Affinity and Partnership Marketing in UK Accident and Health Insurance

Table of Contents

0.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Research background and structure
• Accident and health insurance embraces a variety of different types of protection policy
• A majority of affinity marketing schemes for accident insurance are organised through brokers
• … although AIG and HMCA are identifiable as the leading specialist providers in this field
• Over a quarter of organisations surveyed in 18 sub-categories offer health insurance
• … with BUPA emerging as the provider with the highest outright number of exclusive partnerships
• Key success factors for affinity marketing in accident and health insurance vary by type of policy
• … and there is scope for comparing developments in the UK with those in continental Europe

1.0 INTRODUCTION

• Finaccord
• UK affinity and partnership marketing publications
• Other UK consumer research publications
• PartnerBASE™
• Definitions
• Rationale
• The channels used to distribute financial products and services in the UK continue to proliferate
• … with on-line affinity and partnership marketing having growing rapidly in importance of late
• Methodology
• Errors, omissions and limit of liability

2.0 MARKET OVERVIEW

• Affinities and partnerships in UK accident and health insurance
• Over 10% of organisations surveyed in nine sub-categories promote accident insurance
• … with most schemes organised through brokers rather than placed directly with underwriters
• Affinity programs for health insurance are more widespread than those for accident insurance
• … with BUPA having established the highest outright number of deals with partner organisations

3.0 NOT-FOR-PROFIT AFFINITY GROUPS

• 3.1 Charities
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • Three charities are engaged in marketing accident and health insurance policies to supporters
  • intune' s main target market is the affluent over-50 age group served by Saga
  • … and the company is interested in working with suppliers that fulfil a variety of criteria
  • intune is employing a multi-channel distribution strategy including the charity' s high street outlets
  • … as it seeks to reach an operating profit of £15 million per annum by 2012
• 3.3 Professional associations
  • Introduction
  • Over 50 professional associations possess in excess of 5,000 individual members
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • The vast majority of professional associations offering motor insurance do so through a broker
  • … with Parliament Hill having expanded its roster of member benefits clients to 11 associations
  • A further three brokers each claim to more than one deal in the professional association segment
  • Almost a half of associations have organised health insurance schemes for their members
  • BUPA and HMCA rank among the foremost providers to the professional association sector
  • … although other protagonists including Benenden Healthcare and WPA are also active
• 3.4 Sports organisations
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • Perkins Slade has carved out a strong position for itself in the sports organisation sector
  • … having been appointed as the approved insurance broker to the CCPR
  • … although at least a dozen other firms are also active as affinity providers in this market
  • HMCA has begun to establish schemes for health insurance with sports organisations
• 3.5 Trade associations
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • Over 5% of trade associations have organised the provision of stand-alone accident insurance
  • … although the provision rate for health insurance is nearly three times higher
  • BUPA and Private Health Partnership are most commonly used by trade associations
  • Private Health Partnership has built up a portfolio of around 8,000 mainly corporate clients
• 3.6 Trade unions
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • AIG has established several distribution deals for accident insurance with trade unions
  • A number of trade unions have organised propositions in the area of health insurance
  • … with both BUPA and Simplyhealth' s HSA each claiming more than one affinity partnership
• 3.7 Other not-for-profit affinity groups
  • Introduction
  • Lifestyle organisations
  • The Countryside Alliance collaborates with R.K. Harrison for specialist accident insurance

4.0 FINANCIAL PARTNERS

• 4.1 Banks
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • Only a handful of retail banks in the UK offer accident insurance on a stand-alone basis
  • … although a significant amount of behind-the-scenes tele-marketing is also taking place
  • … which also extends to lower cost health policies in addition to private medical insurance
• 4.2 Building societies
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • Building societies display limited visible interest in non-creditor accident and health insurance
• 4.3 Credit cards and premium accounts
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • Accident and health insurance coverages are rarely packaged with banking products
  • … although Alliance & Leicester' s Premier 50 Health Benefits concept is an innovative service
• 4.4 Credit unions
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • Norwich Union accesses the credit union market as the approved supplier of CUNA Mutual
  • … although the Scottish Police Credit Union has also established an affinity link with BUPA
• 4.5 Friendly societies
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • Friendly society involvement in accident and health insurance remains almost entirely internal
• 4.6 Insurance companies
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • PruHealth is aiming for an overall market share of 10% in private medical insurance by 2011
• 4.7 On-line aggregators and brokers
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • Chase Templeton' s Preferred Medical is the partner of both Confused.com and The Motley Fool
• 4.8 Specialised lenders
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • American Express has linked with Aetna' s Goodhealth Worldwide for an expatriate health policy

