Changes We’re Making To Health Insurance Policies Starting Or Renewing In 2025

Introduction

We’re pleased to share with you the changes we’re making to health insurance policies starting or renewing in 2025.

Headline changes include:

• More competitive premiums for countries in Europe, Africa, and South East Asia
• Freezes to our new member discounts
• Annual review of our Hong Kong product brought forward to 01 January

These changes will take effect for all existing policies at their renewal date between 01 January 2025 and 31 December 2025 (inclusive), and for all new policies with a start date on or after 01 January 2025. Please note these changes do not apply to policies in the UAE or onshore policies in Indonesia.

Benefit changes

We have not changed our benefits, benefit limits, or exclusions. In this year’s product review, our focus was pricing.

Updates to our pricing model

Average premium inflation

In previous years, we published a single percentage figure for average premium inflation. As with last year, we’re not publishing such a figure for 2025. That’s not because premium inflation is particularly high this year and we’re trying to hide it. Rather, publishing a single, average figure for all policies worldwide has caused a great deal of confusion in years gone by. As our pricing model has become more and more complex, it’s no longer feasible to publish a single, worldwide, average figure for premium inflation.

2025 premiums

Base rates for Africa, Europe & South East Asia—We’ve reduced our base rates for new and renewing policies in Africa, Europe (excl. UK), and South East Asia (excl. Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore). These are regions where we want to grow our group and individual portfolios. Some existing individual policyholders will experience lower renewal premiums, and we expect to be very competitive for new policies.

Base rates for Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand & Mexico—We’re experiencing higher claims costs in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Mexico. In these countries and regions, we have no choice but to take corrective action on premiums for new and renewing policies alike. If you have clients with William Russell in one of these countries or regions, we’ll be engaging with you soon.

Base rates elsewhere—Most renewing individual policies will experience below average premium increases at their policy renewal in 2025.

Discounts

Fading discounts—We’re freezing the fading discount on all policies, at the percentage at which the policy renewed in 2024. For example: If a policy had a fading discount of 7.5% at renewal in 2024, the policy will retain the 7.5% discount at renewal in 2025 (and each renewal thereafter).

Lifetime discounts—We’re continuing with our 20% and 15% lifetime discounts for new individual health insurance policies.

Countries where the discounts don’t apply—In 2024, we didn’t offer any discounts on new policies for which the policyholder resided in the UK or Hong Kong. From 01 January 2025, we’re adding Singapore, Thailand, and Mexico to that list. If you have a client in Singapore, Thailand, or Mexico whose policy started on or before 31 December 2024, we’ll honour their 15% lifetime discount as per the T&Cs for the discount.

Changes to terms & conditions in the plan agreements

We’ve changed or added the following terms & conditions in the agreements for our 2025 health insurance product.

We clarified our usage of the terms ‘policy’ and ‘health plan’

Previously, we used the terms ‘policy’ and ‘plan’ interchangeably. We now use the term ‘policy’ to refer exclusively to the insurance cover bestowed by the policyholder’s insurance policy. ‘Plan’ refers to the health plan the policyholder selects when their policy starts.

If a member regularly receives treatment in a country that isn’t their declared country of residence

If a member regularly receives their treatment in a country which is not their declared country of residence, we reserve the right to use the country where they regularly have their treatment as their country of residence when we calculate the policy’s renewal premium.

We’ve made a change to Zone 2

We’ve added Samitivej Hospital to the list of hospitals and clinics in Thailand where policies with Zone 2 have restricted cover.

We’ve made a change to Zone 3

We’ve added a provision to Zone 3 that members have cover for emergency treatment in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, and the London area only when the member is on a temporary trip of no more than 90 days’ duration.

The plan changes guides that we’re issuing with renewal invitations

For your records, here are the PDF guides that we’re issuing to policyholders along with their 2025 renewal invitations.

• To individuals with a health insurance policy
• To individuals resident in Hong Kong with a health insurance policy
• To employers with group health insurance for their employees
• To employers with group health insurance for their employees resident in Hong Kong

Other changes

Our product review for Hong Kong

In previous years, our annual review of our health insurance product for Hong Kong took place on 01 March. From 2025 onwards, we’re changing the product review date to 01 January. This brings our product review dates for our Hong Kong and ROW products into line.

How we issue certificates of insurance

For policy renewals on or after 01 January 2025, we’ll issue the new certificate of insurance alongside the renewal invitation. The certificate of insurance for the new policy will become valid once we’ve received payment of the premium. Of course—if the policyholder wishes to change their policy at renewal, we’ll issue a fresh certificate of insurance.

Recap of the changes we made to our health insurance product in 2024

In case you’ve forgotten them, here’s a reminder of the changes we made to our product last year.

• New benefits for genetic testing of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and familial adenomatous polyposis on the Silver and Gold plans
• New benefit for preventive cancer treatment on the Silver and Gold plans
• Revamped wording for the maternity benefits on all plans
• Increase limits for the well-being benefits on the Silver and Gold plans
• Introduction of 2:2 moratorium underwriting for individual policies
• Updating terminology from ‘areas of cover’ to ‘coverage zones’, from ‘period of cover’ to ‘policy year’, and from ‘insured person’ to ‘member’
• Changes to the way we run the legacy no-claims incentive