Following the news that virtual health insurer, Babylon Health, has suffered a data breach;

Ben Carey-Evans, Insurance Analyst at GlobalData, offers his view:

“Babylon Health will need to reassure potential customers that their data is safe in order to capitalize on what is looking to be a promising time for virtual appointments. GlobalData’s 2019 UK Insurance Consumer Survey found that 17.5% of people in the UK have used a remote or video GP service. This shows that a significant percentage of consumers were using this type of technology pre-COVID-19. However, there is a substantial opportunity for growth, especially given the current climate. It is very likely that the popularity of virtual GP appointments will soar in the immediate future and consequently become learned behaviour by consumers for the future.

“At the verge of this potential increase in popularity, the data breach has come at a bad time for Babylon Health. One of the largest barriers to people using these services will be trusting companies with sensitive videos and medical information. GlobalData’s 2019 UK Insurance Consumer Survey found that not wanting to share personal information was the main reason consumers didn’t wear activity trackers, identified by 42.3% of those who didn’t wear one. Virtual GP appointments would contain far more sensitive data than an activity band.”