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An alleged Islamic terror plot to blow up a US airbase and Frankfurt airport has been foiled by German police. Mandy Aitchison has the details

The alleged attack, which bore startling similarities to recent British terror plots, was interrupted by German authorities as the suspects began to assemble explosive devices. Three men were taken into custody, two of them said to be German nationals who had converted to Islam, after security services swooped on a rented house in Sauerland, 60 miles east of Düsseldorf. The trio of men had amassed hundreds of kilograms of hydrogen peroxide, and had been scouting out US bases, discos, pubs and Frankfurt’s international airport as potential targets.According to officials in the country, the attack was imminent, and major loss of life has been averted. Jorg Ziercke, the head of the country’s Federal Crime Office, told a news conference that the volume of explosive ‘would have been enough to cause damage on a greater scale than in London and Madrid’. He added that the suspects’ motivation had been a ‘deep hatred’ of American citizens, and they were therefore aiming to cause mass casualties. The men

in question were named only as Daniel S, Fritz G and Aden Y, and all were said to have attended training camps in Pakistan.

News of the capture of the German extremists came just one day after authorities in Denmark arrested eight young Muslims, who

were also suspected of preparing a bomb attack. Officials said no immediate link had been established between

the two groups, but some speculated that the groups may both have hoped to stage a reminder attack to

coincide with the sixth anniversary of 9/11.The cell in Germany aroused suspicion when

members were seen looking around a US military facility in Hanau, near Frankfurt. Since then, a 300-strong force has tracked the suspects day and night in what was to become the country’s biggest counter-terrorism operation since September 11, 2001. Fears of possible terror attacks have been running high in Germany, not least because it has thousands of troops in Afghanistan and Lebanon. Wolfgang Schaeuble, the interior minister, spoke recently of a threat level similar to that experienced by the US before

the attacks on the Twin Towers. The alleged attacks serve to highlight the dangers posed

to the public by extreme terrorists, and their complete lack of regard for innocent civilian life.

UK market analysedResearch and Markets, an Irish market research company, has announced the addition of their UK Travel Insurance 2007 report to its offerings, which provides information on the current state of play in the marketplace. James Wallis dissects the findings

The report was compiled using consumer data giving insight into travel insurance purchasing habits, and analysis of the major issues facing travel insurers operating in the UK, supported by interviews with industry figures. Data from secondary sources with gross written premium (GWP) forecasts until 2011 have also been used, based on Datamonitor’s proprietary model. It is a thorough and lengthy

report, so we have completed a round-up of the information contained therein.According to the research, travel insurance premium income in the UK grew by 1.4 per cent in 2006; this increase in GWP was mainly driven by an increase in the number of trips being taken abroad. Conditions in the marketplace remained competitive, mainly as a result of the high number of operators in the UK, putting continued pressure on premium rates. It stated that the number of trips to North America fell in 2006,

and this trend could

be beneficial for insurers in the UK,

as medical costs across the Atlantic, notoriously high, continue to

increase. Through less exposure to these American risks, as a result of changing travel patterns, insurers could well see a positive impact on claims inflation.The top 10 travel insurance advertisers all experienced significant turnover in 2006, but as only the largest insurance providers have the marketing budget to consistently rank in the top ten, this is not that surprising. Smaller providers in the UK tended to concentrate their

efforts on one year only, so that they are able to ease back their marketing spend for the next. Travel insurers in general spent less on advertising in 2006 than they did in 2005, relying instead on direct mailing.In total, the report found, the UK travel insurance market was worth £709 million in GWP in 2006, with the majority of the money brought in by people buying single trip policies. The level of claims is being driven for the most part by high medical costs, although fraud has long been a concern, and continues to worry many. The report also stated that insurers, by and large, have welcomed the decision to regulate the sales of travel insurance by travel agents, although the impact of this

ITIJITIJITIJITIJISSUE 81 • OCTOBER 2007International Travel Insurance Journal

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Frankfurt Airport targeted

ITIJ ITIJInternational Travel Insurance Journal

WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE?

REGULARS

News continued �

Editorial comment 8

Company brief �

Insurance matters 10

Health matters 1�

Air ambulance news 1�

Travel matters 20

Grapevine 31

World markets: India 32

Service directory 3�

Diary dates �2

On the move �2

FEATURES

News analysis: Risky Business 20A new travel security report describes expectations of today’s business travellers. Hannah Kitt discusses the findings

Feature: The government vs. Private 2�US government medical care versus private – where is the balance? Kieran Bridge describes the situation

Feature: Insuring the silver surfers 28The elderly Part One – We can insure them. Sam O’Connor says yes

World markets: India 32India is on the up. Roger St Pierre analyses the opportunities

Robin gauldie is a freelance journalist specialising in travel, aviation and related sec-tors. A former editor of the pan-European travel industry newspaper TTG Europa, he has also edited Destination ASEAN (the offi cial publica-tion of the Association of South East Asian Na-tions), ABTA Magazine (the offi cial publication of the Association of British Travel Agents), and Travel Agent International. He contributes to The Times, The Sunday Telegraph, The Scotsman, The Sunday Mirror, and to numerous specialist magazines. He is also the author of more than 20 travel guidebooks to destinations from Dublin to Sri Lanka.

Roger St Pierre is an avid traveller who has visited 119 countries and rising. He writes and broadcasts extensively on the tourism indus-try, motoring, cycling and music. He is also fascinated by how the global economy works. At 15, he already had fi ve regular newspaper columns covering sport but also happens to be a qualifi ed associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute and writes regularly on business and fi nancial matters for a number if prestigious publications.

