COVID-19 has made remote GP consultations and telehealth more common, with most health and life insurers now offering this service in the UK. Remote services will become more comprehensive over time as policyholders embrace the technology and insurers quantify the benefits.
According to GlobalData’s 2019 and 2020 UK Consumer Insurance Surveys, 26.5% of UK private medical insurance policyholders used a virtual GP in 2020 – up from 17.5% in 2019. The surge in usage is unsurprising given the social distancing measures and other restrictions introduced to curb the spread of COVID-19. Over the past year, insurers have used virtual GP consultations not only for routine medical healthcare provision and to treat minor ailments, but also to onboard new customers.
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The greater convenience telehealth services offer – as well as generally being available round the clock, promising quicker access to health services – means the range of remote capabilities will expand beyond their more common uses. For instance, in the UK, Legal & General is trialling home blood pressure testing as part of onboarding its protection customers virtually. Under the trial, which is the first of its kind in the UK, select applicants to the insurer’s term life and critical illness policies that qualify for remote screening will be sent a digital blood pressure machine to their home. A medical practitioner will guide the customer via a video consultation on how to take blood pressure readings with the machine. The customer can keep the machine thereafter, enabling them to monitor and help manage their blood pressure in the future.
The benefit to Legal & General is twofold. Firstly, it offers improved turnarounds given that virtual health assessments can often be arranged quicker – and underwriting decisions made faster – than when having to wait for a GP report following a physical medical examination to onboard customers. Secondly, it could encourage policyholders to monitor their health more closely, which can help with early diagnoses of medical conditions and reduce the severity of claims.
Furthermore, the convenience offered by this service could lead some prospective customers to purchase a policy from Legal & General rather than another provider, given that they can do so from the comfort of their home without having to go through a physical medical examination.
As individuals become more accustomed to using virtual consultations, the capabilities of telehealth services will only expand. While telehealth services offer greater convenience to customers who can access medical services from the comfort of their home, insurers benefit from a smoother purchasing process for customers.
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