Medical services (Health)

Market situation

The health market is a business area that is dynamically developing and prospective. The trends observed in 2018 were as follows:

• continuation of the double digit pace of growth in the private health insurance market;
• development of telemedicine and service opportunities through remote channels;
• greater need to provide care to senior citizens;
• increasing awareness of prevention and periodic examinations.

In accordance with PMR data⁵: at the end of 2017, private health care offered under fee-for-service products was worth PLN 16.9 billion (up 9.5% y/y). In turn, the value of medical subscriptions was PLN 4.0 billion (up 10.2%), while the value of private health insurance climbed to PLN 0.7 billion (up 25.5% y/y).

Operations in the Health Area

Operations in the Health Area include:

• sale of health products in the form of insurance (life and health insurance and non-life health insurance) and non-insurance products (occupational medicine, medical subscriptions, partnerships and prevention programs);
• development of the medical infrastructure for the public in Poland to ensure the best accessibility of provided services and execution of revenue targets.

In 2018, the PZU Group’s offering in the Health Area was supplemented with the following two new products: 

PZU Ochrona i Zdrowie [PZU Cover and Health]

health protection product for the SME segment offering a benefit in the event of the insured’s death, financial support and medical services in the event of critical illness or accident; the product consists of the following 3 bundles:

• Moje Zdrowie [My Health] – offers private medical care in the event of an illness (critical illness or regular cold) or an accident and prevention measures; moreover, in the event of a serious illness or accident, the insured obtains financial support;
• Moja Rodzina [My Family] – the insured’s immediate family members receive financial support in the event of his/her death caused by an illness or accident (including motor accidents). The bundle also offers benefits for the insured on account of a childbirth and financial support in the event of the death of immediate family members;
• Mój Wybór [My Choice] – financial aid in the event of accidents in daily life, offers additional insurance for family members in respect of medical care and funding for the purchase of specified prescription medicines (at 80% of their regular price).

PZU Plan na Zdrowie [PZU Plan for Health]

Insurance for natural persons (also those self-employed), companies and institutions enabling adjustment of the scope of medical care to the client’s needs. The PZU Group offers the following insurance riders on top of the basic Plan na Zdrowie medical care bundle, which guarantees medical care after an accident (cover includes fractures, paralysis, damage to organs, etc.):

• W Ciężkiej Chorobie [Critical Illness] – treatment in the event of one of 16 critical illnesses;
• W Leczeniu Nowotworu [Cancer Treatment] – treatment of malignant neoplasm;
• W Trosce o Ciebie [Caring for You] – medical care on a daily basis – this insurance is available in three plans: General, Extended and Comprehensive. 

In an effort to develop the Health Area in 2018:

• The PZU Group’s service provider network was extended to include more medical centers, which means that PZU already had over 2,100 centers;
• a new hotline operation model was rolled out to service clients holding health products, including life insurance and non-life insurance with a health rider. The hotline structures operate in PZU Zdrowie as the Medical Service Management Center (CZUM), which allows for integrated management of client experience and improvement of the service quality, while also testing innovative solutions;
• a tool has been developed further for booking on-line appointments through a direct connection with the calendars of cooperating medical centers. In 2018, PZU Zdrowie was connected to 130 medical centers located across Poland;
• 3 new medical centers were built on a greenfield basis and opened in Warsaw, Kraków and Poznań, and the Gdańsk branch was extended to bring it up to modern standards.

Factors, including threats and risks, that may affect the operations of the Health Area in 2019

• Changes in the current mortality, fertility and morbidity levels, which may adversely affect the value of sales and cause a deterioration of the loss ratio (e.g. subscriptions or health insurance);
• Changes in client trends and behaviors towards customization of the offering. Clients’ new expectations may bring about the need to change processes and systems, which in turn may affect the achieved results;
• The entry into force of the Employee Capital Plan Act is yet another benefit for employees, which may cause a deterioration in interest in the health care offering due to budgetary constraints on the part of employers;
• Continued pressure on the prices of group insurance products. The market for health services remains very competitive both in terms of prices and the range of available services;
• Salary pressures exerted by doctors and other personnel serving patients in medical centers, which affects our financial performance in the Health Area;
• Potential modification of the National Health Fund’s contracting rules may cause significant changes in the financial results generated by medical centers.

In the Health Area the company offers a broad range of health products adapted to the segment and clients’ needs:

⁵ PMR Report entitled „Private Health Care Market in Poland 2018” dated July 2018