Front page image courtesy of Frankfurt Airport

ITIJCONTRIBUTORS

2

International Travel Insurance Journal

Published on behalf of Voyageur Publishing & Events Ltd, Voyageur Buildings, 43 Colston Street, Bristol BS1 5AX, UK

The information contained in this publication has been published in good faith and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. Neither the publisher nor Voyageur Ltd can accept any responsibility for any error or misinterpretation. All liability for loss, disappointment, negligence or other damage caused by reliance on the information contained in this publication, or in the event of bankruptcy or liquidation or cessation of the trade of any company, individual or fi rm mentioned is hereby excluded.

Printed by Pensord Press, South Wales, United Kingdom

Copyright © Voyageur Publishing 2007. Materials in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without permission INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL INSURANCE JOURNAL ISSN 1743-1522

Editor-in-chief: Ian Cameron

Editor: Sarah Lee

Assistant editor: Mandy Aitchison

Copy editor: James Wallis

Designers: Eli Butler Steve Annette

US correspondent: Milan Korcok

Far East correspondent: Saby Ganguly

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� NEWS


Holiday safety campaign launchedEden’s trust, a campaign for safer holidays, has been launched by the mother of Eden Galvani Skeete, who died last year following an accident at a fire-eating show at a resort in Turkey.Elli Galvani, from Essex, UK, set up the trust to put pressure on travel agents and tour operators offering trips within Europe to only use hotels and resorts that comply with European Union health and safety standards.

Ms Glavini said: “This year 45 million holidays will be taken by UK residents. Sadly some of these people will not come home or will suffer life-changing injuries, that is my reason for setting up eden’s trust.”

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THERE IS LIGHT ON THE HORIZON

MJSlightonhoriz76.indd 1 24/4/07 16:01:04

Air safety back on the radarEighty-eight people, including a number of tourists, died when a Thai budget airline carrying 130 passengers and crew crashed in torrential rain as it tried to land at Phuket airport. Passengers described how they clambered over burning bodies to crawl out of the blazing cabin after the McDonnell Douglas MD-82, operated by local airline One-Two-Go, came down in heavy rain and crosswinds, skidded on the runway, ran through a low retaining wall and burst into flames.Chaisak Angusuwan, director general of the country’s air transport authority, said the bad weather had definitely played a part in the accident as the pilot made his approach. The black boxes have been recovered from the plane and sent to the US for analysis.The deputy governor of Phuket Island, Worapot Ratthaseema, said the dead included Irish nationals, Israelis, Australians and Britons; in all, 78 foreigners were said to have been on the scheduled 80-minute trip from Bangkok. The Thai health ministry issued a partial list of 31 foreign survivors, which included five Britons. A spokesperson at Bangkok Phuket hospital said that it was treating five British men and

two women, none of whom are said to be in a life threatening condition.The crash is the worst the country has endured since 1998, when 101 people were killed after a Thai Airways jet crashed trying to land in heavy rain at Surat Thani, 330 miles south of Bangkok. In that incident, forty-five people survived. Phuket is Thailand’s biggest island, and well known for its hedonistic attractions, receiving over four million tourist visits every year. The accident has raised new questions about the safety of budget airlines in south east Asia, which have grown rapidly in recent years and often struggle to find qualified pilots or new enough planes. According to Thai and US aviation data, the plane that crashed in Phuket was manufactured and put into use in 1983.

Travellers not soldMore Chinese people than ever before can afford to take trips abroad – in 2006, 1.39 billion Chinese travelled either at home or abroad at least once, with 34.5 million going abroad, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. But, only 10 per cent of that figure take out travel insurance for their trips – less than one per cent of domestic travellers.AIG entered the market in 2004, and is having trouble persuading the Chinese population that they need comprehensive protection when they travel – Daniel Cheung, vice-president of the Travel Insurance Division at Greater China AIU Insurance Company, said that surprisingly few Chinese had the foresight to take out insurance, preferring instead to trust to their luck. Many apparently think that if they don’t have any cause to make a claim, they will lose money. The company has also found that a lot of local insurers

are simply not interested in the travel sector. According to Lu Jianming, manager of Guangdong branch of China Life Insurance Group, many insurers are staying out of the travel sector because it is too disorganised, although he added that in order to change the situation, insurers should start to build networks with travel agents. Travel agents initially took a commission of eight per cent of travel insurance sold, but many have now bumped this up to over 20 per cent, leading to many other local insurers reneging on deals due to a lack of profit margin.

AIG streamline UK operationsAmerica International Group (AIG) is proposing to streamline its UK operations by transferring all its UK general business from New Hampshire Insurance Company to another AIG insurer, Landmark Insurance Company Limited. New Hampshire is a major provider of travel insurance in the UK, distributing its products mainly through the Internet and specialist travel insurance website operators that usually carry the company’s name.An application to the High Court has been made for approval, in accordance with the provisions of Part VII of The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. If successful, the transfer of policies should take effect on 1 December this year. The Court,

when considering the application, will take into account reports prepared by experts, which say that none of the policyholders of either company will be adversely affected by the transfer.Elsewhere, independent British company Direct Travel Insurance Services has been taken over by a wholly owned subsidiary of AIG Europe for an undisclosed sum. The company will remain in Shoreham-by-Sea and will

continue to trade under the Direct Travel Insurance brand. Current managing director Mark Shaw will remain with the new company in the role of MD. AIG Europe managing director Dan Glaser said: “Direct Travel Insurance Services is a highly successful business known for excellent customer service and competitively priced, comprehensive cover. This acquisition supports AIG Europe’s existing position in the UK travel insurance market and provides a further outlet for our underwriting, claims management and distribution skills.” Shaw commented that Direct Travel Insurance Services would benefit from AIG’s insurance experience ‘as we continue to enhance the quality of products and level of service we offer our customers’.

