Demand for private healthcare sold by Aviva has surged as patients increasingly pay to avoid record waiting lists on the NHS.
The FTSE 100 insurer revealed premiums from its healthcare business had leapt by 58 per cent to £86 million in the first half of the year and that the division had attracted 170,000 new customers in the last 12 months.
Amanda Blanc, Aviva chief executive, said the NHS backlog for hospital treatment was stoking demand for private cover.
“Customers [are] worried that they may not be able to get access to health treatments when they need them, they don’t want to have to wait long periods of time,” Blanc said.
The insurer had also experienced “significant growth” in customers seeking digital GPs as