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China Ping An announces results for first months of 2010

Last Thursday, the Shenzhen-based Ping An Insurance Group of China announced its group insurance premiums for the first two months of 2010 are up from the same time period last year.

Ping An Insurance Group announced its results for its pension, property, life and health insurance businesses. Pension insurance for January and February 2010 was 715.54 million yuan, up about 73% from 412.73 million yuan in 2009. Property premiums grew to 10.11 billion yuan in 2010 from 5.75 billion yuan last year, an increase of about 75.8%.

China Ping An’s health insurance premiums for the first two months of 2010 were 38.01 million yuan, showing a 114.75% increase over 2009’s health insurance premiums of 17.7 billion yuan. Life insurance premiums were 36.94 billion yuan in 2010, a 35% year-on-year increase over 27.32 billion yuan worth of life insurance premiums in 2009.

The improvement in business across sectors is a good sign as China has been ramping up spending in a bid to reform its healthcare system. The Chinese government spent 127.7 billion yuan on healthcare in 2009, an increase of 49.5% over similar spending in the year before.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiaobao pointed out five targeted areas of improvement in a government report; reform of public hospitals, improving disease prevention, promotion and development of traditional Chinese medicine, expanding basic medical care and securing non-government financing for medical institutions. The increased spending and reforms could lead to improved business for insurers in China.

Companies Mentioned:

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.

Established in Shenzhen, Guangdong province in 1998, Ping An Insurance Group has grown into an integrated financial conglomerate, operating core insurance businesses alongside commercial banking, securities brokerage, and asset management among others. As of the end of June 2009, the Group holds 885.419 billion yuan worth in total assets and 101.793 billion yuan in total equity under International Financial Reporting Standards and services about 47 million customers throughout all its businesses.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas Insurance Coverage a Click away using System by Quotit(R) Corporation

Individuals and families looking to apply online for insurance coverage provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSOT) may now do so through the Internet system developed by Quotit(R) Corporation, a division of The Word & Brown Companies.

The seamless integration between the Quotit quoting system and BCBSOT makes for an improved online shopping experience for applicants of insurance coverage. Users will save time by not having to repeat the input of information already stored in the secured database of BCBSOT.

People looking to apply for health insurance online face a complicated and often intimidating process that requires them to visit multiple websites in order to find the coverage best suited to their needs. The insurers accepting online applications for coverage require the users to input information that they may have already provided, thus opening the possibility of typing mistakes which translate into unnecessary delays when the information needs to be verified by the insurer and reconfirmed by the user. The system developed by Quotit targets the elimination of all these hassles.

The Quotit system has been designed in a way that it is easy to use, saves time and allows its users to apply for insurance coverage, all in a single website.

Companies mentioned:

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, a Division of Health Care Service Corporation — the only statewide, customer-owned health insurer in Texas — is the largest provider of health benefits in the state, working with nearly 40,000 physicians and 400 hospitals to serve 4.4 million members in all 254 counties.

Quotit(R) Corporation

Quotit® Corporation, a division of The Word & Brown Companies, is the leading Internet application service provider for the health insurance and employee benefits industry. Quotit has relationships with more than 150 insurance carriers representing more than 11,300 plans in the health, life, dental and vision insurance markets, including Aetna, United Healthcare, Health Net, WellPoint, Assurant Health, Humana, Celtic and independent licenses of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Quotit’s database of carriers and plans extends to 50 states, including the District of Columbia.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Medicare International offering health insurance with ‘passive war cover’

London-based international medical insurer Medicare International has now added ‘passive war cover’ as an option on its health polices to provide coverage for contractors and workers in war torn nations.

Medicare has recognized there is a growing number of people working in and around zones of conflict in the world and has tried to cater to contractors and NGO staff by offering passive war cover options on top of their regular benefits for both individual and group international health insurance policies.