Felix lands in HondurasHurricane Felix battered Central America in the first days of September, killing at least 98 people and raising fears of a catastrophe in the region as there were so few resources available to prepare for the hurricane’s arrival or landing. Felix smashed into Nicaragua’s desperately poor Mosquito Coast near the town of Puerto Cabezas before dawn on 4 September, with sustained winds reaching 160 miles per hour. The death toll in the country has risen to more than 98, with scores more said to be missing, presumed drowned in the flash flooding that swept island-dwellers into the ocean. After making landfall, Felix weakened to a category one storm, with winds of around 75 miles per hour. Forecasters voiced concern that up to 64 centimetres of rain would flood towns and villages, and cause mudslides in the mountain capitals of Tegucigalpa and Guatemala City, where shantytowns already cling precariously to steep hillsides. The Mosquito Coast is a low-lying, swampy area dotted with small communities connected by waterways. In Honduras, two deaths were attributed to the hurricane, and nearly 30,000 people were evacuated.The arrival of another hurricane, so soon after Dean ploughed its way across the Mexican peninsula, marks the first time since records began that two category five storms have landed in the Americas in the same season. It is the 31st category five storm to hit the Atlantic coast since 1886, when records began. With the addition of Hurricane Henriette heading straight for the luxury resorts along Mexico’s Baja California peninsula on the other side of the continent, this is also the first time hurricanes have hit from both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at the same time.Henriette left nine people dead in Mexico, with a further 5,000 being housed in shelters. The stormy conditions forced the closure of nearby airports, while flooding and landslides closed roads into and out of popular tourist resort of Los Cabos.Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pacific, Typhoon Fitow strengthened as it moved towards Japan, hitting the Tokyo region with winds of over 100 kilometres per hour and leaving at least one dead and 82 injured.

� NEWS


Last-minute bookings make problemsUK travel insurance provider Sainsbury’s Bank has warned that the problem of British consumers travelling without insurance is increasing, thanks to the huge number of people that are booking last-minute deals to escape the rotten English weather over the summer. New research from Sainsbury’s says that for the summer holiday period this year, up to 8.8 million people (18 per cent of the adult population) will have booked a last-minute deal around two weeks or less before they are planning to travel, in order to save money. However, the research found that nearly one in five of respondents to a poll would not have purchased travel insurance to protect them while they are away. According to GfK NOP’s Financial Research Survey, around 11 per cent of British holidaymakers left the country without insurance in the last 12 months. The company estimates that as many as three million people travel abroad every year without insurance, but it believes this figure could rise if more people continue to opt for sudden, low-cost, last-minute holidays.Steve Johnson, head of travel insurance for Sainsbury’s, said: “Greater use of the Internet and growing competition in the travel industry means that there are many holiday bargains to be had. This is great for holidaymakers, but without appropriate insurance in place a holiday can soon turn into a nightmare.” On a location basis, London had the highest percentage of people (24 per cent) who are going to book a last-minute deal for the summer holiday, while Scotland and Yorkshire are the lowest with a mere 11 per cent.

Retirees need specialist coverAccording to recent advice from American Express, property buyers planning on retiring from the UK to somewhere hot and sunny should take out specialist travel insurance. The company said that instead of choosing standard travel insurance, consumers spending several months at a time overseas should try and find a package that is tailored to their specific needs. Those planning an extended stay should also consider annual policies, said the insurer. By choosing an extended policy, it explained, the consumer can be offered healthcare protection for 18 months, while multi-trip cover can provide extra peace of mind for those making several journeys overseas while searching for a property. Financial services and insurance provider Norwich Union recently claimed than an expatriate health plan can prove less expensive than country-specific products.

Everyone likes to win an award… maybe!The Plain English Campaign are preparing for their annual award ceremony in London, and the insurance industry could be up for gongs or Golden Bulls!In the past, the insurance industry has provided some gems for the Campaign to bring to light; for example this timeless classic from London and Manchester Assurance: “If payment of the premium is discontinued then this policy shall be forfeited unless the premium has been paid for at least two years in which case the policy shall automatically be converted into a free policy in respect of which the sum assured shall be reduced in the case of an endowment assurance to an amount bearing the same proportion to the original sum assured as the

number of years for which the premium has been paid bears to the term of years for which the premium is payable and in the case of a whole life assurance to an amount calculated by the actuary to the company to be appropriate.”But it is at the award ceremony that this – and other examples of spectacular gobbledygook – are given centre stage at the Brewery near Finsbury Park in London, where winners of the Golden Bulls rub embarrassed shoulders with the proud winners of Plain English awards for clear documents.Or not, as the case often is. For while recipients are happy to be presented with their Plain English awards – last year Harriot Harman MP accepted an award on behalf of her government department, and Andrew Neil was one of a number of TV

