«The health insurance company with plus – for every situation in life.» “Why don’t you pay less?” or “Just two more days to change!”. Health insurance companies currently compete for policyholders in a similar fashion.
The average 6.6 percent increase in premiums next year will mean that especially many insured will change their health insurance this fall. They have until the end of November for this.
Comparis health insurance expert Felix Schneuwly now estimates to SRF that health insurance companies will spend CHF 100 million on advertisements this year. Last year it was 62 million!
Disputed Google Ads
Schneuwly’s calculation cannot be independently checked. But, as the Sunday newspaper reported in mid-November, ad spend is indisputable: cash registers advertised CHF 14.2 million in September and October alone, according to figures from market research institute Media Focus.
It was 12.6 million CHF in the same period last year. For its calculation, the research institute looks at, among other things, newspaper advertisements and TV advertisements.
Comparis has to pay more with Google
Spending on digital channels such as Google ads is also increasing. “Comparis had to pay more than ever before during Google’s permanent auction process to appear high for certain search terms, such as ‘health insurance’,” Schneuwly says.
Rising advertising spending is problematic as it has to exclude premium payers. Health insurance companies are resisting: The health insurance association Curafutura states that the ad only accounts for 0.2 percent of total costs in basic insurance. (sfa)