The Importance of Global iPMI Brokers, Agents and Intermediaries
- Written by: iPMI Global
In this latest article, iPMI Global looks at the importance of iPMI brokers, agents and intermediaries. Taken from the recent round table, Managing iPMI Programs for Foreign Companies in the USA.
The round table looked at the challenges and opportunities for the international private medical insurance market in the USA when insuring foreign corporation’s human resources.
Q: What is the best way of selling IPMI into the USA for inbound or outbound: direct, global brokers, local brokers, TPAs or other?
Ross Walker, Cigna Europe: We see both global and local brokers as playing a critically important role in the sale of all IPMI products. Whether it be a corporation who wants one consistent global benefits solution or an individual looking to relocate their family from the other side of world, brokers play a critical role in helping the customer or client understand the healthcare landscape and the available options which best suit their needs.
Sheldon Kenton, Global Benefits Group: As usual with matters iPMI, there is no one path to success. My experience is that very little iPMI business is transacted direct. There are the occasional clients with enough inhouse expertise to make these determinations without advice, but I would call that an event rather than a channel. So, the main route for sales comes through the broking community and there we see a mix of channel types. The largest share of these opportunities exists within the global brokers and/or the local specialist firms. It is not unusual for the large global firms to operate in iPMI via a “Centre of Excellence” (COE) model which specialises in services to multinational clients (so effectively a local specialist firm within a global broker) and these activities are usually coordinated globally.
A route that is also not to be ignored is the local broker who happens to transact a few iPMI cases simply because of their domestic relationship with a multinational. Over the years I have observed that when you analyse iPMI portfolios, whilst there is nearly always a concentration in the primary route I described earlier, there is always a long tail of cases with a large number of small brokers holding a small number of iPMI customers. Ignoring this long tail would be inadvisable. Finally, for many iPMI sales, having the ability to coordinate sales activity globally is often the key to success. There are usually many stakeholders in an iPMI sale, and they are rarely sitting in one head office location these days. So, a broadly spread sales capability is vital.
Gitte Bach, New Frontier Group: Ideally and most commonly, brokers (both local and global) and insurance companies sell IPMI directly. Typically, we do not see many TPAs selling IPMI.
David Capote, Trawick International: IPMI is sold via various channels around the world. In terms of the LATAM region, various customer surveys have shown that clients prefer to purchase their IPMI through a trusted and experienced broker or agent due to the perceived complexities of the product. From an insurer point of view, a well sold (explained) plan will usually lead to an overall better customer experience at the time of a claim because benefits and policy limits are understood prior to using the policy.
Janette Hiscock, UnitedHealthcare Global: Working with a global broker may be the best path to success. However, it really is not about selling; rather, it is about understanding a client’s specific requirements through collaboration, earning their trust, then advising on the best path forward to provide the most value. Consulting and advising a client are crucial to creating a beneficial long-term relationship.
Selling into the U.S. means an array of requirements, and it is important to understand the various local requirements that may or may not be applicable. Providing insight, and alignment with legal counsel, into these requirements is what makes brokers so valuable, along with understanding the need to work with IPMI and Third-Party Administrators (TPA) that can meet evolving UK, European, and U.S. data privacy requirements.
For companies that are self-insuring their health plans and want to take advantage of cost savings without adding administrative burden, UnitedHealthcare Global also offers claims administration services through our U.S. Network & Administrative Services team. This service provides responsive claims processing with broad U.S. network access, plus helps manage costs while providing member access to quality, cost-efficient care and services.
Lourdes F. Peters, World of America: Our IPMI products do not sell themselves, they are sold and serviced through brokers that understand the markets. Local brokers understand the local products and can assist with their local needs, but the IPMI products are richer and mobile, therefore you can move from country to country by just changing your address, in all cases once know you will be residing in the US you must inform the company that your residence has changed, and your coverage will lapse six month after you have established residence.
A TPA provides a specified discount need for the insurance companies and therefore are not in contact with the inbound or outbound client to sell them insurance coverage.