Consumers urged to be waryIt has been claimed by Sainsbury’s Bank Travel Insurance that consumers in the UK need to stand up for themselves more against the dubious tactics employed by some insurance firms. According to Sainsbury’s, 3.56 million holidaymakers have fallen victim to tricks by companies looking to sell cover over the past 12 months. The organisation found that 17 per cent of consumers had not been asked whether or not they suffered from a pre-existing medical condition before taking out insurance, while 13 per cent stated that their supplier did not explain what was covered as part of the deal. Steve Johnson, head of travel insurance for the

company, said that looking around for the best deal is the only way a consumer receives the best value.

continued on p.42

�NEWS


A BOTTLE OF ChAMPAgNE TO BE WON We have stepped up our campaign to find the weirdest, wackiest travel insurance claim, paid or not, and are now offering one bottle of champagne every month for the best claim story we receive!We have had a good response so far, but we know there are more funny claims out there and we want to hear them from you. So, send a quick email to [email protected] with details of any crazy claims you receive – it only takes a few minutes, and you could be handsomely rewarded!

This month our winner was Kenny Blanchard from GlobalExcel, who wrote to us when he remembered a claim from a few years ago that was, shall we say, uplifting.

For the full story, please turn to page �2.

Quirky Claims

Britons shun insurance

A new survey undertaken on behalf of price comparison site Moneysupermarket has found that one in five British people travel without appropriate insurance. Half of those who admitted to doing so said that they failed to secure cover because they simply forgot. Horrifyingly, 10 per cent of respondents to the survey said they intentionally left the UK without buying any sort of travel insurance at all.The website creators said that with a growing number of people booking holidays on the Internet, would-be travellers are spending more time day dreaming about their trip rather than planning for the worst, just in case.

The survey, which questioned just over 1,000 people, found that holidaymakers in their twenties are most likely to intentionally travel uninsured; some 13 per cent of those in that age group said they purposely failed to buy travel insurance. The survey also found that men are more likely than women to deliberately go away without cover, with 12 per cent of males doing so, compared with just nine per cent of females.Ministers in the UK have urged consumers to take adequate precautions, including taking out comprehensive travel insurance, before heading abroad, but the research demonstrates that some are just not listening. Figures recently released by the Foreign Office in regard to consular assistance provided to Brits in other countries showed that roads, beaches, hotels, remote locations and ski slopes were the five locations where injuries are most likely to occur when people are on holiday.

Hens and stags need coverAn increasing number of Britons are travelling abroad for hen and stag parties, with many going close to home in Europe, while other, more adventurous animals are heading off for a jolly in the US. The increasing availability of popular destinations and competitively priced flights has added to the increase in foreign travel becoming part

and parcel of a stag or hen weekend. Parties heading off to the US should be more worried about travel insurance than most, given the enormous costs incurred by hospitalisation in the country.James Caldwell, director of online finance portal Fair Investment Company, issued a warning to party-going Brits: “Illness, accidents, lost passports and cancelled flights can all put a financial and stressful strain on a trip, but having adequate insurance cover can help to ease these problems.” The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has also recently pointed out the dangers of travelling abroad without first considering what might happen – from April 2005 to April 2006, 1,268 Britons were arrested in the US, 955 were hospitalised in Greece, 376 lost their lives in France and 6,078 lost their passports in Spain.

Is it just a storm in a suitcase?If recent reports are to be believed, incidences of lost luggage are out of control, and some say airlines should be footing the bill. The airlines’ situation has not been helped by elderly, broken conveyor belts at Heathrow; unavoidable for them, but not their fault. Steve Hook, director of corporate and travel at Mondial UK, has spoken out in defence of the airlines, saying that claims of an escalating baggage crisis are no more than a ‘storm in a suitcase’, though he also urged consumers to ensure they have adequate travel protection for anything that might go wrong, including lost or delayed baggage. “Lost luggage is the latest issue to hit the headlines with some calling for airlines to accept responsibility,” said Mr Hook. “However, our figures actually suggest that the incidence level of baggage claims has a variance of less than one per cent when compared to the same period last year.”It could be argued, of course, that the baggage problems for Heathrow in general and British Airways in particular, had already started this time last year, thus explaining why there is no great leap in the number of claims. Added to this is the fact that other insurers are saying they have seen huge increases in claims for lost bags.Norwich Union said that its travel insurance claims for lost luggage rose by 40 per cent in the first six months of this year, and InsureandGo said its claims levels had seen an incredible increase of 85 per cent. Seizing on the figures as justification, low-cost airline Ryanair has demanded that insurance providers offer discounts for passengers according to the airline they book with, with a higher premium for those airlines more likely to lose a bag. The budget carrier said it only loses 0.4 bags per 1,000

passengers, although the situation is made murky by the fact that Ryanair charges customers to put bags in the hold, therefore fewer people do so. Nonetheless, a comparison with British Airways, which loses 28 bags per 1,000 passengers, does not reflect well on Britain’s flagship carrier.Ryanair is said to have written to the Association of British Insurers requesting that the process be put in place, but not all insurers are on side. Luis Berraondo, a travel underwriter for Norwich Union, said: “Tracking each individual airline or far-flung airport would be extremely difficult and would add unnecessary bureaucracy and cost to an otherwise simple process.”Steve Hook said: “Figures quoted by other insurers seem to have been taken out of context and the increase in claims has not been put into any kind of proportion. Mondial hasn’t seen an increase in claims of this kind and British Airways in particular seems to

be unfairly criticised for some reason.” He added that as low-cost airlines tend to us smaller airports, the likelihood of lost luggage is reduced due to a lower volume of traffic. Turmoil at British airports thanks to heightened security measures was also mentioned as a factor in delaying the baggage handling process, as well as conveyor belts being continually out of action.

