Promotional tools used by medical insurance companies : an international student perspective

Abstract

The immigration Act 19 of 2004 requires that all international students have proof of medical aid cover for a whole year from a provider that is registered with the South African Council for Medical Schemes in terms of Medical Schemes Act, 1998. Some medical insurance companies provide gifts to students to gain a larger market share in educational institutions. Health insurance products are very crucial in the lives of students and therefore the students must be familiar of medical product benefits and exclusions. Students lack relevant knowledge of health insurance products. Students seem have a perception that medical insurance products cover all healthcare expenses. Dissatisfied customers will tarnish the image of the respective medical aid companies, hence customer attrition.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the influence of promotional tools in awareness creation on higher education international students’ selection of medical products. The study was descriptive and quantitative in nature. A structured questionnaire with close-ended and scaled response questions was used as the research instrument. The sample comprised 400 international students studying at two universities in KwaZulu-Natal. Non probability sampling was used to select the sample. The results indicate that the respondents are very sensitive to price and majority of them are influenced by advertising and word of mouth. The results indicate that students react differently to each promotional tool.