AIG responds to expat boom
AIG in the UK, having taken notice of soaring numbers of people working overseas – and the accompanying growing majority who fail to take out adequate protection against potential health risks – has announced the launch of a new product, Expatriate Care, aimed at organisations whose headquarters are in the UK but whose expatriate employees are working around the world
The new product is designed ‘to provide scalable, cost-effective solutions for business of any size’, according to AIG, ‘from SMEs through to large corporates’. Programmes can be set up with as few as five employees; previous medical histories are disregarded.
“The number of expatriates worldwide is soaring,” said Ian Robinson, UK head of personal accident at AIG. “In 2014, the number reached more than 50 million, according to Research and Markets, and by 2020 this will rise to 60 million. A minority of these people are covered by domestic health insurance, but around one third of all expatriates have no international health insurance.”
Recent statistics from the UK Home Office suggest that over 13 million British citizens currently live and work abroad, and over five million do so on a long-term or permanent basis. In previous years, expatriates have tended to favour a handful of well-known destinations, but as emerging economies rise – along with an increasingly globally mobile population – international health insurance is required in a much wider range of locations.
AIG has thus partnered with European medical plan administrator Henner to create Expatriate Care, in order to offer access to Henner’s network of over 35,000 medical providers across 160 countries; discounts and direct billing arrangements are available. There is also the flexibility of adding a new provider if clients have unique location requests, and employers can benefit from negotiated rates, allowing for strong cost containment across expatriate programmes, according to AIG. Additionally, Expatriate Care offers Medical Second Opinion, a service that provides extra consultations with international specialists following an initial diagnosis from a local physician, as well as MyHealthPortal, a free to use virtual health clinic with access to UK-based medical support via webcam, phone and SMS messaging.