Bupa Increases New Business by 36%

Bupa, the UK's largest health insurance provider, announced some successful figures for 2008 despite the economic downturn.

The medical insurance provider saw a 38% increase in new business in life assurance products, income protection and critical illness cover.

Steve Casey, head of Bupa's product development and marketing team said, 'To report a 38% increase in such unpredictable economic times is credit to our supporting intermediary partners, the quality of our products and our continued commitment to innovation.'

He added, 'We don't intend to sit back on our laurels. We will continue to develop and improve our products to provide customers with comprehensive insurance cover when they need it most.'

Despite this good news Bupa announced a 53% fall in full-year pre-tax profit to £187.1 million last week. Bupa UK represents 34% of group revenue and includes domestic and international private medical insurance operations.

Ray King, Bupa chief executive said, 'We are not immune from the economic downturn. Looking into 2009, I expect trading conditions to weaken. Nevertheless, I believe that the Group’s breadth of activities in terms of geography, sector and focus on health, will help us to weather recession in our key markets. In this environment, our focus is very much on continuing to offer excellent customer service and tightly managing costs and capital expenditure.'

Bupa has been around since 1947 and provides a range of health insurance services,and also owns and runs care homes, The Bupa Cromwell Hospital, a private London hospital, Health Dialog, a leading US disease management company, and Bupa Home Healthcare an out-of hospitalcare specialist.