Three quakes in Indonesia trigger alertThree earthquakes hit Indonesia in less than 24 hours in the middle of September, sending a three-metre high tsunami crashing against the shores, damaging hundreds of houses and killing at least 10 people. One seismologist said the region was lucky to escape a repeat of the tsunami that hit after Christmas in 2004 – the death toll then reached 230,000.The first earthquake registered 8.4 on the Richter scale; it was the strongest quake to hit the region so far this year. Two other powerful

tremors, registering 7.8 and 6.2 followed the next day; several tsunami warnings swiftly followed, but were lifted later on in the day. The worst destruction was caused by tremors along the coast, especially in the city of Padang, which was 115 miles from the epicentre of the quake. There, ‘at least five buildings, including mosques, houses and a school collapsed’, according to Surya Bufhi, who was overseeing emergency response in the affected areas.

8 NEWS


Many 18 to 24s still unsureThe potential benefi ts offered by a travel insurance policy are not understood by a number of 18 to 24-year-olds, according to the Gapyear Company. The fi rm said many see the precaution of travel insurance as an obligation, and that they ‘spend more time shopping for a penknife’ than checking out different policies. It may also be that the measure is considered by some to be too

much of a fi nancial stretch, with many already using credit cards or a loan to pay for their travels, they do not want to spend precious pounds, that could be spent having fun abroad, on boring old insurance.According to Gapyear, 23,000 people in the aforementioned age bracket set off on gap years every year, yet 25 per cent go without travel insurance. Tom Griffi ths, founder of the fi rm, said: “A lot of the young travellers don’t actually know what [insurance] is or what it does – they see it more as an obligation as opposed to actually understanding that it is useful in emergencies.”

Assistance merger24/7 Assistance Holdings Ltd, the holding company of medical assistance company International Medical Rescue Ltd (IMR), has acquired the Speciality Group in a deal that will see the two companies merge their operations. As part of the deal, IMR will move its

operations from Bromley in Kent, southern England, to Speciality Group’s offi ces in London. Both

fi rms will maintain their current focus on their own clients, while the

management team from Speciality

Group takes responsibility for

the combined running of the business. Mark Rands,

managing director of the Speciality Group, will become MD for the combined operation.

Shlomi Kariv, CEO for 24/7 Assistance, said the alliance provides his company with ‘an excellent opportunity to further improve and expand our services to our clients’. Mark Rands, meanwhile, commented: “Speciality Group has always been focused on providing a quality service to our clients and we welcome the merging of the two operations under our management team to further develop both the range and quality of our services.”

Travel insurance for the 21st CenturyThe ability of travellers to purchase insurance over the phone or Internet has now moved on another step: consumers can now purchase cover via the Nintendo Wii platform. Squaremouth, a popular online travel insurance comparison site, has announced that it is processing travel insurance transactions using the wildly popular Wii games console.“We wanted to make our product available in as many places as possible, and Nintendo’s Wii is shaping up to be the market-leading console so it was a natural fi t for us,” said company CEO Chris Harvey.The games system is designed to attract people, regardless of age, to sit down and play videogames together. It also contains a downloadable web browser, which allows users to access the price comparison website. “All of Squaremouth’s functionality works perfectly well on the Wii,” explained Harvey. “It’s quick and easy to compare products then make the purchase without the need to go to a computer.” The continuing success of the Wii may well encourage other providers to tap into a new generation of travel insurance purchasers.

know what [insurance] is or what it does – they see it more as an obligation as opposed to actually understanding that it is useful in emergencies.”

Assistance merger24/7 Assistance Holdings Ltd, the holding company of medical assistance company International Medical Rescue Ltd (IMR), has acquired the Speciality Group in a deal that will see the two companies merge their operations. As part of the deal, IMR will move its

operations from Bromley in Kent, southern England, to Speciality Group’s offi ces in London. Both

fi rms will maintain their current focus on their own clients, while the

management team from Speciality

Group takes responsibility for

the combined running of the business. Mark Rands,

managing director of the Speciality Group, will become MD for the combined operation.

“We wanted to make our product available in as many

contains a downloadable web browser, which allows users

Russians call for higher coverageRussia’s transportation minister, Igor Levitin, has made a proposal to government to raise the average amount of compensation to relatives of passengers who die in air crashes to US$75,000. At present, average compensation paid by the state to the relative is around $3,900, and additional compensation is paid by air carriers under separate insurance policies. Mr Levitin said the fi nancial responsibility of transportation companies for passenger safety should be raised to be in line with other countries’ levels, and apply to all means of transport. He added that the Transportation Ministry was already drafting this law into effect.Russia has been plagued by air crashes in recent times; passenger plane accidents in Russia and other CIS countries resulted in 412 deaths in 2006 – representing 56 per cent of the total number of people killed in air crashes globally.

UK market analysedregulation will not be seen for years to come.One issue that was highlighted by several people was that exclusion of terrorism from some insurers’ policies was going to remain a problem for some time. With more terror attacks surely yet to come, the issue is only going to become worse.Travel insurance penetration in the UK tends to vary by age and income, according to the study, with older consumers having the highest and most consistent level of uptake. Higher-income consumers are more likely to take out annual cover for their travels, most likely because single trip prices are so attractive to the majority of consumers.The market leaders in the UK maintained their

dominant position throughout 2006, with AXA taking the top spot, followed closely by Norwich Union and the Royal Bank of Scotland group of companies that includes Churchill and Direct Line. Finally, the report predicted that the market is forecast to reach £838 million by 2011.

