A slow but ..

The numbers of individuals with private medical policies fell slightly last year, according to the latest statistics from the Association of British Insurers (ABI). Its figures, released late in May, showed a 0.6% drop in subscribers with medical cover to 3,685,000 in 2004. These insureds generated £2.9bn of premium income and represented more than 6.6 million people.

In contrast, the ABI says, the numbers of corporate insureds rose slightly to 2.6 million, equating to 4.8 million lives