Innovation from insurer Allianz Malaysia
Financing seven per cent of our total healthcare bill in 2013, insurance players have general ly played a rather passive role in the determination of our healthcare expenditure.
However, with more and more consumers developing chronic diseases due to poor lifestyle habits, local insurers seem to be taking a more proactive role in reducing our healthcare bill.
One such player is Allianz Malaysia, who recently took a unique stance within the healthcare insurance. BizHive Weekly talks to its chief executive officer Joseph Gross on their latest offerings:
Q: Could you provide us an overview of the current medical insurance industry at the moment? What do you think is the biggest factor in higher medical claims?
A: One of the challenges in the medical insurance sector is on medical inflation due to the speed of advancement in medical technology, resulting in better diagnostic equipment and treatment.
These advancements are more costly as they let medical professionals detect and diagnose diseases earlier, allowing them to recommend treatments to better deal with these diseases.
Medical inflation is expected to increase between 10 to 15 per cent annually. Medical expenses and medical claims have also increaseddue to the impact of poor lifestyle habits associated with modern living as well as ageing.
In August this year, the media reported* that Malaysian healthcare insurers expect premium rates to increase from 12 per cent to 15 per cent per year due to increasing demand for services from the affluent and higher incidences of chronic and lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes and obesity. Technological advances in healthcare and an increase in the cost of drugs and treatments also played a role in the premium rate rise.
Q: What is your objective of the diabetes care programme and diabetic essential product?
A: We realised we were turning away potentia l customers who have diabetes but are otherwise healthy and do take good care of their health. It doesn’t make sense. In line with our philosophy, we want to expand our coverage to as many people as possible. We believe that every Malaysian out there deserves to have better medical coverage and there are so many Malaysians are in need of good medical coverage, we want to offer them coverage wherever possible.
Allianz Diabetic Essential is a medical plan designed especially for Type 2 diabetics and is Allianz’s latest product offering as part of our continuous efforts to offer protection from A-Z for customers.
Type 2 diabetics make up more than 90 per cent of all diabetes cases in Malaysia. With proper management of their condition, these diabetics can live a fruitful life.
In an effort to help them on their health journey, we have introduced Diabetes Care programme where a licenced physician wil l be assigned to our customers as their very own personal health advisor, providing them with a tailored made plan to help them keep their diabetes in check.
We al so encourage our customers to take good care of their condition by offering premium discounts. Customers are eligible for a discount just for taking an annual medical test, which is provided as a complimentary benefit of the product. By taking proper measures to control their diabetes, they can earn a premium discount of up to 40 per cent, depending on the health screening results that they submit.
Q: Do you think it will help reduce medical claims and insurance premiums in the long run?
A: Unfortunately diabetes is still a chronic condition. What we aspire from the Diabetes Management Programme is to provide our customers with tools they need to lead a healthy life.
Q : Many insurers worldwide are now adopting a proact ive approach to medical i n su r a nc e , rat he r than giving customers premiums based on their current health risks, they are actively promoting healthier lifestyles in their customers to help reduce overall insurance claims. What are your thoughts regarding this and will Allianz potentially incorporate some of the approaches detailed in the case study? What can we expect from Allianz in the near future?
A: We at Allianz advocate healthy lifestyle and we are exploring various facets and initiatives to help our customers achieve this. For us, it is about protecting our customers from A-to-Z and that is why we are always open to new ideas and any positive ef forts that encourage a healthier lifestyle. Allianz will continue to look into new prog rammes and partnerships that wil l genuinely make a difference to our customers’ lives.