Senior Executive Director of Medicare International, David Pryor, said “In an age where localised conflicts seem to be ever present, whether in the form of a full scale encounter such as that in Afghanistan or on a more localised basis in other world hotspots, the reconstruction and rebuilding of economies is of vital importance. As a contractor or voluntary worker attached to an NGO, preparing yourself for the reality of entering such areas is a must, as the type of medical care which will be needed is quite different from standard healthcare practice. For those companies involved in reconstruction and aid, attracting the necessary highly-skilled specialists can be helped if they know they can at least have full medical cover.”

While most insurance policies have a complete war exclusion, Medicare International’s policies with passive war cover come with the full range of benefit options such as medical and evacuation, as well as rehabilitation coverage of up to £100,000 (US$149,330) which would go towards reconstructive plastic surgery and prosthetics. The plans with passive war cover also provide cover in the event of a terrorist attack. Medicare International also generally offers premium discounts on groups of 3 or more lives insured.

Companies Mentioned:

Medicare International

With 25 years of providing expatriates top quality international health insurance, Medicare International has grown by ensuring quick and easy access to their services 24 hours a day. The company currently covers clients from 86 nationalities in 114 countries around the world.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

British Government tired of picking up bill for medical tourists, mulls changes

The British Government is looking at a number of proposals that would attempt to curtail the number of medical tourists who leave without paying the bill, such as forcing visitors to show proof of medical insurance before entering the country.

The British Home Office has put forward ideas on ways to curtail the abuse of the National Health Service (NHS) system by visitors as the Department of Health is seeking to recover £22 million (US$32.9 million) in debt from foreign nationals that have received NHS services in the last 2 years without paying for them.

Numerous individual NHS Trusts are said to be seeking repayment of over £1 million in outstanding medical costs, including: London’s Imperial College Healthcare which is seeking £1.4 million including two £50,000 unpaid bills, one for a patient from the United Arab Emirates and one from Egypt; Pennine Acute Trust in Manchester has £1.2 million in outstanding bills, of which £34,000 is owed by a Malawian national with HIV; and Barts and the London NHS Trust is seeking repayment of £1.3 million, including a £52,000 surgery bill for a Chinese citizen.

On average, unsettled bills are £1,000, while numbers from the British Department of Health show that 50% of outstanding bills are not settled within one year of receiving treatment and 5% of overseas patients have three or more invoices that haven’t been paid. In total the NHS has to swallow £5 million in medical costs owed by foreigners every year.

At the moment, immigration laws only allow for barring people that already have an outstanding balance with the NHS from coming into Britain specifically for medical treatment. However, the proposals would seek to prevent abuse of the NHS system by making changes to immigration laws including making non-resident foreign nationals show proof that they have health insurance when they go through immigration, and extending the amount of time British expatriates can spend overseas before losing access to NHS services.

Any foreign visitor who already owes money to the NHS would be barred from entry into Britain, while any already in the country would be refused an extension of their visa until the debt has been settled. Also, any migrant seeking British citizenship will have their application delayed until any money they owe the NHS has been repaid. However, the proposals do allow free health care for failed asylum seekers who cannot be returned to their home nations at that time.

The proposals would not cover people who are from countries in the European Economic Area or those nations where Britain has reciprocal healthcare agreements. There are however, some concerns due to the fact that the proposals would mean sharing information on non-paying individuals with the Border Agency, which may be in conflict with patient confidentiality rules.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Bharti AXA General offers discount in honor of International Women’s Day

Indian company, Bharti AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd. announced on the eve of International Women’s Day (March 8^th) that they will be offering a 10% discount for all health insurance products for women all over the country.

“The purpose of our Women’s Day special promotion is to express our support to women across the country and to educate them and their families on the growing significance and benefit of a health insurance.” Said Dr. Amarnath Ananthanarayan, CEO of Bharti AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd.

Bharti AXA’s discount will be available until March 31^st, 2010 and covers health insurance products such as Smart Health Insurance, Critical Illness policies, Hospital Cash Cover policies and the Smart Health High Deductibles Insurance Policy.

Incorporated on the 13^th July 2007, Bharti AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd. is a joint venture company, 74% owned by Bharti Group and 26% owned by AXA.

