New Health Insurer a Step Nearer to Entering Dutch Market
THE HAGUE, 07/06/13 - There is a strong chance that a new health insurer with an innovative business model will enter the Dutch market this autumn. Anno 12 has assembled the necessary start-up capital of 3.2 million euros.
In the past few days, a campaign has been launched via social media to raise the last 600,000 euros via ‘crowd financing’. The initiators, who are also putting up 1 million euros, will apply before 1 July for a licence from the central bank (DNB). If the procedure there goes according to plan, Anno12 will be able to offer a policy before 2014. The new insurer is targeting at least 10,000 clients. Since the privatisation of the national health funds as private health insurers in 2006, insurers have done nothing but disappear. The market is currently extremely concentrated: Four big insurers (Achmea, VGZ, CZ and Menzis) have a combined market share of over 90 percent. Anno12 plans to differentiate itself from the other insurers by focusing more on healthy living among its insured people. In this way, it hopes to be able to get costs down. In an earlier interview with Het Financieele Dagblad newspaper, fellow initiator Rob Adolfsen explained that insured persons will, for example, be asked to cooperate in public health tests and to indicate whether they are an organ donor or not. Such actions will increase the awareness of the insured persons of the importance of healthy living, according to the expectations at Anno 12. Anno12 will ask the insured persons to buy an 850 euro members certificate, giving them a discount on the premium. If there is money over at the end of the year because claims turn out to be low, the members will receive a payout. This is also intended to spur participants not to be too quick to go to the doctor. Anyone who cancels the policy will get the money back. |