ITIC Global – what a week in Athens for the ITIJ team!
The editorial team had a busy week from 23-27 October attending the International Travel & Health Insurance Conference – ITIC Global – in Athens, Greece
The ITIJ team hosted an exhibition booth at the ITIC Global event, welcoming attendees and doling out plentiful bowls of ice cream and sorbets throughout the week!
We also reported on each of the conference sessions – you can read all of the key ITIC Global discussion points here or click on the links below to jump straight to a report. Look out for our full review in the December edition! Subscribe here to get your copy
Furthermore, check out the ITIC photos to find out what you missed (if you weren’t there) and see if you can spot yourself if you did join us in Athens! All the education seminars were very well attended and had the audience fully engaged with the topics – from air ambulance transfers of psychiatric patients, to the evolution of insurance and medical assistance products, and how to navigate the complexities of the US healthcare system as inflation spirals.
ITIC Global 2022 – the ideal place to network
The networking events that took place throughout the week were sparkling affairs – from the New Attendees’ Welcome Function, sponsored by IRIS Global, to the Official Welcome Function sponsored by ITIJ and AMI Global Assistance. Both took place in the amazing Hellenic Motor Museum, where everyone enjoyed being able to take in the history of automotive excellence.
Finally, the week concluded with the black-tie celebratory dinner and ITIJ Awards, held at the Megaron Athens Concert Hall. You can watch the ITIJ Awards 2022 ceremony here if you couldn’t attend, and find out who the winners were on the night.
Mandy Langfield, Managing Editor of ITIJ, commented: “It was a genuine pleasure to host the awards, seeing how excited all the finalists and winners were to be recognised for their efforts over the course of the last year. The whoops and cheers for the companies when they were announced as winners were really a joy to behold – there is so much goodwill and warmth in this industry, with everyone in it to do their best for their customers – it was a really enjoyable evening.”
Ian Cameron, ITIC Chairman and ITIJ Editor in Chief, said: “The whole week was a great success, with the feedback so far being incredibly positive. It makes all the hard work of the past 12 months worth it! Thank you to everyone who came to be part of the event, and to our Executive Committee, and sponsors and supporters in the industry.”
ITIJ reports from ITIC Global 2022
We joined the travel and health insurance community in discussion. Here are the key points from all the ITIC Global 2022 conference sessions. Click the links to read more.
ITIC Global Keynote: Frank Gardner - Managing threats in dangerous countries
Security Correspondent and Journalist Frank Gardner presented ITIC Global 2022’s Keynote Speech – talking about his vast experience of travelling in high-risk countries, facing life-and-death situations.
Travel Trends
Nejc Jus and Robin Ingle spoke about future travel trends, focusing on how specific countries are responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, how optimism is high for the future, plus the essential services the insurance sector should be looking to provide.
Digitisation, regulation and meeting the needs of individual customers
Ges Lonsdale, Noam Shapira and Efrat Sagi-Ofir talked about how customer expectations have changed since the pandemic, and how new technologies and approaches can help insurers adapt to meet customer expectations.
Travel insurance and assistance evolution
Natalya Butakova, Ross Thompson and John Spears talked about post-Covid developments in travel insurance, assistance and healthcare.
Medical costs in the US
Jason Davis, Raija Hoppula Itzchaki and Gitte Bach shared their wisdom on the US healthcare system, giving the audience insights into legislation and negotiation that can help international payers contain their exposure to healthcare costs.
Healthcare and travel assistance in Mexico
Susan Yates, Salvador Belilty and Dale Buckner discussed how to secure high-quality healthcare for customers in Mexico, and the challenge of keeping travellers informed of potential risks.
Solutions to increasing healthcare costs
James Page, Francois Jacquemin and Juliane Kause discuss rising medical costs post-pandemic, as well as potential solutions to the issue.
ITIC Global: Provider Network Forum
Hosted by Laura Hilton, Co-founder of Fairmount International, this event brought together numerous sectors of the insurance industry to discuss what the future holds and how it needs to work together to make improvements