Companies Mentioned:

AXA Group

AXA Group is a worldwide leader in Financial Protection. AXA’s operations are diverse geographically, with major operations in Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific area.

Bharti AXA General Insurance

Bharti AXA General Insurance is a joint venture between Bharti Group and AXA Group. Founded in July 2007 in Bangalore, India it now has over 40 branches across India offering a variety of insurance products for retail, commercial and rural customers.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Cuba to require visitors to carry medical insurance

Starting May 1^st, a new Cuban government measure will require all foreigners, and Cubans living abroad, to possess travel insurance with medical cover in order to enter the country.

Cuba’s Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers published the new law in the nations Official Gazette, stating that tourists, and Cuban emigrants must have health insurance before being allowed in the country. Foreign citizens who have temporary residence in Cuba must have medical insurance that covers them for the duration of their stay.

The measure states that only foreign insurance companies that are recognized by Cuba will be allowed to issue the approved insurance plans. Also, there will be sales points at every point of entry into Cuba where travelers can buy insurance from local Cuban insurance entities.

In the published measure, diplomats and members of accredited international organizations will be exempt from this rule, although the measure does not reveal the cost of the mandatory insurance.

The Havana Times has an English translation of the published measure, available here.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

CIGNA International offers health assessment on Expatriate Benefits plans

CIGNA International is to begin offering an international health assessment tool to help identify health risks for expatriate employees.

The preventative tool is aimed at identifying areas of health risk for employees that may endanger their work assignment, and comes with any CIGNA International Expatriate Benefits (CIEB) standard health plan to fully insured customers at no extra charge.

The assessment comes as a multilingual online questionnaire, which CIGNA says can be completed in about 20 minutes on CIGNA International Expatriate Benefits secure website www.CIGNAenvoy.com. The questionnaire, developed by London-based CIGNA company vielife, can also be customized to contain questions relating to specific geographical areas and will be available in 20 languages by the end of 2010.

CIGNA says that once the customer answers a series of questions about their lifestyle and health habits, upon completion they will be sent an electronic report detailing potential health risks as well as a section on the customers’ current health status and recommendations for improving their health. CIGNA notes that the questionnaire is both voluntary and confidential.

Sonny Patel, CIEB’s Senior Director of Global Health Solutions said “Completing a health assessment provides individuals with practical, appropriate and achievable recommendations in areas such as stress, nutrition, physical fitness, sleep and work/life balance. It’s an important resource in helping employers ensure their expatriate employees can fulfill their work assignments and enjoy life while away from home,”

Companies Mentioned:

CIGNA International Expatriate Benefits

For more than 125 years, CIGNA has been helping people lead healthier, more secure lives. The company provides health care and related benefits offered through the workplace. Key product lines include health care products and services (medical, pharmacy, behavioral health, clinical information management, dental and vision benefits, and case and disease management); and group disability, life and accident insurance. In addition, CIGNA also provides life, accident, health and expatriate employee benefits insurance coverage in selected international markets, primarily in Asia and Europe.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

AXA Cooperative Insurance Company given Saudi Arabian business license

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has licensed AXA Cooperative insurance Company to carry out its cooperative insurance and reinsurance business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (license number TMN/25/20101).

AXA Cooperative Insurance Company, a Saudi joint stock company, will be AXA Group’s first Cooperative insurance company globally. AXA Cooperative Insurance Company’s initial public offering in Saudi Arabia mid 2009, was 5 times over subscribed; the company currently has a market capitalization of SAR 574,000 (approximately US$153000). AXA Cooperative Insurance Company has already received approval to sell its motor and health insurance in Saudi Arabia and is developing new insurance plans for both individuals and businesses.

Under SAMA’s Cooperative Insurance Regulations, insurance products must be tendered on a “cooperative basis” in a manner consistent both with Islamic Shari’ah and the principles espoused by the articles of association of Tawuniya (previously the National Company for Cooperative Insurance or NCCI). Prior to the enactment and implementation of the Cooperative Insurance Regulations, The National Company for Cooperative Insurance, now Tawuniya was the only insurance company registered to operate in Saudi Arabia.

