Health care coverage goes global with IMG
By Elisabeth Boone, CPCU
International Medical Group (IMG) executives include (left to right) Joseph L. Brougher, president; Jeffrey T. Nasser, vice president of marketing; and R. Brian Barwick, executive vice president.
A two-week honeymoon in St. Bart's ... a two-year assignment in Karachi ... a family vacation in New Zealand ... a church mission to Kenya ... an archaeological expedition in the Middle East ...
What do all these seemingly disparate events have in common? They all involve foreign travel. And the fact about foreign travel, whether it's a weekend in Toronto or a year in Tokyo, is that health insurance purchased in the United States may not be valid beyond U.S. borders. Even if a plan is valid, it may not provide the proper benefits or adequate support for international travelers. That's not necessarily common knowledge, and in those instances where people are aware of it, they may not know what to do about it.
Independent agents are ideally positioned to alert their clients to this reality--and to offer them the protection they need, tailored to their specific circumstances. A leading provider of health insurance coverage that "goes global" is Indianapolis-based International Medical Group (IMG), which serves as an intermediary between independent insurance professionals and A+ rated Sirius International Insurance Corporation. Through Sirius, IMG offers international major medical, life, dental, and disability programs to a diverse array of individuals and groups: vacationers, business executives and consultants, missionary groups, expatriates, professional entertainers and athletes, government entities, schools and universities, professional marine captains and crew, and local and third-country nationals.
"Coverage without boundaries"
IMG's slogan, "Coverage Without Boundaries,"SM is an accurate characterization of its go-anywhere approach to providing international medical insurance. "We really don't have a restriction on where we will write, and we currently provide coverage in more than 150 countries," says Brian Barwick, executive vice president. "The only limitation placed on us is by the State Department, which prohibits the exchange of funds with countries like Cuba and Libya. So, for example, we can't pay a hospital in Cuba for medical care."
IMG's business is split almost evenly between individual and group, and within each of those segments there's also an even split between long-term and short-term policies. "We specialize in a lot of different areas on the group side; we've been able to customize several programs to fit a particular niche," Barwick says. "We regard the individual products as our core products, and that's typically what the retail agent is looking for. The agent may need coverage for a client whose son will be traveling abroad, or an executive who's moving overseas. Individual products tend to drive our business."
The IMG portfolio consists of these product lines:
Patriot Travel Medical InsuranceSM
* Patriot InternationalSM: Travel medical insurance for U.S. citizens traveling outside the United States for a period of 15 days up to 12 months
* Patriot AmericaSM: Travel medical insurance for non-U.S. citizens traveling outside their country of citizenship for a period of 15 days up to 12 months
* ExPatriot Plus®: Travel medical insurance for U.S. and non-U.S. citizens traveling outside their country of citizenship for a period of six months up to two years
* Patriot ExecutiveSM: Travel medical insurance for Canadian or U.S. citizens who travel frequently throughout the year outside of Canada and the United States on trips lasting 30 days or less
Patriot Group Travel Medical InsuranceSM
* Patriot InternationalSM: Travel medical insurance for groups of five or more U.S. citizens traveling outside the United States for a period of
15 days up to 12 months
* Patriot AmericaSM: Travel medical insurance for groups of five or more non-U.S. citizens traveling outside their country of citizenship for a period of 15 days up to 12 months
Other IMG products are:
* Global Medical InsuranceSM: Long-term individual/family coverage for U.S. citizens living or traveling outside the United States for at least six months of the year and non-U.S. citizens worldwide; insureds also may purchase Global Term Life InsuranceSM and Global Daily IndemnitySM
* GEOSM+ Plus International®: Long-term coverage for multinational employers with three or more employees outside the United States
* EuroGlobalSM Medical Insurance: Long-term individual/family coverage for citizens worldwide except persons residing in the United States or those holding a U.S. passport; coverage in the United States and Canada is limited to 30 days per policy period
Brian Barwick (left) and Jeff Nasser agree that IMG's breadth of products enables the company to be a one-stop shop for international medical insurance.
IMG service centers in North America and Europe are staffed with claims administrators, multilingual customer service representatives, on-site medical advisers, and marketing managers who educate and support independent insurance consultants. "IMG writes business only through independent agents and brokers," says Jeff Nasser, vice president of marketing. "We do business with over 100,000 agents and brokers, including life and health agents as well as property and casualty producers."
Partnering with agents
To sell IMG's products, the agent is required to sign a contract. "When an agent contracts with us, we begin the training process," Nasser says. "Training can be accomplished in a couple of ways. Whenever possible, we visit our agents out in the marketplace and explain who we are and what we do. We also do a lot of training via telephone." IMG has different levels of contracts, depending on whether the agent works directly with IMG or works with a general agent or managing general agent. "Often our general agents or managing general agents will train their subproducers in how to do business with us," Nasser says. "In our training we explain that once a policy is issued, it's the agent's job to deliver it to the client, answer any questions the client may have, and contact the client at renewal time to make sure the client understands any changes in coverage."
