Fernando Lledó, Managing Director, Bupa
In order to cover the largest possible number of people in Mexico, Bupa is fine-tuning its global capabilities and products in line with the needs and peculiarities of the Mexican market.
What is your vision as Bupa’s director, and what are you looking forward to achieving in this role?
My goal is to improve what Bupa Mexico is today. We are leaders in the sector we work in, and we have done a great job so far. Our growth strategy is based on how we identify our capacity to generate health in the country. That is why Mexico was named, along with Brazil, a priority country for the company. My vision is to become the number-one company in terms of generating health in the Mexican market.
What position does Bupa have now in the Mexican market?
Bupa is placed seventh if we group together health and accidents; however, we work with a specific segment, which is IPM. This product is for people who, in addition to treatment here, want to be treated in the US or in other countries throughout the world. We are leaders in this area, and we have experienced 5% growth. Bupa’s vocation is to cover the largest possible number of people. We have carefully identified our target market, how to approach them, and, above all, with which products. Bupa is fairly sophisticated on the international side, and now we are complementing our capabilities in the Mexican market with other items. Now, in addition to being able to go to the doctor you choose, we recently acquired Vitamédica, which will allow our users access to its network of hospitals and medical providers. The services we now offer are more integrated and we can cover more people.
Mexico has an extremely low percentage of people with medical insurance. What will Bupa do to increase this percentage?
Even though there is a large population, the insurance market is small, and medical insurance companies have not been able to increase its market share in the country. Therefore, many companies are settling for people they already know and fighting for a slice of cake within this small market. In our case, we wanted to target people without medical insurance. The key to this challenge lies in prevention, namely how we can help people improve their health and reduce the number of times they have to go to the doctor to treat a serious illness. In addition, we will make sure they see the best specialists and are offered the best care. Medical insurance has two main sides that need to be constantly worked on and improved. The first is related to the operational side, that is, when you go to the doctor. This part of the process is crucial. We have invested MXN250 million to create a network that makes sure doctor visits are agile and efficient. The second one is the assistance side, namely when patients see a doctor and receive treatment. The doctor has to work within a series of protocols, and we make sure that happens.
What is your vision for the medical insurance sector? What role will Bupa have?
Regarding COVID-19, the market has an average expenditure of MXN420,000, but we are at MXN1.2 million. Our medical insurance is fairly wide, meaning we cover everything. In Bupa en Casa, we manage a patient’s health without them having to go out or to the hospital. Almost 40% of the medical consultations we have had have been psychological. We always protect ourselves from physical illnesses, but lockdowns have also made psychological care a necessity.
What are Bupa’s main goals for this year?
We will focus on the evolution of our products. In addition, we are working heavily with SMEs in order to insure their employees. We are also working to be medical providers. In two years, we have to double the number of medical insurance policies with Bupa. If right now we are at 250,000 insured people, in the next few years we should reach 350,000.