PruHealth is facing customer criticism following the move, which comes into effect later this year.
PruHealth's flagship "free gym membership" insurance policy has changed its terms and conditions, the Guardian reports.
The provider launched the cover as a way, it claimed, of encouraging people to live a more healthy lifestyle. It worked by customers being given discounts for visiting the gym, which eventually built up to free membership if these were used often enough.
However, PruHealth has now announced that, from November, it will be basing its gym membership discounts on the "Vitality status" built up by the customer. This status is boosted not through the frequency of gym use, but by other "healthy" activities including reading articles on the insurer's website, buying certain foods at Sainsbury's or undergoing medical checks.
Speaking to the newspaper, one customer commented: "If I carry on with my twice-weekly gym attendance, my membership fee will rise from nothing a month to £50 a month…Customers could also be paying for health screens and other products promoted by [PruHealth's] call centre to achieve discounted gym membership in the future, yet PruHealth may change its awards at any point."
A spokesperson for PruHealth said: "Anyone who feels that they will be worse off can cancel without any penalty if they want to. Our gym partners were the only ones [connected with the Vitality scheme] that were frequency based. We have decided to align all our partners to become points-based."
Comments (3)
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Lorynne Padgham
13th Sep 2008 14:19
I think the 'free gym membership' policy was the bait to get people to join PruHealth. Now that the offer is no longer valid it's pretty pointless being with PruHealth, they've got so many T&C's when it comes to getting the medical services that you need that its a whole lot better going through the NHS. I've been with Pru for over a year now, I've never been able to use the insurance to cover any of my (our family of four's) medical expenses and now I no longer qualify for free gym either despite being very healthy and an avid gym goer.
I am a member of this scheme. They want to charge money and then expect to refund this in two months. If you disagree the membership is cancelled. They say they will refund the money with interest. I don't understand how they can be allowed to take monies from clients who do not owe money, and cancle their membership if they do not agree to "lend" them money?
How does this work?
Paul Cannell
21st Apr 2009 22:33
I was initially annoyed when they changed this scheme to a vitality points basis on gaining free entry to the gym. But then I realised how easy it was to build up the points, and in no time at all I reached the maximum tier. I maintained my free gym membership without any additional cost. Then when I reached my first year, because I was at max status and not made a claim on health insurance, my monthly premium dropped from £32 a month to £4.90!!! YES thats right £4.90 for a top class gym and heath insurance!!! The muppets I train with every day are paying upwards of £60 a month!! I am LOVING IT!!!