5.0 COMMERCIAL ENTITIES

• 5.1 Automotive associations
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • Through First Assist, RAC is marketing a travel-related accident insurance policy
• 5.2 Cricket and rugby clubs
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • Cricket and rugby clubs have no involvement in either accident or health insurance
  • … albeit both cricket and rugby attract sponsors from the financial services sector
• 5.3 Football clubs
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • Football clubs display little appetite for affinity marketing of either accident or health insurance
• 5.4 Internet, media and telecoms entities
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • ACE European Group maintains a link with Candis for personal accident insurance
  • Moneysupermarket.com and Insurancewide.com account for a majority of media affinities
• 5.5 On-line price comparison providers
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • Only PriceRunner has established a searching facility for health insurance under its own brand
• 5.6 Retailers
  • Introduction
  • Analysis of partnerships
  • Retailers appear to remain wary about acting as partners for accident or health insurance
  • … although PruHealth' s alliance with Boots could be a key turning point in the affinity market
  • The Boots web site is the most frequently visited health and wellness site in the UK
  • … and the initial results from the partnership have been encouraging in a variety of ways
  • Greenbee will allow the John Lewis Partnership to expand its share of total client expenditure
  • Fit with the values of the John Lewis Partnership has been key to selection of affinity partners
• 5.7 Other commercial entities
  • Introduction
  • Branded conglomerates
  • Saga and Virgin leverage their brands across the full consumer financial services spectrum
  • Loyalty schemes
  • The loyalty schemes category extends to a range of diverse travel and other reward programs
  • … with several offering members the chance points through purchase of health insurance
  • AIRMILES reconfigures its affinity strategy by forging a new link with Lloyds TSB
  • Delivering memorable experiences continues to be key to the AIRMILES proposition
  • Lloyds TSB hopes to leverage the relationship across a range of financial services
  • AIRMILES has bolstered its range of family-oriented redemption options
  • … and is also in the process of rolling out a policy asserting its ‘green’ credentials
  • The Post Office
  • The Post Office is seeking to grow its total portfolio of insurance policies to two million by 2010

6.0 EUROPEAN INNOVATIONS

• Introduction
• Events in affinity and partnership marketing in Europe, 2006 and 2007
• Winter 2006
• AEGON expands bancassurance reach in Spain through link with local savings bank
• Fondiaria SAI firms up link with Banca Popolare di Milano for bancassurance venture
• Elvia reinforces position in travel insurance sector through new distribution deals
• Estonian bank diversifies into non-life bancassurance by establishing captive company
• AIB and Aviva finalise Irish bancassurance deal by combining life insurance firms
• AXA and Adeslas co-operate for health insurance distribution in Spain
• Cattolica and Banca Lombarda extend life insurance distribution tie to 2010
• French banking and insurance partners pilot Séréna personal assistance platform
• Spring 2006
• Spanish arm of CIGNA launches health insurance through Travel Club loyalty program
• Fortis and An Post confirm Irish financial services joint venture
• MACIF and MNRA create affinity programs for small businesses in France
• Mapfre and Caja de Madrid extend scope of co-operation to automotive finance
• Proteq ties with leading Dutch pharmacy chain for affinity insurance venture
• ESFG and Crédit Agricole strengthen Portuguese bancassurance ties
• Aon and Delta Lloyd join forces for affinity insurance venture in the Netherlands
• Summer 2006
• Fondiaria and Capitalia link for non-life bancassurance joint venture in Italy
• Mondial Assistance renews international assistance contract with Chrysler Jeep
• Cattolica strengthens strategic bancassurance tie with BPVN in Italy
• CNP launches new permanent disability and long-term care contract with ASAC-FAPES
• BBVA and Sanitas combine in Spanish health insurance distribution deal
• AXA seals affinity insurance tie with Bertelsmann media club in Germany
• CNP extends major bancassurance deals in France through to end 2015
• Winterthur and Sanitas agree tie for health insurance distribution in Switzerland
• Europäische expands card-related travel insurance deals in Germany
• Autumn 2006
• Aon Italia rolls out new propositions for professional affinity partner
• AXA buys major Greek bancassurance protagonist for €255 million
• French mutuals tie for retirement savings cross-selling initiative
• BBVA and Willis link for high net worth property insurance venture in Spain
• Uniqa commences bancassurance joint venture in Ukraine with Credo-Classic
• German catalogue retailer commences insurance marketing venture
• AXA replaces Talanx as SEB' s new bancassurance partner in Germany
• CNP' s life assistance arm forges tie with Chèque Domicile in France
• Santander Consumer Bank improves motor insurance offer for German car buyers
• Winter 2007
• Zurich seals new manufacturer motor insurance deal with Suzuki in Germany
• AEGON forges new bancassurance link with Banca Transilvania in Romania
• … a distribution strategy also pursued by Aviva in the same country with Finansbank
• CIGNA targets marine sports club members with health insurance proposition in Spain
• Innovative distribution deals assist Spanish insurer Mapfre at home and abroad
• French affinity broker launches new insurance policy through AOL link
• AEGON and ERGO tie for pensions cross-selling agreement in Poland
• Mapfre takes 50% stake in Spanish savings bank insurance unit
• Cattolica finalises bancassurance agreement with Banca Popolare di Vicenza
• Mondial Assistance establishes distribution agreement with Sanyres in Spain
• VIVAS Health secures distribution link with Hibernian Direct in Ireland
• Tie with statutory health insurer in Germany pays dividends for HUK Coburg
• Caisses d' Épargne and MACIF roll out individual health insurance contracts in France
• Generali acquires bancassurance companies in Austria from BAWAG PSK
• Spring 2007
• ADAC and Zurich disclose launch joint venture insurance company in Germany
• Mapfre seals major bancassurance deals with Bankinter and BBVA in Spain
• Folksam and Swedbank initiate new bancassurance collaboration in Sweden
• AXA acquires stakes in Monte dei Paschi di Siena bancassurance firms
• Allianz links with Ferrari for car insurance policies in Germany
• Groupe Caisse d' Épargne and HSBC assume control of French bancassurance firms
• AIB kicks off on-line motor insurance venture with Hibernian in Ireland
• Fondiaria SAI forges Italian bancassurance joint venture with Banca Italease
• Summer 2007
• Generali and leading fuel retailer link for affinity tie in German insurance
• Aviva rolls out a trio of new bancassurance deals in Italy, Poland and Spain
• AEGON and Mapfre finalise bancassurance agreements with Spanish savings banks
• Vienna Insurance Group links with OMV in ten countries in Central Europe
• La Caixa buys 50% stake held by Fortis in long-standing Spanish joint venture
• Deutsche Postbank and Talanx extend German bancassurance link for 15 years
• ACE European Group sets up life company for continental affinity insurance initiatives
• National Suisse and Coop Bank agree insurance co-marketing initiative
• Sogecap commences bancassurance operations in Bulgaria and Greece
• Groupama initiates link with integrated Internet and telecoms provider in France
• Intesa Sanpaolo rolls out new approach to bancassurance in domestic market
• Citroën entrusts own-brand road assistance service to Mondial Assistance
• ING takes control of Greek bancassurance joint venture as a part of ten year deal
• Royal & SunAlliance targets Eastern Europe and Russia through GDII joint venture
• Crédit Agricole buys 60% stake in non-life bancassurance entity from AGF
• Generali and PPF Group commence joint venture deal in Central and Eastern Europe
• Banco Popolare and Fondiaria SAI finalise new bancassurance joint venture in Italy
• Autumn 2007
• Zurich links with TomTom for Europe-wide motor insurance distribution venture
• Mondial Assistance secures international travel insurance ties with Eurostar and KLM
• Genertel signs affinity insurance agreement with low-cost airline in Italy
• Groupama forges joint venture with software house for co-marketing in France and abroad
• If P&C plans tie with Finnish retailer' s loyalty program from June 2008 onwards
• Allianz Suisse initiates manufacturer-branded insurance co-operation with Volkswagen
• Deutsche Postbank secures non-life bancassurance agreement with HUK-Coburg

