PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Baymac or other additional health insurance
Old 3rd Jul 2019, 04:47
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ROW_BOT
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
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This thread is a bit old and I'd like to update it with the latest from Baymac/Clements.

I've been on Baymac/Clements cover on a 'standalone' basis for 5 years, with no significant claims, but a pre-existing condition. My renewal is next month. The policy terms have radically changed, and the Premium has shot up by 40%. Yes FORTY percent!

Their promotional blurb says this is an 'across the board' increase due to high claim rates making the policy 'unsustainable'. The price hike is bad enough, but what kills it for me is they've added the condition that you must be in employment to avail of the policy. So basically you can never retire on this policy! What a load of codswallop. It seems blatantly engineered to get people to leave it, and then shut it down as a loser.

This to me is the curse of 'Group Schemes'. You may get a bit of a discount - initially - but once you're hooked, you're at their mercy. Individuals in the 'general population' on the major commercial policies cannot be abused so easily. If the Insurer jacks up such premia by 40% more than their rivals with similar policies - they may soon lose tens of thousands of customers. But jack up a Groupscheme rate, and only a few hundred (if that) may quit. And maybe you want them to quit anyhow if the adjustors say its a loser.

Anyhow, since Clements is no longer interested in underwriting sick pilots, Baymac have offered VUMI as an alternative. Another 'Groupscheme'.
The Premium is about the same as I was paying before with Clements, but for me the cover is worse - a 12 month 'waiting period' for my pre-existing condition.
I have still to hear from any pilot who has used this company, so I have no idea what I'd be getting myself into if I opt for VUMI. My worst fear is that it's just another Groupscheme that will jack up prices and shut down in another 5 years, leaving me older and even more exposed to a market that doesn't want me.

If anyone out there has tried VUMI since the last post on this thread, please give us some feedback on your experience with them.

PS I'm not based in the ME, and Baymac sells outside that area, so this thread is of interest to other pilots who may not use this forum. Maybe I'll re-post this in a general forum.
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