After 5 long years, Integrated Plan insurers are profitable again. A major reason for this is of course the lower number of claims made during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, which led to lower claims ratios, and hence better underwriting profitability as the insurers got to keep a larger share of the high and rising premiums as profits.
What does this mean for the policyholders? One thing is for sure, it does not mean that premiums will stop rising as fast, or even fall anytime soon, as these higher premiums are needed to meet the rising number of claims made, and also to pay for the high distribution costs for growing the number of policyholders.
But while we cannot avoid paying higher and higher premiums for Integrated Plans, we can at least look at the level and consistency of the claims ratios across different insurers to make sure we are getting our money’s worth for the premiums we will continue to pay....