketing and Operations at Allianz Worldwide Care. Daboul elaborated further on this; "Proactively monitoring and managing the cost of medical treatment and associated services enables us to contain costs for our clients and maintain affordable premiums". Along with adjusting their coverage zones to benefit their customers, Allianz is additionally making their policies more flexible and comprehensive by adding six new deductible options for In-patient Core Plans. These new options will make sure that customers' needs are met with additional, specialized options for paying for their healthcare coverage. Further to this, Allianz is also offering parents involved in a surrogate pregnancy the ability to add their newborn child to their plan, with full medical underwriting for the infant. Additionally, these changes offer the option for the child to be included as part of either parent's health insurance policy after a period of 6 months from purchase so that medical underwritings are waived, offering better protection in the event of pre-existing conditions or congenital birth conditions. While many of the changes that Allianz has made to its plans are positive, there have been some adjustments to some of the policy wordings and language in terms of new exclusions and benefits. One way their coverage details are changing is that, while Allianz will continue to exclude treatment for sleep disorders, including treatment for insomnia, they will now include coverage for investigations and research into the causes of sleep disorders. The coverage of treatment for alcoholism and drug addiction will continue to be excluded and starting in November 2012, smoking cessation treatments will no longer be covered on Allianz's plans. In addition to these changes, Allianz has also adjusted the language for Prescription Drug Coverage so that the policyholder's medication must be used for the condition being treated, a change that should be noted by policyholders who currently use medications for off-label treatments. While the effects of this change are not yet fully known and the scope of the changes are still being determined, Globalsurance analysts believe that any negative effects, if any, will be minimal. Lastly, due to recent currency fluctuations, Allianz Worldwide Care policyholders who settle their policies with Swiss Francs (CHF) will witness a 13 percent decrease across their premiums and deductibles. Allianz has seen great success in the past 5 years in terms of the products it offers and continues to move forward providing improved services to customers. They are a committed insurer and will undoubtedly continue to offer policyholders top-of-the-line health insurance coverage that is met with the best in customer service.