Having worked in the private medical insurance sector for over 30 years, what drew you to your current role at IMG?

IMG is heavily focused on growing its international private medical insurance (IPMI) business, which was very exciting to me. I loved the clear strategic picture that was painted by the executive team. I could also see how, within IMG, there is a real desire to be creative when building our value proposition around our customers’ needs.

Another challenge is keeping myself and the business updated with the regulatory requirements that are constantly changing in the marketplace

I have always enjoyed being involved in building a business, and the opportunity to do this again with a global remit was too good to turn down. I was missing this excitement from my previous role. The deciding factor for me was that I wanted to be a part of a growing business like IMG and experience the excitement and personal satisfaction that comes along with such growth.

What are your key responsibilities as Global Head of IPMI?

My key responsibility is growing the IPMI business portfolio for IMG, specifically focusing on individual and small and medium-sized enterprise business opportunities. This involves expanding the current distribution network and building trust and relationships with new and existing broker partners.

I am also a key stakeholder in the development of the IPMI value proposition and am working with the team to ensure our products meet and exceed the expectations of our customers.
 

Having overseen the development of IMG’s Global Prima Medical Insurance last year, can you outline who the coverage options are best suited to?

We recognise how the IPMI market is ever-changing, which is why we launched Global Prima Medical Insurance for expats and globally mobile citizens. 

Global Prima provides worldwide cover and world-class health services to individuals, families, and groups living or working outside their home country, typically for one year or longer. There are five plan levels available with Global Prima, starting with the cost-effective Bronze plan, up to the highest-level Platinum plan.

Which key challenges for expats does the Global Prima offering address?

Global Prima plans offer several customisation options, allowing expatriates to choose from five plan options, areas of coverage, multiple excess and currency options, and even different underwriting methods to help build the appropriate cover. The flexible nature also allows customers the choice of adding maternity and dental benefits, which are big cost drivers, to any plan level.

Customers can find and select a suitable hospital for their health conditions, and they can establish direct payment to hospitals for costly medical procedures. This saves customers the stress of having to pay large amounts of money upfront and waiting to be reimbursed.

If an expat were to face a serious, life-threatening condition in a developing country, they would likely prefer to return to their home country to be in a familiar culture where they know the language and can be with friends and family. Global Prima includes repatriation and evacuation benefits to address this scenario.

Additionally, IMG has 24/7 multilingual support to help expats navigate the health system of a new country. Our digital portal provides a convenient way for expats to submit claims online, pay premiums, and receive reimbursements.

You are responsible for overseeing IMG’s IPMI segment for those based in North America, the UK, the European Union, and the rest of the world. What is the biggest challenge working across such a wide range of places?

I very much enjoy working with my sales team and meeting as many of our distribution partners as possible. It is very important for me to meet our key partners, both virtually and face-to-face, and one of the key challenges in working across such a wide range of locations is simply finding the time to do this. However, I believe it is vital that IMG grows long-term, trusted partnerships with our brokers, and it is part of my job I have continually enjoyed.

Another challenge in covering such a large scope as IMG’s Global Head of IPMI is keeping myself and the business updated with the regulatory requirements that are constantly changing in the marketplace. With a customer base in numerous global destinations, this is a time-consuming element of the role.

Can you tell us about IMG’s ‘one brand’ initiative and how its global product portfolio is being developed?

As part of our brand strategy, we have been working toward unifying our global family of brands (including Global Response and ALC Health) under the IMG brand to make it easier and simpler to leverage global platforms, simplify processes, and scale systems into a singular, customer-focused experience.
The Global Response brand was deprecated and officially rebranded as IMG in 2022. The ALC Health brand continues to be highlighted in our Global Prima product. However, ALC will also ultimately be rebranded as IMG.

IMG’s corporate headquarters is in Indianapolis, in the US, and IMG Europe is Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) registered in the UK. We have recently created a new IMG entity, IMG Europe AB, in Sweden with full passporting rights in all the European Economic Area (EEA).

At IMG, our vision is to be recognised as the preeminent provider of travel and health safety solutions for people travelling and residing away from home, and this is true for the wide range of travelling demographics we serve.

The time lengths of expatriate assignments have shortened, and customers are now seeking more cost-effective IPMI benefit packages

What changes have you witnessed in the IPMI sector over the past 10 years?

The IPMI customer demographic has changed significantly in that time, the lengths of expatriate assignments have shortened, and customers are now seeking more cost-effective IPMI benefit packages. There is an increasing demand from local nationals who are seeking benefits greater than normally available in their local domestic markets, so they are utilising the services of established IPMI providers. Ten years ago, this market did not really exist in the way it does today. 

Additionally, the digital nomad demographic was not recognised at all as an opportunity in the IPMI market 10 years ago, and health tourism was only just beginning to be recognised as a key opportunity.

Covid-19 was a catalyst for several changes in the sector, particularly around customer expectations. We have seen an increase in demand for online teleconsultation and digitisation of the customer journey and documentation. Customers today are increasingly seeking specific benefit requirements, speedy claims service, and communication through multimedia channels, such as social media, WhatsApp and email.

The regulatory landscape is also very different now than it was then. Increasing local regulatory requirements have put more pressure on insurers to find compliant solutions to continue distributing and servicing their business in multiple geographical locations.

Brexit has caused several changes in how UK and European health insurance providers have had to adapt their corporate infrastructure to be able to work across borders.

Overall, I think customer expectations are so much greater than they were 10 years ago. This has made the last decade very challenging from a provider perspective as we continually refine and improve our value proposition, but also very rewarding as we see high customer satisfaction. 

What does the future of IMG and the wider health insurance market look like to you?

The future is very exciting. We are growing in all our core markets and increasing our brand awareness and distribution activity consistently. The customer value proposition is continually evolving.

I think the future of the health insurance market is also very healthy. We are increasingly living and working in a globally mobile and digital environment. Therefore, the potential for the global health market continues to expand, bringing many exciting opportunities for companies like IMG to widen their appeal and continue growing.