The cooperative insurance guidelines result in two concrete obligations that AXA Cooperative Insurance Company must conform to, namely that separate bank accounts must be kept for policyholders and shareholders; and that a certain amount of the net surplus from running the insurance operations must be distributed amongst the policyholders.

Companies mentioned:

AXA Group

Headquartered in Paris, France AXA was originally founded in 1816 as Mutuelle de L’assurance contre L’incendie, after acquiring the Drouot Group in 1982 it took on the name AXA. Since that time it has grown into an international insurance business encompassing life & savings, property & casualty, asset management, international insurance and other financial services with over 80 million customers worldwide.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Chinese Healthcare Reforms Still On Track

In early 2008, prior to the global financial meltdown of September, which caused the collapse of such esteemed institutions as Lehman Brothers, the Chinese government announced a series of reforms entitled “Healthy China 2020.” The goal of these comprehensive healthcare reforms was to institute national medical coverage which would be available to all Chinese citizens. When the Great Recession occurred, and the global economy entered a downward spiral, the need for such wide ranging legislation as the Healthy China reforms became painfully apparent as the country had no social networks in place to ensure that the population remained in a good state of health.

Departing from the “Iron Ricebowl” system in the 1990’s in an effort to catch up to the economic standards of the West meant that many Chinese nationals lost the comprehensive job security and lifelong benefits upon which they had come to depend for sustainable living. In tandem with this move towards a market economy, State hospitals in China (which currently account for more than 90% of all available medical services in the country) started to see decreases in government subsidies, and became self funding – increasing the end cost for many poor citizens, and effectively putting the cost of quality medical treatment out of reach for most of the Chinese populace.

According to the World Bank, more than 300 million Chinese citizens are without any form of health insurance, with only partial coverage available to the remaining 1 billion-strong population. As a consequence of this, ordinary Chinese must save approximately one quarter of their income each year in order to guarantee that should they fall ill, they will have the means to pay for medical services. As such, the amount of savings accumulated to cover the costs of medical procedures may exceed US$ 5 trillion according to industry analysts. In light of the Central Government’s desire to modernize the economy and move from exports and investments to domestic consumption, the “medical savings” of the Chinese populace present a valuable resource to insulate the country against another external financial crisis, while providing the means to ramp up domestic spending. However, without some form of comprehensive social security guarding against serious health care issues facing the People’s Republic of China, these funds are unlikely to be freed up.

At the height of the economic downturn China’s GDP growth dropped to its lowest level in a decade, a mere 6.1 percent in Q1 2009. The People’s Congress has long had an end objective of 8% GDP growth year-on-year, which was achieved at the end of 2009 due to a record US$ 586 Billion infrastructure stimulus released at the end of 2008.  The GDP Growth rate ended the year at 8.7%. However, the GDP growth was a result of increased exports as China leapfrogged Germany as the world’s largest exporter of goods; consumer spending, on the other hand, the Central Government’s top priority in the 2006-10 year plan, remained stable at 35% of the GDP.

As a consequence of this, the Politburo has called for the emphasis on consumer spending outlined in the 2006-10 year plan to be sped up. In a February 22 meeting, chaired by President Hu Jintao the Politburo discussed initiatives which will be outlined in a speech by Premier Wen Jiabao on March 5 of this year. The initiatives are expected to be a continuation of the stimulus outlined in April 2009 when the Central Government announced that it would spend approximately US$ 125 billion on healthcare between 2009 and 2012 in an effort to institute universal medical coverage by 2020.

The direct result of these announcements by the Chinese Government has been an increased interest by both foreign and domestic business entities towards the Chinese Healthcare Market. Eli Lilly & Co spent US$ 15 million in 2009 to acquire a 15% stake in CITIC Pharmaceutical Ltd., a leading pharmaceutical and drug distribution company in the People’s Republic of China.  The Shanghai based company; China NovaMed Pharmaceuticals also saw interest from foreign businesses, with Fidelity Asian Ventures obtaining a stake in the company at the end of 2008. Credit Suisse AG estimates that the Chinese pharmaceutical industry will expand from its current value of US$ 44 billion in 2008, to over US$ 110 Billion in 2015; figures which have many corporate interests seeing expanding opportunities across the nation.

