The benefits and challenges of subcontracting travel assistance
Outsourcing to third-party providers can give assistance firms access to localised knowledge and specialised expertise. Lauren Haigh explores the considerations for companies looking to subcontract assistance
Traveller safety, comfort and wellbeing are key tenets of travel and medical assistance. Expert knowledge, combined with appropriate resources and honed services, ensures that assistance companies can provide travellers with the support they require and enhance their travel experience.
In some cases, depending on traveller or trip requirements, assistance companies may choose to outsource elements of service provision to specialised providers. In doing so, they can gain access to different types of specialised knowledge and localised expertise.
“Subcontracting assistance can work in situations where local expertise is needed to efficiently support a client. This can include situations where there are language barriers, cultural differences or logistical challenges,” said Felix Klingborg, Network Manager at Travel Support Europe. “By partnering with a service provider that knows the country, it’s possible to tap into the expertise of this provider and enhance the experience of the client in need of assistance.”
Such a subcontractor may have expertise in language interpretation, for example, or extensive knowledge of a particular area, including cultural norms and regulatory requirements.
“An example where subcontracting makes sense is when the assistance team does not have the appropriate language skills or local knowledge of the medical facilities or logistics,” Louise Heywood, General Manager at International Assistance Group (IAG), confirmed. “Even ground transportation can be challenging when online maps might show a short distance and estimate a three-hour trip – but local intel will explain the road is impassable in wet weather or too dangerous during the night due to local bandits or hijacking.”
A subcontractor can provide this intimate knowledge and overcome barriers. ITIJ also spoke with Laura Hilton, Co-Founder of Fairmount International, who said that assistance organisations tend to fall into two categories.
“There are those that favour a centralised approach and developing in-house resources and relationships for managing cases worldwide, and those that prefer a decentralised model with multiple regional offices and a network of local agents,” she said. By working with such a network, assistance companies can extend their geographical reach and gain insights into regional customs and regulations. Ultimately, this can serve to further enhance assistance provision, benefiting travellers.
The best of both worlds
Hilton told ITIJ that there has been a broadening of demand, with a need for localised knowledge expanding to encompass a need for specialised expertise. “In the past, subcontracting was all about geography – finding partners to handle assistance cases in certain regions. Access to local resources are especially important in locations where providers are not willing to extend billing and other services to assistance organisations from outside their area,” she said.
“Today, subcontracting is also about specialist knowledge. As the market for international insurance continues to expand into more sophisticated programmes for students and expatriates, insurers and assistance companies also need specialist partners for managing complex and serious care, chronic health issues and mental health on a global basis.”
Effective assistance for complex medical conditions requires a multidisciplinary approach
and relies on specialised knowledge that can be obtained through subcontracting to the right partners.
“Local physicians who work in or with their local hospitals should have the best understanding of the capabilities for each type of medicine and when a patient should be moved or returned home to gain access to better treatment,” said Heywood. “In developing countries, these things can change very quickly – a hospital visited one year can dramatically improve or decline the following year depending on local funding or political priorities.
“Obtaining medical reports can be particularly challenging from abroad, as well as access to the local treating physician, which might be easier for a local agent who is dealing regularly with the same facilities and can make more attempts to contact at the cost of local, rather than international, calls,” she added.
Other examples in which subcontracting assistance can prove beneficial is during busy travel seasons or in response to unexpected events such as natural disasters, when there may be a significant increase in demand for assistance services.
“Travel and travel assistance contacts for help can be predictable based on seasonal travel and other peak times when everyone is aware demand will be higher,” highlighted Heywood. “Conversely, mass events such as storms, terrorist attacks, transport accidents and other unpredictable events can occur at any time, placing huge demand on the assistance operations centres. A crisis management plan is essential, but, even then, resources will be limited, so having a crisis management plan or caseload sharing plan subcontracted with a company in another part of the world where their peaks are different can ensure all travellers in trouble are able to get the help they need, sooner.”
Collaboration and cost considerations
For assistance companies, selecting one or multiple partners is a rigorous process to ensure that the collaboration will be viable and successful.
“We consider factors such as reputation, reliability and price competitiveness when selecting a business to work with,” said Klingborg. “Ultimately, our goal is to provide the best possible service and experience for our customers, so we make sure to carefully vet and select businesses that meet our high standards. Travel Support has local expertise in all the countries we work in. Our operations centre is well aware of cultural differences within the countries as well as with the tourists on spot needing assistance.”
Heywood pointed out that contracting companies with local knowledge and experience can be challenging to find. “Looking for local companies with relevant certifications is helpful, but these do not exist in many countries or may not always be genuine, even when certificates of accreditation, insurance or medical licences are produced,” she said.
“To do this effectively for every country in the world requires a lot of resources, so tapping into existing networks such as the IAG is far more cost-effective, particularly for access to locations where the assistance company may only have a handful of cases or less per year. With a detailed selection process, certified to ISO 9001, our members can be assured that all of our local agents have been through a rigorous vetting process and are regularly audited and assessed against agreed SLAs (service level agreements),” she added.
Assistance companies aren’t prepared to compromise on quality and so a potential partnership must be perfectly aligned with the organisation’s goals.
“The key to assistance is managing the clinical quality and member experience,” underlined Carol Foley, Co-Founder of Fairmount International. “Subcontracting to carefully curated specialist partners can work well, as long as the owner of the case leverages their partner’s specialist knowledge but maintains control of the clinical quality and member experience.”
While prioritising traveller safety and quality of experience, there is a necessary eye on cost containment and, by contracting assistance, it is possible to save on costs, as well as augmenting efficiency.
“Often, by using a local company, the traveller can be treated under their local agreements and payment terms, which can be much cheaper than the international patient rate charged if the company deals directly with the facility,” said Heywood.
“Some facilities will simply not invoice or accept payments from a foreign entity, and, in that situation, the traveller must pay and claim – as long as the facility will accept a credit card. Travellers expect a seamless service and it is much easier to have a local agent to settle the bills in the local currency. This can also expedite the patient discharge and save some fees for prolonged stays due to waiting for wired payments to arrive.”
A local network with global benefits
In addition to the myriad benefits associated with subcontracting assistance, there are associated challenges and considerations for assistance companies too. Besides finding the right provider, these include maintaining consistency and quality of services across the board, ensuring effective communication and coordination with subcontractors, and regularly reviewing subcontractor performance. This is where
strong quality assurance mechanisms and performance standards play a critical role
. When managed correctly, the relationship between an assistance company and subcontractor can prove invaluable and elevate services.
“We have an extensive network of providers to reach out to and, with good communication between us internally as well as with providers, we trust that we know the best option for every case,” stated Klingborg.
Whether or not an assistance company decides to subcontract assistance, the benefits of a local network of providers are far-reaching. “In many countries with world-class medical systems and good English skills, many assistance companies can work directly with the hospitals without the need for local subcontractors,” said Heywood. “However, there still can be advantages in engaging local expertise, for example to pool cases and to benefit from lower negotiated fees or rebates based on pooled volumes. Whether it is subcontracting or collaborating, it makes sense to have a local network that can help when it is needed,” she concluded.