Aetna Health Insurance Thailand, a global healthcare benefit provider, aims to expand total revenue by 6-10% this year and increase the individual customer segment to 55-60% over the next three years, driven by higher demand for health insurance from ageing individuals.
Managing director Nicholas John Potter said Thailand has a great opportunity compared with other Asian countries because of proper insurance policies in private healthcare and the country's large number of high-quality healthcare organisations.
In July 2017, the company acquired Bupa Thailand, a leading specialist health insurer with more than 300,000 members and a network of 400 healthcare providers in Thailand.
Potter: Won't shift costs to customers
Aetna Thailand expects the individual and corporate customer segments to be evenly split this year.
Mr Potter said the company aims to increase the contribution from individuals to 55-60% over the next three years by offering a package that includes distance consultations with doctors, as well as face-to-face meetings.
The company has adopted a number of technologies to service individual customers.
For the small and medium-size enterprise segment, Aetna Thailand will use its agency channel for greater penetration, saying customers have found it to be reliable.
Mr Potter said the private health care insurance market in Thailand is very competitive, with premium package growth in the single digits, unlike other countries, which have double-digit selling rates.
But the company is attempting to maintain its existing selling rate or increase it down the road, with an eye to not passing on costs to customers, Mr Potter said.
He said one peculiarity about Thailand is that the major claim expense comes from the treatment of influenza and gastroenteritis, as opposed to cancer and cardiovascular diseases like in other countries.
"These diseases (influenza and gastroenteritis) can be reduced by vaccination and improved personal sanitation," he said, adding that Aetna has created a campaign to provide free vaccinations to stamp out these diseases.
But the rate of chronic disease, diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease may dramatically increase over the next 5-30 years because of an uptick in fast-food consumption, Mr Potter said.
Thailand's transition to an ageing society is opening opportunities for the company to provide health protection to consumers at every stage of their lives, said Mr Potter. This is different from other insurance companies that are not offering health insurance coverage for those aged over 70.
Policyholder who purchases a health insurance policy before 60 years old and continuously renew the policy will be eligible for lifetime renewal. However, policyholder who purchases the policy after 60 years old will be eligible to renew the policy until 70 years old.