However, this growth of the pharmaceutical industry may present some issues. In the USA, one of the key problems with regards to medical affordability is that the cost of prescribed medications has experienced rapid inflation over the last decade.  The Chinese government, realizing the potential threat raised by upward spiraling drug costs, took steps to address the problem in August 2009 by placing a price cap on 307 essential medicines commonly used by rural hospitals around the country. Further to this, in November of the same year, the list was expanded to include an additional 770 medicines deemed “necessary”; a move which could see the average cost of consumer medications fall by up to 12% according to a Goldman Sachs report.

Outside of the Pharmaceutical industry, other healthcare related markets are looking to spur their Chinese growth as it becomes more evident that the current Rural-Urban healthcare divide will be lessened in the near future enabling more Chinese nationals to obtain quality medical services. A key part of this is with regards to the technology used by medical practitioners throughout the country, which is quite often severely out of touch with modern standards. As such, the Medical Device industry has also seen a renewed interest in providing products and services to the domestic market. GE Healthcare, a subsidiary of Connecticut based General Electric, saw it’s CEO visit the country at least twice in 2009, pointing to a higher interest in the Chinese market on the part of the corporate giant. Royal Philips Electronics also sees more opportunities for medical device makers in the future, as China surpasses North America as the biggest consumer of Medical Scanning Technology.

With a massive injection of stimulus funds over the next 3 years, the nation is making its first steps to radically revitalizing a healthcare system which has, historically been plagued by a myriad of problems. From the failure of the Barefoot Doctor Scheme in the early 1980’s, to the current rural AIDS epidemic, the reforms proposed by the Central Government hold a glimmer of hope for a much beleaguered healthcare system; and present a host of opportunities to the international business community.

Globalsurance International Health Insurance - Expat Medical insurance products for you and your family no matter where in the world you live.

Max Bupa gets Certificate of Registration from IRDA

Max Bupa Health Insurance, the general insurance joint venture between Max India and Bupa has been given its Certificate of Registration or R3 form, by India’s Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). This brings the total number of general insurers registered in India to 23.

The company plans to open in six main cities in India, namely Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune and Bangalore in 2010, with further plans to be operating in 20 cities within three years time. While Max Bupa does not currently have precise targets regarding market share, number of new policies or gross written premiums, they plan to use market feedback and in depth research to help them expand to meet their geographical goals.

Damien Marmion, the chief executive of Max Bupa Health Insurance, said that since it is fairly easy for competitors to offer health insurance products with similar features, the company plans on individuate itself through its customer service. Max Bupa intends to forgo using third party administers in order to keep direct control of the customer experience and ensure the best possible service.

There is still some uncertainty as to what exactly Max Bupa’s health insurance products will initially look like. Chief executive Marmion said in one interview on the 11^th of February, 2010 that “Our products will be all across the spectrum, with premiums ranging from Rs 3,000 to more than Rs 50,000. We also have some rural insurance obligations[,]” while in a later interview on the 18^th of February he said that “We will initially offer one product with a number of variants”. Although Mr. Marmion said that their research has shown the cost of hospitalization to be one of the top concerns among consumers, so their early focus would be on providing hospitalization plans.

Companies Mentioned:

Max India:

Incorporated in 1988, Max India Limited is a holding company with business interests working in the healthcare and services industries. Their wide range of health related interests include a joint venture life insurance company, Max New York Life, a healthcare services company, Max Healthcare, and a clinical services company, Max Neeman Medical International. The Max India Group reported US$ 860 million in revenues for 2007-2008 and will soon add Max Bupa to their list of businesses.

Bupa:

BUPA is an international health insurance company that provides health insurance for individuals and companies all over the world. This company has offices on three continents and over 7 million customers’ world wide. As a provident association BUPA has no shareholders, because of this it uses its profits to invest in healthcare and medical facilities around the world.