Editoral commentWell, it’s offi cial; The World Health Organization has confi rmed that if we all continue to travel we’re all going to catch diseases, spread them around the rest of the population and that’s it …we’re all dead.So let’s start discouraging people from travelling immediately. Let’s start writing the banners and organising the protest marches against travel…No, wait, hang on a minute! didn’t I read somewhere that travel insurers need people to travel to function? …Yes, I think that’s right. So let’s just carry on as normal…To quote Bilbo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings: “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”We also hear that we’re to stay clear of the rural areas of Bali, because of a confi rmed case of bird fl u. We’ll pass on the message to all of those surfi ng dudes who fl ock there for a winter break. Watch out guys, a) there are no waves in rural Bali, and b) don’t use a chicken shack to store your board.… and fi nally, for those of you packed and ready to go to the Democratic Republic of Congo (you’ll be a mercenary then), apart from the usual warring factions, you’ll have to watch out for Ebola too.Nothing like a WHO report to cheer you up.

Ian [email protected]

Fraud remains a problemAs many as 750,000 Britons are committing insurance fraud by making false claims on their travel insurance policies, according to UK-based insurer Direct Line. The insurer performed a survey of UK travellers and found that many travellers either exaggerate or completely falsify their claims, with one in 10 respondents confessing to increasing the value of their claims, while a further fi ve per cent admitted to adding extra items to their claim. Sixteen per cent were enhancing the value of their claims by £200, and six per cent by more than £500.It was clear from the survey that the general public in the UK do not realise what effect their actions have on the industry, as 18 per cent of those surveyed justifi ed their behaviour by saying they are technically owed the money by the insurer as they had not made a claim ever before.

continued from p.1

© Nintendo

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Fortis speeds up delay claimsFortis, a major UK travel insurer, has announced measures aimed at simplifying the claims process and cutting down on paper trails associated with flight delay claims. In the event of flight cancellations or delays, customers until now had to contact the airline to request proof of the delay. They then had to wait until the airline sent this (often taking a substantial amount of time) and would have to deal with seemingly repeated versions of the same claims form. Fortis is now looking to incorporate flight details into their claims systems to enable delay claims to be dealt with instantly, the first time a customer calls.John Baker, head of travel claims at Fortis, explains: “The market-place is constantly changing. If insurers buy their technology off the shelf, they will risk being left behind. We are actively looking for ways to reduce our administration costs by removing over-complicated procedures and the unnecessary use of resources. Customers today demand more instantaneous results from their travel insurer and we are taking steps to meet this demand.”

Bmi joins other airlinesBmi, the low-cost British airline, has become partners with AIG, enabling the airline to sell insurance to travellers on its website in the UK, representing a new revenue stream. Thanks to

Amadeus technology, bmi customers can now

add single-trip or annual multi-trip insurance to their flight bookings in a quick, simple way without the need to input any extra information, as flight and form of payment details are automatically extracted from the original booking.Bmi is using the Amadeus e-Retail engine, which powers the websites of airlines around the world, by allowing its users to offer insurance solutions that are fully integrated into the flight booking flow.

There’s no limitIn a bold move, easyJet, in partnership with Mondial UK, has removed its upper age limit on single-trip travel insurance policies. With an increasing number of silver surfers (Internet users over 55 years old) increases, the two companies realised the need to change the discrimination towards older travellers common in the travel insurance industry. It makes

easyJet the only low-cost airline to open the insurance market to travellers over

65, and without putting in place a heavy levy on claims excess.

Aimee Charlwood, easyJet account manager at Mondial, commented: “Currently, older travellers struggle to find affordable cover, but with a predicted increase of eight per cent in this population bracket, there is a real importance to cater online for this age group.” For more information on how older travellers can be insured, please see our feature on page 28, The eldery part one: We can insure them.

Updated website launchediTravelInsured Inc., of Indianapolis, has just gone

live with its new and improved website, which specialises in marketing, managing and servicing travel insurance programmes and emergency travel assistance services designed specifically for the travel insurance industry. The improved site has a cleaner layout and provides a wealth of information that supports travel agent services.Bill Dismore, executive vice-president of the company, commented: “The new website allows us to continue our tradition of delivering outstanding customer service, utilising technology tools that help to reduce the workload of both travel agents and their clients.” The new site is said to be more user-friendly, with easier navigation, which will hopefully enable users to make an informed decision to include travel insurance when planning and booking a trip.

Aeroplan members have peace of mindAeroplan has recently announced that it has signed an agreement with Blue Cross, offering Aeroplan members easy access to Blue Cross customised travel insurance packages. Blue Cross travel insurance covers all the usual suspects, such as trip cancellation, medical, baggage and accident and death insurance. Aeroplan members can purchase Blue Cross services and coverage on all flights, even on trips booked without using Aeroplan miles.Aeroplan is a Canadian loyalty marketing company dedicated to developing and executing programmes designed to engage and enhance loyalty of its membership. Blue Cross is a provider of travel, health and life insurance products, and is also Canadian owned.

