LONDON, September 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- PruHealth has become a competitor of scale in the UK Private Medical Insurance (PMI) market following the completion of the acquisition of Standard Life Healthcare by Discovery Holdings* of South Africa.

The acquisition opens a new chapter in PruHealth's development, boosting cover to 700,000 lives and market share to 11 per cent, demonstrating its commitment to the UK market and making it the fourth largest PMI provider in the UK.

Neville Koopowitz, previously CEO of Discovery Health, has been appointed CEO of PruHealth (http://www.pruhealth.co.uk/), and has transferred to London. Herschel Mayers continues as the CEO of PruProtect.

This transaction provides PruHealth with a significantly strengthened competitive position in the UK PMI market. The business will draw on its combined core strengths in product innovation, wellness and service delivery to offer one of the broadest and most flexible health insurance plans (https://www.pruhealth.co.uk/insurance/plan_comparison/plans) and product ranges in the market.

Full integration will roll out over the coming months. A product suite building on the best of the current PruHealth range and the range previously offered by Standard Life Healthcare is scheduled to be launched later this year.

Until then, PruHealth will continue to sell and service the entire product range of both businesses. There will be no changes to broker arrangements during this time, ensuring continuity and certainty is maintained:

- Existing policies will not change - Broker and customer service will be provided in exactly the same way as before the acquisition - Account management and sales support structures across PruHealth and products previously offered by Standard Life Healthcare remain as they were - Customers will be contacted and made aware of any planned changes when their policies are due for renewal

Neville Koopowitz, CEO of PruHealth, said: We are proud to be able to bring to clients both the award-winning product innovation and the excellent service history of two leading PMI businesses, and are excited about the opportunity to further develop our presence in the UK market.

We are working hard to bring clients a new product suite, building on PruHealth's wellness expertise and Standard Life Healthcare's emphasis on outstanding service and comprehensive coverage.

For previous Standard Life Healthcare policies, a transitional brand which refers to 'PruHealth Previously Standard Life Healthcare' will be used during the integration process to ensure a smooth migration.

Neville Koopowitz, CEO of PruHealth, continues: Our vision is to be the best health insurer in the UK and to excel at everything we do. The combined business will result in a complementary product range and assets in distribution and service as well as scale in negotiations to benefit clients.

Brokers are core to our strategy and we are firmly committed to this channel and plan to make further investment in broker distribution going forward.

Advisers and their clients who visit the Standard Life website will be automatically redirected to http://www.welcometopruhealth.co.uk for information on Standard Life Healthcare

Notes to editors:

* Discovery has confirmed the transfer of ownership of Standard Life Healthcare, a subsidiary of the Standard Life Group, to Prudential Health Holdings Limited following approval by the Financial Services Authority and South African Reserve Bank.

Discovery is now a 75 per cent shareholder in the Prudential Health Holdings Limited joint venture with Prudential Assurance Company of the UK comprising two brands, PruHealth and PruProtect

About PruHealth

PruHealth was launched into the UK market in October 2004 as a joint venture between Discovery and UK insurer, Prudential, in response to a growing need for consumer-directed private medical insurance (https://www.pruhealth.co.uk/insurance) products.

PruHealth received several industry awards, including the Most Trusted PMI Provider at the 2009 Moneywise Awards, the Best PMI Provider at the 2009 Moneyfacts Awards and the award for the Best Use of Marketing to Intermediaries for 2009 at the Health Insurance Awards.

Today, Pru insurance (https://www.pruhealth.co.uk/insurance/why_choose_pruhealth/why) covers 700,000 lives.

Media enquiries: Darragh Leeson Head of Media Relations Prudential UK and Europe Marble Arch Tower 17th Floor 55 Bryanston Street London W1H 7AA +44(0)20-7150-2600 http://www.pruhealth.co.uk

SOURCE: PruHealth

CONTACT: Media enquiries: Darragh Leeson, Head of Media Relations,Prudential UK and Europe, Marble Arch Tower, 17th Floor, 55 BryanstonStreet, London, W1H 7AA, +44(0)20-7150-2600