Critical Considerations When Designing iPMI Plans

In a closed door, executive iPMI Magazine Round Table, we speak with leading C-Level Executives at ALC Health, Cigna Global Individual Private Medical Insurance, GeoBlue and Globality Health, about the importance of individual iPMI and how to best approach plan design. iPMI can play a major role in the ongoing management of an individual’s wellbeing. In turn this may increase productivity and performance and decrease the risk of failure and return. A happy, healthy, stress-free employee will always out-perform an unhappy, unmotivated one. The right iPMI plan can provide the vital safety net and comfort blanket, in what can be a highly challenging and stressful lifestyle.

Introducing a business into new emerging markets is the response from worldwide business owners to the pre-eminent mega trend that is globalisation. Establishing a global footprint may be of pivotal importance to a wide range of industry, and according to PWC, cross-border assignments are showing no signs of a slowdown.

In fact, 59% of CEOs plan to send more staff on international assignments with predictions that global corporate travel and international assignments will increase 50% by 2020.

But it isn’t just business crossing borders.

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“The majority of expatriates in 2013 were classifiable as individual workers (73.6%) followed by students (8.8%), retired expatriates (3.7%) and corporate transferees (1.0%).”

In fact, 59% of CEOs plan to send more staff on international assignments with predictions that global corporate travel and international assignments will increase 50% by 2020.

But it isn’t just business crossing borders.

Leading research firm Finaccord forecasts that students will constitute the most rapidly growing category of expatriates worldwide between 2013 and 2017, increasing at a compound annual rate of 3.6%, followed by individual workers (3.2%), retired expatriates (2.9%), corporate transferees (2.8%) and other expatriates (2.3%).

Total number of expatriates worldwide in 2013 amounted to around 50.5 million, with Saudi Arabia hosting the highest number and India exporting the most. This figure has grown at a compound annual rate of 2.4% since 2009. By 2017, Finaccord forecasts that the number will reach around 56.8 million.

“Global mobility has increased significantly over the past decade and expatriates constitute a large and diverse market” comments Tobias Schneider, a Consultant at Finaccord.

“According to this analysis, the majority of expatriates in 2013 were classifiable as individual workers (73.6%) followed by students (8.8%), retired expatriates (3.7%) and corporate transferees (1.0%), with the balance of other expatriates (defined as non-employed spouses and children) making up the residual 12.8%.”

Whatever the motivation to move, the health and safety of an individual’s life must be of critical importance.

Assignments may include areas of the world where social infrastructure, communication, and utilities are primitive, or even nonexistent. This can have a dramatic effect on the overall welfare of an individual, as they struggle to come to terms with foreign surroundings and unknown cultures. It isn’t easy living as an expat and a mix of social, economic and personal circumstances can lead to failure and return. This is one of the big hidden costs of expatriation. The expat quits and wants to return to their country of residence. On return, they may also leave the company, forcing downtime, expense and an empty international appointment to fill.