ITIJ Awards 2008 Budapest
Air Ambulance provider of the year
AirMed International LLC
AirMed International is the leading air ambulance service in the United States, offering unparalleled medical care and bedside-to-bedside transportation on a worldwide basis. Chosen as exclusive air medical transport for two of the most acclaimed hospitals in the world--the famed Mayo Clinic and renowned Cleveland Clinic--as well as a preferred carrier for the U.S. Department of Defense, AirMed is CAMTS accredited with FAA global authority. In 2008, AirMed expanded its fleet of medically dedicated jet aircraft from 7 to 12. AirMed's five strategic bases of operations in Alabama, Hawaii, Minnesota, Ohio, and internationally in Hong Kong provide advantageous geographic coverage and rapid dispatch. AirMed has flown over 12,000 missions to more than 150 countries and routinely provides service to private individuals, the insurance industry, top hospitals and global assistance companies. The company was the recipient of ITIJ's Air Ambulance Provider of the Year in 2007.
Sponsor - Eurami
Assistance/Claims Handler of the year
SOS International a/s
Is the leading claims and assistance organisation in the Nordics. Since 1961 SOS International have rendered 24/7 service and assistance in more than 30 languages on behalf of the majority of the Nordic insurance companies. SOS achieve substantial savings for their customers through cost and case management and offers electronic handling of claims and invoices and fraud investigation. Customers are able to access an advanced system for real-time case monitoring and information sharing. SOS International are owned by the 22 leading Nordic insurance companies. With a superior global supplier network as well as representation offices in more than 26 locations world-wide, SOS provide medical and motor assistance for our customers' customers. Furthermore, SOS provide innovative solutions in the fields of Health Care, Tracking and Crisis Management. SOS International has subsidiaries in Sweden and Finland and is currently setting up operation in Norway.
Sponsor - Air Ambulance Worldwide
Cost Containment company and provider of the year (to include PPOs and general services)
Euro-Center
Since 1971, Euro-Center has acted as the extended arm of travel insurers, healthcare insurers and alarm centres to provide local assistance services to tourists, business travelers and expatriates through its worldwide network of offices. The Euro-Center concept is as simple as it is efficient: By dealing with medical claims locally, i.e. where the accident happened or where the expatriate is based, Euro-Center is in a unique position to 'plug in' its clients into local healthcare systems or provide treatment through its large network of providers. This means that Euro-Center is able to radically reduce medical claim costs and achieve exceptional savings to its customers. In addition, the claims are efficiently audited and processed locally at low cost which further decreases the claim cost. At the same time Euro-Center provides an unrivaled customer service to its clients. It is no wonder local assistance worldwide is a winning concept.
Sponsor - AXA Assistance
Insurer/Underwriter of the year
Europ Assistance
Europ Assistance UK & Ireland is part of the Europ Assistance Group, which is represented worldwide in over 208 countries and employs over 5,000 staff. Europ Assistance developed the concept of assistance in France back in the 1960s and in the UK we have been assisting travellers for over 30 years. Over 300 million customers worldwide are covered by Europ Assistance, either directly or through our partners and last year we handled over 63 million calls. As one of the leading travel insurers in the UK & Ireland, Europ Assistance is committed to providing the highest quality service at all times. Whilst an assistance-led philosophy is at the heart of the operation, the benefit of being able to offer the capacity of an insurance company provides clients with a range of service options to the benefit of both clients and customers.
Sponsor - Air Ambulance Connection
Intermediary of the year (to include all retailers of travel insurance)
Columbus Direct
Columbus Direct has been a leading light for travel insurance since 1988. We set out as the first independent provider to sell directly to the public. Now, we sell high quality cover in 50 countries world-wide - we are a truly global insurance intermediary. At home, we've been expanding our marketing mix in 2008, including a new joint venture with The Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday. We've also been developing new specialist products in the over 65 and impaired markets. Overall, Columbus concentrates on delivering a first class experience to customers, from first contact, to claims and documentation; with premium levels to match. For our affiliate and partner services too, we offer a variety of excellent white-label or dual-branding solutions, so we can see our partners benefitting from selling a strong product. We continue to grow our travel insurance business, by finding better ways to serve customers.
Sponsor - Mondial Assistance UK
ITIJ marketing campaign of the year (judged independently)
United Health International
award sponsored by M Consulting
