New research shows that health cover has become the highest public priority and the health and medical insurance market is expected to register a healthy Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.05 per cent between 2021 and 2026.

According to data published by the Association of British Insurers, although 1.7 million people in the UK had private medical insurance (PMI), the NHS spent nearly £159 billion in 2018-19 – the equivalent to £2,300 for every person in the UK.

What is the private health market in the UK worth?

The industry currently boasts total annual turnover of over £70 billion. Around £30 billion of this is made up from exports, representing a thriving international demand for British life science goods and services.

According to the latest figures available from data specialists Research and Markets, ‘Bupa continues be the market leader in the UK health and medical insurance market, holding more than 50 per cent of the market share. Its annual revenue from the health insurance business segment accounted for more than 80 per cent, in 2017’.

‘The market concentration is ‘high’, as it is dominated by four companies, namely, BUPA, Axa PPP, Aviva, and Prudential, which contributed a cumulative market share of greater than 90 per cent in 2016,’ the report added.

Another report out this week shows that nearly two thirds of British expats have been vaccinated against Covid-19, according to a survey of 3,000 expats by Expat.com. Of those who who took part in the survey, 62.9 per cent said they had been vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus and most of them lived in Spain, France and Thailand.