Software advancement eases claimsAquarium Software has announced the launch of AqauariumClaims 2.0, the latest update to its original process management tool for the claims handling sector. The software is a state-of-the-art business process management solution designed specifically for fast growth claims companies. The new version will add more elements to make the claims handling process even simpler.The firm says Version 2.0 will enable more effective case management, handlers will be able to create ad-hoc tasks and add them to the task list. A diary feature will ensure the tasks are scheduled and followed up in a timely manner, and to improve direct communication with the customer, an SMS alert function has been added. For an additional cost per SMS, claims handlers will be able to create events that send pre-defined messages to clients. Users will also be able to send emails directly from AquariumClaims, and upload documents and files.

HSBC covers customers HSBC Bank in the Gulf has just launched a new travel protection and family shield insurance product for its customers. The bank said it would join Bahrain-based insurance company, AIG Takaful-Enaya, in launching the products. AIG Takaful-Enaya also underwrites the products.The travel protection product provides financial compensation for inconveniences arising out of travelling abroad, while the bank’s family shield product is a personal accident plan also marketed jointly by the bank and AIG Takaful-Enaya that covers the insured person against fatal or serious injury. HSBC head of personal financial services Shakofa Asghar said: “Our HSBC customers can purchase these insurance products starting at BD1 a month … [and] will enjoy exclusive comprehensive protection specially designed for them.”

What’s in a name?Worldwide Assistance Services, Inc., the US business unit of the Europ Assistance Group, has announced that it will now do business in the US under the name Europ Assistance USA, in order to leverage the global strength of the brand. The Europ Assistance Group is the oldest assistance network in the world, with more than four decades

of diversified assistance expertise globally, including 25 years in the US.Guillaume Deybach, president and CEO of Europ Assistance USA, said: “By combining the strength and stability of our owner Generali along with responsive, personalised assistance, Europ Assistance delivers services that reflect the changing realities of the 21st century.”

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NEWSWIRE

UAE-based Al Buhaira National Insurance Co. has been given ‘BBB’ long-term counterparty

credit and insurer financial strength ratings from Standard and Poor’s.

The Ward’s 50 list of top performing insurers has included RLI Corp. for the 17th year in

a row, making RLI one of only five property and casualty insurers to be recognised every year since the list began.

United India Insurance Company has reported net profit after tax of Rs5.3 billion for the year

ended 31 March 2007, a 24-per-cent rise on the previous year’s figure of Rs4.3 billion.

Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has announced net second-quarter income of $59.8 million, up

from $50.9 million for the second quarter last year.

For the quarter ended June 2007, Mercer Insurance Group, Inc. reported net income of

$5.8 million, a $2.9 million increase over the same quarter in the previous year.

Arab Insurance Group has posted a first half year net profit of $18.6 million, a year-on-year

increase of 115 per cent.

Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed an ‘A2’ insurance financial strength rating with a

positive outlook for Finnish insurer Pohjola Non-Life Insurance Co Ltd.

Insurers in Oman saw a year-on-year growth of 23 per cent in premiums last year, according to a

report by the Capital Market Authority, which also showed the number of insurance policies went up 5.8 per cent to 648,602.

Prudential is believed to have considered acquiring Protective Life, based in Alabama, US,

and to be continuing to look for US acquisitions.

UK-based insurer Standard Life’s operating profit rose by 71 per cent in the first half

of this year, but the firm also admitted that an unexpectedly large number of customers were ceasing to pay money in to their life policies.

Mr Lim Boon Heng, Singapore’s minister in charge of ageing issues, said the Government

is looking to increase the uptake of annuities and may move to make the purchase of annuities compulsory for all Singaporeans. Mr Lim stated the main failing of the current Central Provident Fund (CPF) scheme is that it only pays out till 82 years of age.

Subprime crisis heightens claimsFinancial institutions may face more claims as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis, according to insurance broker and risk adviser Marsh Inc.A statement released by Marsh said insurers, banks, and rating agencies may receive greater liability claims under errors and omissions (E&O) and directors and officers (D&O) policies. Insurers offering these policies include Chubb Corp., Ace Ltd and AIG Inc.E&O policies protect a company against claims that mistakes were made or of failure to perform on a contract. D&O policies protect top officials against claims that they committed errors or an illegal act, or did not fulfil their duty.

Siobhan O’Brien, Marsh senior vice-president, said: “Although this market has been largely stable, if there are a high number of costly claims, the trend may reverse and costs rise.”Several lawsuits have already been filed against Countrywide Financial Corp., the largest US mortgage provider, which in July faced the highest level of foreclosures and delinquencies since 2002.Marsh also said that there is potential for litigation from various sides: insurers could sue lenders for poor underwriting; shareholders could sue lenders that have gone into bankruptcy; lenders could sue banks for forcing them into bankruptcy by asking them to buy back loans.

China Life profits soarChina Life Insurance has announced a record 160-per-cent rise in first-half profits, citing loosened regulations and a booming Chinese stock market. The company, which is China’s largest insurer and controls nearly 47 per cent of the country’s life insurance market, saw first-half profits of Rmb23.29 billion, compared with Rmb8.97 billion a year earlier. The rise in profits was achieved on revenue of Rmb101.43 billion, an increase of 40 per cent.With a disintegrating Communist-era welfare system, and private healthcare and social services at prices out of reach for much of the population, many insurance firms in China are enjoying double-digit growth. The country’s second-biggest life insurer, Ping An Insurance, also saw a leap in profits, posting a 140-per-cent increase in the first half, mainly thanks to investment gains.Although China’s goverment remains the majority shareholder in China Life and all the country’s major insurers, it has begun to ease restrictions on what investments insurers can make. The cap of five per cent of total assets invested in local stock has been raised to 10 per cent, and insurers can now also invest up to 15 per cent of assets in overseas securities.

