ITIJ October 2023 issues out now

In the October issue of ITIJ we look at the Nordic travel insurance market. We examine the unique needs of the traveller and consider the evolution and adoption of technology that continues to transform insurance delivery protocols across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland. 

In this issue we also look at policies for international students in the US, and ask if current policies available provide sufficient medical cover and assistance. We examine what international students bring to the US economy and the obligations the Universities have towards the students, plus reiterate why having US health insurance is so important… and expensive. 

Remote working is now a huge industry, but IPMI for remote workers in the oil and gas sector is of vital importance. This particular demographic needs very particular evacuation benefits and relies on high-end telemedicine solutions. More than ever there is a need for the industry to utilise tech and innovative solutions to make sure the health and safety of workers is paramount. We look at the opportunities and challenges facing insurers and their telehealth providers.  

The Spanish healthcare system is among the best in the world, with public healthcare efficiently topped up by private healthcare cover. Behind the scenes, effective relationships between hospitals and health insurers keeps things running smoothly. We hear from Spanish health insurers and hospital leaders about points of pride, areas for improvement and provider relationships. 

Assistance and Repatriation Review

In the second of our Assistance and Repatriation Reviews of 2023 we look at Antarctic assistance and extreme medical assistance for explorers and remote workers. We talk to people on the ground about the kind of assistance they need and how it is rendered effectively given the operational and logistical challenges. 

We also examine factors driving cost increases in medical assistance around the world. Covid ramped up the cost of assistance, but what else has actually changed currently?

In this issue we also look at treatment and evacuation options from the Caribbean. We examine centres of medical excellence, cost vs quality, and evacuation from EU islands to EU. We identify countries where the medical care is good quality and of reasonable cost, plus where assistance companies should always seek to evacuate from rather than treat in situ. We ask if hospitals will always see foreign patients as an opportunity to maximise billing, and for European insurers, is it viable to get a patient to an EU territory and thus access good quality care at a reasonable cost by using EU reciprocal health agreements?

We look into the red flags that insurers need to watch out for when contracting with ground ambulance service providers. Ground ambulance companies share their views on best practice, potential problems, and how to overcome them. And we ask when is it viable – or even preferable – to repatriate a customer with a long-distance ground transfer instead of an air ambulance or commercial repatriation?