Tesco to offer health insurance

Tesco Personal Finance is to shake up the private medical insurance market, with new products offering prices at up to 32 per cent lower than comparable providers.

The new Tesco Health Insurance products combine value and simplicity, and with no medical questions if you are under 76, will be easy to buy.

Customers can also build up a no-claims discount of up to 55 per cent over four years and those buying before 27 March will also get their first month free. Customers between the ages of 18 and 75 can buy the product over the phone or online without having to fill in a complicated medical questionnaire. The health Insurance leaflets will be available from 1,000 Tesco stores.

To keep the choice simple, there are just two levels of cover – Premium and Core. Premium will provide both in-patient and day-patient cover, cover for out-patient scans and for cancer radiotherapy and chemotherapy, plus £1,000 for additional out-patient benefits per annum. Core customers will receive the same apart from the £1,000 of additional out-patient benefits. Tesco Personal Finance has teamed up with AXA PPP healthcare to offer the health insurance products.

Says Jeremy Sutton, head of savings and investments at Tesco Personal Finance: “Our customer research suggests that perceived high prices, complicated products and complex medical questions have been major stumbling blocks to buying health insurance. We aim to change that by offering products that are simple, good value and easy to buy. Our approach will open up the market to people who want the choice that health insurance offers.”

Says Fergus Craig, commercial director of AXA PPP healthcare, “Tesco know their customers and we’re delighted that they will be offering health insurance to people who may have never considered it before. We’ve worked hard with Tesco to develop an attractive offer. We have over 65 years of experience in the health market and today help around two million people to meet their healthcare needs. Our scale, coupled with our market experience and expertise, has enabled us to forge long term links with hospitals negotiating hard to ensure that our customers can benefit from access to value for money, quality private medical services.”