Fiona Murphy discovers that advisers should fasten their seatbelts as the IPMI market is accelerating to meet an increasingly mobile workforce.
The phrase ‘the world is your oyster’ is ringing true for expats as companies become ever more global. This been reflected in greater interest and take-up in IPMI policies during the past year.
Doug Rice, director of international at JELF has seen an increase in companies, particularly SMEs, now seeking advice about sending staff overseas.
Tim Slee, sales and commercial director at Bupa International believes market development has been driven by new market entrants from the US and domestic insurers across the globe looking at cross- border coverage.
Rice adds: “The days of the British expat on a two year assignment are long gone. Now you might have a year in Dubai, six months in Africa and another six months in Kazakthstan, each of those have very specific requirements. It can be a complex area for a company to look at.”
But how have the plans adapted? Slee describes changes to insurers’ propositions as ‘fast moving and dynamic’.
He said: “If you go back 8 or 9 years, most of the business written was expatriate from their domestic country out to the rest of the world. And while that’s still a good market, increasingly there’s a market for new generation expats who are always living overseas and permanently going where the opportunities are.”
Plans are becoming more tailored to specific regions, instead of offering generic one size fits all policies. Short-term plans, such as the one recently launched by Bupa International, also address some of the challenges associated with moving abroad.
However, while plans may be adapting to geographic challenges, they still have a way to go in terms of transparency.
InterGlobal has warned insurers are not being clear in explaining to policyholders what treatment they will cover, particularly with cancer.
Paul Weigall, group sales and marketing director of InterGlobal said he was “shocked” to find out how difficult it can to ascertain what cancer treatments are covered or excluded by some providers.
“What planholders really need to know is that they will be able to receive top quality cancer treatment anywhere in the world - knowing that their insurer is committed to picking up the bill in full - with no ifs and buts.”
