However, Bupa stated it had quoted Marden £6,752.04 and his wife £9,588.36 and that the £44,000 comes from Marden's own estimate of what might happen over 4-5 years assuming they will both make high-cost claims.
Misbehaviour
Marden stated that, to him, Bupa seemed to be acting in a “misleading and unethical manner” for several reasons other than simply the “massive” increase to his premiums, such as the initial “assurance” that moving between policies would be considered continuous cover.
“My wife’s condition was well established by then and no-one thought to warn me about the massive premium increase when leaving the corporate scheme in the future,” he explained.
“In any case, saying that they will continue cover but not mentioning that kind of premium increase makes a mockery of the term continuous cover.
“It sounds like 'if you want the private healthcare to keep your wife alive you have to keep working until she’s dead'.”
FT Adviser understands Bupa had offered continuous cover but Marsden was comparing two different policies across a 17 year time period, during which time medical inflation and the age of the customers would have resulted in a different price.
Additionally, Marden accused Bupa of trying to prevent people from discovering that such costs exist by only providing an estimate in principle once an exit is confirmed.
“The fact that they are also at pains to not give people a quote until they’re committed to leave, that's smacks to me of people trying to obfuscate things,” he claimed.
Marden has taken action to address this including getting in touch with Bupa, with his complaint eventually reaching the directors.
He reported receiving a final reply saying this was all according to “standard practice” and that there was nothing that the firm are prepared to do.
Marden also provided insight into how this had affected him, stating that he has had to take additional time off work due to the “anxiety and the stress”.
Response
Responding to these claims, Bupa UK general manager for consumer insurance, Richard Washington, stated that, when leaving an employer, Bupa allows customers to keep their insurance going through moving to a new personal policy.
This allows them to continue with any treatments and keep cover for any ongoing conditions.
“We offer customers a range of cover options and prices so they can choose the most appropriate policy for their needs and budget,” he explained.
“If a customer chooses to move to a personal policy, their cover premiums will no longer be subsidised by their employer and the price they pay will increase.
