Health insurance companies: More than half of those insured want to switch providers as a result of the premium increase.
29.08.2022 11:24
As the representative study "Contribution Increases and Willingness to Switch in Statutory Health Insurance 2022" by the management consultancy Horváth, conducted among 1,000 German citizens, shows, more than half of the population is currently considering switching health insurance providers (56 percent). Among those with statutory health insurance, almost 60 percent are even considering a switch in light of the upcoming contribution increase: 45 percent to another statutory health insurance provider and another 14 percent to private health insurance. Families, who are particularly affected by inflation-driven cost increases, are showing a high willingness to switch. The German government plans to increase the supplementary contribution to statutory health insurance from 1.3 to 1.6 percent starting in 2023.
„In previous surveys, it was primarily singles who regularly scrutinized their health insurance provider in terms of value for money. Now, it is overwhelmingly families who are considering switching providers due to the increased cost of living,“ says Simon Arne Manner, study director and partner at the management consultancy Horváth. The study shows that the willingness to switch providers is just under 50 percent in single-person households, but over 70 percent in households with children.
Savings potential is low compared to other areas of life.
According to the Horváth expert, however, the potential for cost reduction is often overestimated. "Compared to cost-cutting measures on energy or transportation, switching to a health insurance provider with a slightly lower premium doesn't have a very significant effect, even for a family with several members. A closer look at the benefits and additional services reveals only minimal differences in premiums. And as the study shows, policyholders don't want to compromise on their healthcare benefits," says Manner. "However, cost pressure is creating immense pressure on the population, especially families whose living costs have risen dramatically, to cut costs wherever possible." Insurers shouldn't underestimate this tense atmosphere, particularly since a premium change grants policyholders a special right of termination, similar to electricity providers. The switching process itself is now similarly straightforward. "While insurers used to be able to plan for a minimum of twelve months' commitment, they now expect a massive influx of customers," explains Simon Arne Manner.
When switching providers, the cheapest overall premium does not necessarily win.
Even though the planned premium adjustment is the reason many respondents are considering switching providers, this doesn't automatically mean they'll choose the one with the lowest overall premium. Across all respondents, the criterion of "lower costs" is slightly more important than "better care services" (62 percent vs. 58 percent importance). However, for families, the situation is reversed: Here, the quality of care (56 percent) is just ahead of low costs (55 percent), as switching providers shouldn't mean compromising on the quality of care. Good and fast customer service currently ranks third by a wide margin (37 percent relevance) in both groups. Digital services and sustainability follow in fourth and fifth place.
„Health insurance companies can prepare for the upcoming switching movements by ramping up their sales activities and specifically promoting their core services and tangible added value in their campaigns. This is how they can win new customers and retain existing ones,“ says Horváth expert Simon Arne Manner.
About the study
For the Horváth study “Contribution increases and willingness to switch in statutory health insurance 2022”, a total of 1,000 German citizens were surveyed in August 2022, representative of age, region, gender and household size, regarding their intentions to switch in the event of planned contribution increases.