ESSENTIAL READING FOR TRAVEL INSURANCE INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS

IPMI news

On-the-spot fines increasing in Holland for those without adequate IPMI

amsterdamstreetThere has been a marked increase in on-the-spot fines in Holland for individuals that don’t have the right international private medical insurance in place, Jelf Employee Benefits warns.

MediCare International acquired by APRIL Medibroker

handshakecontractSpecialist private medical insurance intermediary APRIL Medibroker is set to acquire UK-based health insurer MediCare International.

Cigna teams with TTK

doctorGlobal health service company Cigna and TTK Group, the Indian conglomerate, recently announced that they have signed a joint-venture agreement to sell a range of health, wellness and insurance products across India, making Cigna the first US insurer to apply for entry into India as part of a stand-alone joint venture health insurance company.

Multi-lingual podcasts offered

Woman with ipodCIGNA International Expatriate Benefits (CIEB) is now providing health, wellness and benefits podcasts in English, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Spanish and Swiss-German for individuals on international assignments and business travellers, which are available from the company’s website. “We’ve seen the needs of multinational businesses and their globally mobile employees continually change and grow during CIGNA’s 30 years … in the expatriate benefits business,” said Ken Vaughan, senior vice president of global sales, client management and marketing at CIEB. He continued: “While some may say that the language of our business is English, we argue that the language of healthcare is universal. As with all of our services, our multilingual podcasts are designed to help address our customers’ needs, regardless of their home country or where they do business.”
In related news, CIEB has announced that it is seeking a head of global marketing to spearhead the initiative undertaken by the company to offer individual private medical insurance to customers around the world.
CIGNA Corporation, meanwhile, has reported its results for the first quarter of 2010 – adjusted income from operations for the first quarter was US$281 million, compared to $188 million for the same period last year. David Cordani, chief executive officer of the corporation, commented on the results: “Our first quarter 2010 results reflect strong earnings contribution from our ongoing operations, and demonstrate the overall strength of our diversified global health service businesses. These results represent meaningful progress towards achieving our 2010 goals as we effectively execute on our growth strategy.”

Swiss Life targets expats

International healthcare insurer Swiss Life has launched a new global group employee benefits product, which covers the health and protection sectors for expatriates.

ALC World now live

Following the announcement in April’s ITIJ that ALC Health had signed an agreement with HTH Worldwide to launch ALC World, the system has now gone live and is accessible to ALC members via the new website

Merger saves money

Treatment Abroad, an online health information guide for UK-based medical tourism, has partnered with foreign exchange specialists HiFX to enable medical tourists to get the best possible exchanges rates and save money when paying for treatment overseas

Website launch for expats

Singapore-based Internet services company Interexpat Pte Ltd has launched a one-stop website for people moving, or already living, abroad

Groupama updates EasyAdmin

Groupama Healthcare has unveiled a new look and feel to its online administration system, EasyAdmin

Medical tourism to the US

Jose Quesada of University of Miami Health System sees inbound medical tourism as one way for American hospitals to make money again