ITIC Global 2024 | International students – insurance requirements and assistance needs

The ITIJ team have been reporting live from ITIC Global in Vienna this week (November 2024) sharing the discussions that took place at the conference. Read all reports

François Jacquemin, CEO, Foyer Global Health

François Jacquemin of Foyer Global Health began by explaining that despite many efforts to improve the healthcare standards of international students by many parties – such as requiring health coverage to obtain a visa and study at most universities worldwide – there were typically a number of oversights.

For example, many parties fail to recognise potential barriers in language and culture, incompatibilities between the student’s home and host medical and insurance systems, as well as the student’s own limited knowledge of and interest in health insurance.

“Students care about what they are going to learn, what they are going to do when they’re there, the friends they’re going to make, but health is not on the agenda,” he said.

Jacquemin explained that, in order to tackle this, groups supporting international students needed to recognise five things:

1. Students are digitally minded, and benefit from improved digital accessibility
2. They want insurance to be a “no-hassle” experience
3. They would prefer it not to have any hidden or additional costs
4. Face-to-face consultations are not always needed in many cases due to modern telemedicine options
5. The same telemedicine technology allows mental health support to be conducted online in the student’s own language.

However, he warned that insurers shouldn’t assume that students are a homogenous group, highlighting the big differences between those travelling for a single term or year, and those studying abroad for the full duration.

“Students are not one single market,” said Jacquemin. “They come from many, many countries, and they go to very many countries. Some of them go for one semester, some of them go for their full cycle of education, and their requirements will be very different.”

In response to this, insurers should develop a flexible, modular product or range offering basic coverage – medical expenses, emergency evacuation, repatriation, and liability – alongside additional benefits such as dental care and pregnancy and family coverage.

Zsuzsanna Bodo, Head of Travel Assistance, Iris Global

On top of providing traditional coverage to international students, Zsuzsanna Bodo of Iris Global proposed that they should also be given a range of pre-travel support to orient them in their new host nation.

“Preparation is the key,” she explained, adding that because of the predictable, cyclical nature of when students travel abroad “once or twice a year”, it is “very easy for the insurer to organise training”.

This support should include being provided with a range of country-specific information, medical advice for those with chronic medical problems, ensuring that the treatments they need are locally available, and making sure that they receive a full medical check-up before they depart.

“[Students] are often not even aware of the medical problems they might have,” said Bodo. “And for those with chronic conditions, we recommend getting medical advice [prior to travel].”

Bodo highlighted that in light of growing attention among insurers and universities of the need to support students’ mental health, as well physical, there were several elements that supporting parties should pay close attention to. In particular, international students are likely to suffer from cultural shock and worries about “fitting in”, as well as having to manage a high level of independence and responsibility.

“Independence may be a problem,” she suggested. However: “Many of them depart and already have mental health problems from home. And suddenly when they are abroad, that problem gets amplified.”

Beyond this, there may be other issues such as anxiety, sleeping disorders, and stress, some of which may be brought on by financial matters or substance abuse.

She noted that on top of this, mental health disorders can sometimes manifest as physical problems, such as stomach, head, or back pain, causing a potential overuse of medical services. Thus, it benefits insurers to be proactive in this area.

Natalya Butakova, CEO, AP Companies

Natalya Butakova of AP Companies started by acknowledging that many universities offer their own sponsored student health insurance plans.

She noted that while there were many benefits to such schemes – such as the high level of convenience when accessing care through on-campus services, greater affordability compared with private plans, as well as them being specifically tailored to meet the particular needs of students – there were often limitations.

In particular, Butakova explained that many university-sponsored plans do not cover off-campus care at the same level, and may not be as flexible when adding dependants or family members.

Additionally, there are often vast differences in price depending on the specific university.

Explaining that current estimates suggest that seven million students will be studying abroad by 2030, Butakova said that it was vital that insurers engage better with their policyholders among this demographic.

She recommended that insurers simplify onboarding and communication with an eye towards making resources and information easy to access. Additionally, better cultural and language support – including multilingual customer service and better cultural sensitivity training – is important.

Butakova also highlighted a number of key trends to keep an eye on – such as the growing number of students now studying remotely or in hybrid formats, the growing need for better mental health support, and the push to expand wellness programmes and preventative care coverage.

Ultimately, she said, the main goal was to “keep educating students any way we can about healthcare and insurance so they are confident about accessing help”.

However, Butakova noted that as universities increase their global reach, many are attracting more diverse nationalities than before. Whereas previously it was easier to cater to the needs of international students, with institutions typically receiving large numbers of specific national groups, there is now often a need to adapt to a broader range of cultures when providing support.