NHS woes boost Aviva health insurance arm

DEMAND for private healthcare drove sales at Aviva as concerns about long waiting lists and staff going on strike led patients to abandon the Nhs.

Private health insurance sales grew 25pc to £33m in the first quarter, the insurer said, after a 14pc jump last year.

Chief executive Amanda Blanc linked the rise in new policies directly to failings in the public health service.

she said: ‘the increase is a consequence of what we’re seeing in the Nhs and customers basically saying that if they can take control over their health situation then they will. the volumes are very robust and, to be honest, we don’t see that changing.’

More individuals and companies are ‘attracted to the benefits of private cover’, an Aviva spokesman added.

In the past year, the Nhs has been hit by staff shortages, record waiting lists and strikes by nurses, junior doctors and ambulance drivers over pay and conditions.

the FTSE 100 insurer said that customers were buying full packages, which include access to online doctors as patients become more concerned about not being able to get an appointment quickly.

the number waiting to start hospital treatment hit a record high earlier this month. Nhs England figures showed that 7.3m patients had yet to start treatment at the end of March. In a bid to combat the evergrowing waiting list, the health service is expected to pay private companies to perform cancer checks. Patients will also be able to book Nhsfunded procedures in private facilities under separate plans set to be confirmed today.

Overall, Aviva’s performance was mixed in the first quarter. General insurance premiums rose 11pc to £2.4bn but Aviva’s wealth business slowed.