VOLUNTARY HEALTH INSURANCE IN SERBIA

The paper presents the evolution of health insurance from its origins in the 19th century to the present day. It highlights the diff erences between compulsory and voluntary health insurance, as well as the limitations of each model, the principles of solidarity and mutuality in compulsory health insurance, and the advantages of voluntary health insurance, which does not off er solidarity and mutuality but incurs lower costs. The paper also details the growth of voluntary health insurance in Serbia, which fi rst appeared in 2005 and reached signifi cant participation compared to the non-life insurance sector by 2022. The dependency of voluntary health insurance on the population’s income and overall GDP is noted, as well as the connection between the non-life insurance sector and the life insurance sector. Additionally, the paper analyzes the participation of individual elements of voluntary health insurance in total premiums, as well as the number of contracts and insured persons.

Keywords: voluntary, health, insurance, complementary, supplementary, private.