"Howden Insurance Broker has several clinics and other healthcare service providers as clients, and they approached us with concerns that only one company offers liability insurance in Estonia and the prices are high", said Andry Saarm, chairman of the board of Howden Kindlustusmaakler (Insurance Broker). That’s why the UK insurance group Howden decided to enter the Estonian market.
Howden is currently working on creating a service as a matter of urgency, because patient insurance comes into effect as of November 1st, and by December 1st, all Estonian healthcare service providers (nearly 1,600) must have contracts.
It is noted that in Estonia, local insurance companies were afraid to offer patient insurance, among other reasons, because the number of claims is unknown, while, Howden is quite a big company. "Last time Howden Insurance Brokers had an annual volume of insurance premiums of GBP 3 billion and a profit of GBP 1 billion (EUR 1.2 billion)", said Saarm. The chairman of the board believes that local companies expect large foreign companies to take the initial risks, so that it is safer for smaller companies to join later. "My speculation is that in half a year local companies will also be on the market", added Saarm.
Another company that will start operating in Estonian patient insurance is the Northern1 International Insurance Brokers, which currently offers clinical trials insurance in Estonia and Scandinavian countries, and dental and health insurance in Poland and Denmark. Through Northern1, Newline Insurance, a corporation with British roots operating in 80 countries, will offer liability insurance to Estonian healthcare service providers. Vandeni Insurance Brokers is the third company that started offering patient liability insurance in the country.
369 views
