The rise in the number of Asia’s high net worth individuals, the aging population of the region’s wealthy, and the growing expat population are expected to boost the international private medical insurance (IPMI) premiums in Asia.
In its findings, insurance advisor Pacific Prime said Asia’s IPMI premiums are set to rise as much as 15.4% annually as more people in the region spend money on healthcare services.
Pacific Prime’s forecast is in line with the result of a study conducted by Swiss Re, which shows that IPMI premiums in Asia are expected to triple in overall cost to USD31.8bn in 2020 from USD9.4bn in 2013.
Reimbursement-type IPMI saw premiums grew by an estimated 11.2% in real annual terms in the 10 years from 2003 to 2013.
The other IPMI form, fixed-benefit product, is also in rapidly high demand.
While demand for IPMI has not been fully met by high cost Asian countries, Pacific Prime CEO Neil Raymond said governments in emerging Asia have started to recognize the importance of IPMI products.