Allianz raises Greek health insurance premiums by up to 10.8% - BN exclusive

Allianz Greece is raising premiums on long-term health insurance policies by 4.50% up to 10.8% through 2027.
Annual premiums on the whole-life health policy MegaCare will rise by 9% effective January 1, 2027, with insurance agents receiving zero commission from the increment of these increases.
Allianz bases the increases on Law 5170/25 governing annual premium adjustments and pricing transparency through public disclosure postings.
Within the framework of the annual premium adjustment exercise for our whole-life hospital indemnity plans, Allianz has proceeded since last March with revisions in accordance with Law 5170/25.
Policies featuring a pre-agreed fixed premium adjustment mechanism, such as SANTE and MEGACARE 100 (468), are exempt from the provisions of Law 5170/25.

How Allianz justifies these sharp increases

Allianz emphasizes that the measure aims to safeguard the long-term solvency of the portfolio, taking into account the conditions and underwriting metrics of this specific book of business.
The company stresses that every insurer is mandated by statutory regulation to continuously guarantee premium adequacy.
In this context, Allianz factors in health policy utilization, which is reflected both in a higher frequency of hospitalization incidents and in rising claims outlays.
It also factors in the Loss Ratio affecting regulatory capital requirements, alongside the trajectory of medical treatment costs driven, among other elements, by hospital room-and-board rates as well as the therapeutic and diagnostic protocols employed by physicians.

Insurance agents tell BN of upcoming cancellations

Conversely, insurance intermediaries state to BN that while operating overhead and the cost of servicing policies for an agency are climbing, remuneration schedules remain static.
Foreign corporate headquarters of insurance groups demand profitability and returns, while the government avoids intervening decisively in healthcare to curb hospital overcharging practices to serve its own ends, leaving agents and policyholders to foot the bill.
Intermediaries maintain that a substantial wave of policy cancellations will follow.

Over 30 out of 40 health plans face 9% increases

These steep increases across nearly 40 whole-life hospital health programs range from 4.5% up to 10.8% on base premiums.
Approximately 32 health plans absorb a 9% increase, while only 8 programs see adjustments scaling from 4.50% up to 9% per policy.

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