Globalsurance Raises Red Flag On AVIVA

HONG KONG, June 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In October 2011 Globalsurance.com revealed that AVIVA Life Insurance Company, a Hong Kong based subsidiary of the UK's AVIVA PLC, would no longer be renewing active policies for existing clients under their range of Global Lifecare Products for the international private medical insurance market.

According to Globalsurance the consequences of the insurer declining renewals on these policies are now being felt.

Policyholders of AVIVA's Global Lifecare product, some of whom have been long term clients of AVIVA, are now being told they are unable to renew their medical coverage.

In a number of cases these policyholders have developed serious medical conditions whilst they were on the plan, and the non-renewal policy being dictated by AVIVA is having serious consequences on their health, wealth, and welfare.

Mr. W, who asked that his full name not be used in this story, is one of the unfortunate victims in this state of affairs.

Mr. W has held an AVIVA Global Lifecare policy for 4 Years, and has spent a total of US$11,500 in coverage for both he and his wife during that time.

One week before the renewal date it was discovered that Mr. W's wife was suffering from a brain tumor.

Upon the discovery of his wife's Brain Tumor, Mr. W contacted AVIVA to enquire about the possibility of renewing his coverage in light of the serious situation, which AVIVA denied.

While Mr. W was aware of the decision by AVIVA to stop renewals of Global Lifecare policies, and was looking for alternative coverage solutions, the unfortunate development in his Wife's health has meant that no alternative coverage solutions are forthcoming, and may in fact be impossible to get.

Mr. W and his wife now face medical bills which could realistically reach Hundreds of thousands of US dollars.

Mr. W was not prepared to have a statement on record in relation to this situation for fear of future retaliation from Insurers.

In response to this development, Christian Moore, an industry expert from Globalsurance.com in HK, said "it affects the entire perception of health insurance. We're extremely disappointed with the situation and with AVIVA. If consumers don't trust the insurer's ability to continue to provide the coverage which these companies are offering, then we are going to see our customers start to pull away from the product; which could be, very realistically, apocalyptic on an industry-wide level."

However, Globalsurance has indicated that the situation is far more complicated than just the refusal to renew existing coverage; the decision to renew, or not to renew policies has occurred in no consistent manner, with some policies actually being renewed since the cessation announcement.

Christian Moore went on to state ""while we have clients who have been successfully able to renew their coverage we have also experienced a number of customers being unable to renew. At this time we are unable to definitively state whether a renewal application with AVIVA will be successful or not, even with an individual's history under the plan."

Globalsurance is extremely concerned by this chain of events which are extremely unusual in the iPMI industry; where most insurers renew regardless of medical claims made under a policy.

About Globalsurance:
Globalsurance.com is a leading web-based insurance intermediary headquartered in Hong Kong. Globalsurance works with more than 50 international health insurance companies.

SOURCE Globalsurance.com