GRAPHICS / TABLES

• The affinity and partnership marketing universe
• Entities contacted for the research, segmented by broad category
• Affinity and partnership marketing schemes for accident insurance in the UK: penetration by type of partner
• Affinity and partnership marketing schemes for accident ins. in the UK: segmentation by op. model and comp
• Affinity and partnership marketing schemes for health insurance in the UK: penetration by type of partner
• Affinity and partnership marketing schemes for health ins. in the UK: segment. by op. model and competitor
• Charities offering accident and health insurance through partnerships
• Ranking of professional associations in the UK by actual or approximate number of members
• Ranking of professional associations in the UK by actual or approximate number of members (continued)
• Professional associations offering accident insurance: penetration, operating models and partner market shares
• Professional associations offering health insurance: penetration, operating models and partner market shares
• Sports organisations offering accident insurance: penetration, operating models and partner market shares
• Sports organisations offering health insurance: penetration, operating models and partner market shares
• Ranking of the top 50 trade associations in the UK by actual or approximate number of members
• Trade associations offering accident insurance: penetration, operating models and partner market shares
• Trade associations offering health insurance: penetration, operating models and partner market shares
• Ranking of trade unions in the UK by actual or approximate number of members
• Trade unions offering accident insurance: penetration, operating models and partner market shares
• Trade unions offering health insurance: penetration, operating models and partner market shares
• Lifestyle organisations offering accident insurance through partnerships
• Banks offering accident insurance: penetration, operating models and partner market shares
• Banks offering health insurance: penetration, operating models and partner market shares
• Building societies offering accident and health insurance through partnerships
• Credit cards and premium accounts offering accident and health insurance through partnerships
• Credit unions offering health insurance: penetration, operating models and partner market shares
• Friendly societies offering accident insurance through partnerships
• Insurance companies offering health insurance through partnerships
• On-line aggregators and brokers offering health ins.: penetration, operating models and partner market shares
• Specialised lenders offering accident and health insurance through partnerships
• Automotive associations offering accident insurance through partnerships
• Football clubs offering accident and health insurance through partnerships
• Internet, media and telecoms entities offering accident insurance through partnerships
• Internet, media and telecoms entities offering accident ins.: penetration, op. models and partner market shares
• On-line price comparison providers offering health insurance through partnerships
• Retailers offering accident and health insurance through partnerships
• Branded conglomerates offering accident and health insurance through partnerships
• Loyalty schemes offering health insurance through partnerships