"Being a one-stop shop that offers short-term and long-term products to individuals and groups is definitely working in our favor... Knowing their broker can come to us and have all those needs met is a real advantage to [insureds]."
-- Jeff Nasser
International medical insurance isn't every retail agent's meat and potatoes. "This business can be scary to agents who don't sell it," Barwick comments. "Because of the unique nature of our products, we design them so that they are simple to sell. They're U.S.-designed products; we're basically supporting U.S.-style health care. When we were formulating our company philosophy, we wanted to make our business easy for agents to comprehend and to give them a one-stop shop. Often we'll get a call from an agent who says, 'I don't know what kind of policy I need for my client.' We design our products to fit virtually any need a client might have."
Underwriting and commissions
The level of underwriting IMG performs depends on the product. "On our short-term products there is no underwriting; it's a direct issue program," Nasser says. "On our long-term individual program we do general underwriting, and it can run the gamut from reviewing the application and issuing the policy to asking for medical records and requesting clarification of certain details. There's no underwriting on our short-term group products, and on our long-term products it depends on what the group is and how large it is. The larger the group, the more generous the underwriting."
What about commissions? "Our commission percentages are based on the volume of business an agent does with us," Nasser says. "If it's an individual agent who's writing a few apps per year, the commission is lower than if he or she were writing a lot of premium with us. The agent's status with us and the products he or she is writing are what help us determine the commission."
Adds Barwick: "Over the last few years, we've found that for many of our agents, offering international medical insurance has gone from being simply a service for their clients to becoming a major focus of their operation. You really don't have to sell the need very hard. You say, 'Imagine what's going to happen if you're in a car wreck in Venezuela.' Very quickly the client understands he's going to need somebody around who can help him. Given the expanding need for our products and our very competitive commission structure, a number of agents have decided to actively pursue this market as a means of growing their business."
The IMG advantage
In a market with its fair share of competition, how does IMG distinguish itself from other writers of international medical insurance?
"When we started IMG, our goal was to be a one-stop shop for agents," Barwick responds. "A lot of our competitors specialize in one particular area, whereas we have considerable breadth in our products. We have a very stable relationship with our carrier. We haven't had to pull out of the market; we try to do business in a way that provides the best pricing, the best coverage, and the best commission, and that ultimately also protects our underwriting company. I think that relationship has really helped us in terms of competitors that try to undercut us in pricing and don't offer the products or the stability that agents want over the long term.
"Another thing that's happened," Barwick continues, "is that a number of our competitors have become competitors for the agent by selling direct. IMG has maintained a commitment to work with agents and not sell directly to the public."
Adds Nasser: "Being a one-stop shop that offers short-term and long-term products to individuals and groups is definitely working in our favor. As the global economy grows, more companies have the need for all of our products. A company may have employees traveling abroad; they also may have employees stationed abroad, and they may have a consultant they don't want to put on the group plan. Knowing their broker can come to us and have all those needs met is a real advantage to that company."
Impact of terrorism
How was IMG's business affected by the terrorist attacks of September 11, and what has been the impact of the increased threat of terrorism since that time?
"Immediately after 9/11, there was no travel," Barwick says, "so that obviously affected the travel business. Even then, though, we were surprised at the stability of our business. Since then, while there's been a decrease in the number of travelers, there's an increased awareness of the need for the product. Our coverage and pricing have not changed. Our policies do not cover acts of terrorism. We can arrange coverage for terrorism on an as-needed basis; understandably, that coverage is very difficult to obtain and very expensive. We can do it--but usually when the prospect finds out what it's going to cost, he decides not to buy it."
What's ahead?
Clearly IMG's business is affected by both the increased risks involved in overseas travel and the expanding global economy. What other trends are shaping the market for IMG's products?
"The Internet is becoming a very big market for us," Nasser replies. "Our short-term individual products are available online to our brokers to sell through their Web sites. Some of our competitors have chosen to go in a different direction with their Internet business and are selling direct, competing with agents. We use the Internet to give our agents more power and enhanced ability to increase their business and serve their clients."
What's more, Nasser continues, "A lot of companies are cutting back on commissions or literally pulling out of the market, requiring agents to find other markets to meet their clients' needs for international medical insurance. Being a broker-based company, IMG is able to fill those gaps in the marketplace."
The bottom line? "We're putting programs in place that strengthen the IMG-agent relationship," Barwick says. "We want to give them an incentive to work with a company that is loyal to the agency system and that rewards them for their loyalty to us." *
For more information:
International Medical Group
Phone: (800) 628-4664
Web site: www.imglobal.com