SA private medical aids not really all that different in customer satisfaction

This is a score indicating adequate levels of satisfaction when compared to the scores of similar industries such as life insurance (76) and short-term insurance (76). This is according to the South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SAcsi) which released the customer satisfaction scores today for private medical aids and mobile handsets.

The companies included in the private medical aids survey were Bonitas, Discovery Health, Liberty Health, Medihelp and Momentum Health based on their market share. Bonitas is South Africa's health insurance industry leader by scoring 2.7% above the industry's average customer satisfaction score. Discovery Health, Liberty Health, and Momentum Health all scored on par with the industry average, and Medihelp scored slightly below (-2.7%).

"According to the SAcsi model, there is little differentiation between the company scores. However, the fact that Bonitas exceeded their policyholders' expectations on perceived quality has contributed to their above-average score," says Prof. Adré Schreuder, founder and chair of SAcsi. "What medical aid providers need to consider is the perceived value in the context of the price paid by policyholders for health insurance," says Schreuder.

SAcsi holds a licence with the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) and forms part of a growing number of ACSI-licensed partner countries worldwide, which allows South Africa to compare customer satisfaction in various industries with this global community.

Relative to the international ACSI scores, South Africa's health insurance industry ranked ninth among the thirteen countries measured by the ACSI-Lithuania being the international benchmark with a score of 79 out of 100. South Africa's score was on par with Portugal, and only just above the USA (72). Countries that scored higher than South Africa were Turkey (78), Indonesia (76) as well as several Eastern European countries namely, Denmark (76), Finland (75), Latvia (75), Sweden (74) and Estonia (74).

About the research methodology

Each company was measured through telephonic and web-survey methods at a statistically reliable sample of at least 270 respondents per company. The total sample for medical aids was 1 824 randomly selected medial aid policyholders. This sample represents an error margin of 1.6 (on a 90% statistical confidence level) and can thus be regarded as a very reliable estimate of the industry rating.

Customer satisfaction is measured using an advanced statistical model that has been rigorously evaluated, in line with the American Customer Satisfaction Index methodology.

The SAcsi index gives companies detailed information to assist them in improving customer satisfaction. Each month, customer satisfaction results are released for specific industries.

Summaries of the industry level reports are available on www.sacsi.co.za.

About SAcsi

The South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SAcsi) is a national economic indicator of customer satisfaction with the quality of products and services available to household consumers in South Africa. For more information, visit www.sacsi.co.za