Reluctance to cover aviation in IndonesiaA number of foreign insurance companies are no longer prepared to cover the risks of commercial

airline activity in Indonesia thanks to its appalling air safety record, according to Zainuddin Arsyim, an industry executive. Arsyim said that firms including Allianz, Pritchard and Faraday were just some of the underwriters rejecting insurance cover for commercial aviation in the country. Companies such as Amlin, Ace, Qatar, and LIG have decided to exit the country, while others, such as Munich Re, have become cautious, but are not yet running away.Speaking at an insurance seminar in the country, he blamed the moves of the

insurers on the country’s poor air safety record, which has made the business of covering aviation risks unprofitable – in 2006 alone, insurance claims relating to air accidents totalled US$86.9 million. He noted that insurers are concerned about various conditions in the Indonesian airline industry, including the advanced age of the aircraft in use, sub-standard maintenance, losses on claims affecting all areas of flight operations and the excessive number of airline companies. The situation has been exacerbated, he said, by the European Union’s decision to ban all Indonesian airlines from flying to the EU from last July. The decisions by the insurers to pull out could adversely affect aircraft leasing, airline companies’ insurance premiums, obtaining insurance for Indonesian aircraft and the number of air travellers, all of which would have an impact on the Indonesian economy as a whole. He then urged the government to intervene and explain the situation to insurers, backing up their case with an analysis of aviation risks and efforts to improve conditions.

Gulf regulation revampGulf states should revise insurance legislation to keep up with global changes, according to Abdul Rahim Hassan Al Naqi, secretary general of the Federation of Gulf Cooperation Council Chambers. He stated the importance of implementing insurance laws that would foster a favourable investment environment in the sector, which has an estimated current volume of US$5.1 billion and is predicted to exceed $7 billion by 2010.“The regulations should be candid and transparent in terms of both principles and applications,” he said. “They should be able to deal with the basic issue of an insurance company’s financial coverage and increase the minimum level of the capital of these companies.” Naqi added that there was a need to unify regulations across Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

He highlighted the need for a large reinsurance company of local origin to increase independence from global reinsurance markets, adding that fear of political conflicts and the smaller size of the insurance market contribute to a growing demand for reinsurance. He reported that several of the region’s insurers had submitted a study to the Federation on the feasibility of establishing a Gulf reinsurance company, in an effort to stem the flow of money for reinvestment in foreign companies.Commenting on relatively slow growth in the region’s insurance sector, Naqi suggested this was due to people’s religious beliefs and a lack of education.The Federation, in conjunction with the Union of Saudi Commerce Chambers, will hold a conference in April 2008 to review insurance regulations and discuss different sector issues in the GCC states.

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Speakers at the first Asian Microinsurance conference, held in Manila recently, said that with more than four billion of the world’s population surviving on less than US$2 per day, there is immense potential for the development of microinsurance. Speakers at the conference delivered innovative messages about how insurers can play a greater role in helping the world’s poor and alleviating poverty.Ms Evangeline Crisostomo-Escobillo, insurance commissioner of the Philippines, urged the industry to spread the importance of protection amongst poverty-stricken communities around the world with the help of a microinsurance flag that is pillared by five key values: prosperity, unity, productivity, opportunity and poverty. She also pledged that by 2020, her office would provide an opportunity for every Filipino to secure insurance protection, and ensure the standards of said insurance.A delegate from Sun Microsystems then explained that technology does not have to be a barrier to microinsurance. Stressing the need for everyone to participate on a network, David Piesse said the advent

of mobile banking would enable insurers to enter rural areas and enhance delivery strategies to isolated populations. Another delegate, Mr Jose Cuisia Jr, president and CEO of Philam Life, said that insurers should make corporate social responsibility (CSR) a part of their core business strategy, and stressed that real CSR is manifested in how companies make a difference in being socially aware and responsible, adding that today’s entrepreneurs seem to be engaged in both making profit and doing good for society.A speaker from South Africa noted that formal insurance is often not the preferred entry point for low-income customers, but instead community-based insurance is more attractive. The biggest driver of growth, he said, is funeral coverage, due to the strong culture of having a dignified funeral for the deceased, with many families willing to spend 45 per cent of monthly household income on the coverage. With more than 200,000 mobile phones stolen every month in the country, he added, mobile phone insurance was also in high demand.

Insurers have a role to play in poverty

Zurich launch direct offerZurich Financial Services Group has announced the launch of a new direct insurance offering, Zurich Connect, to cater for customers Europe-wide, and with a product range across the consumer market. Zurich said it is the first insurer to offer a unified pan-European suite of products and services online, adding that offering similar products on a European scale is only possible via the Internet. The company said they will be able to tailor products to standards and legal requirements in each country.Roll-out of the new platform began in Germany, where customers can buy car, household and private liability policies directly through a new website. More products will be available from 2008. Small business customers in the UK can purchase commercial vehicle insurance; in Switzerland, Züritel has been rebranded and has been selling products under Zurich Connect since June 2007.Among the advantages cited for Zurich Connect is the ability for customers to view and update account details online. In addition there will be a contact centre providing customer service 24/7, and an online claims registration system.Theo Bouts, chief executive officer of Zurich’s direct business and partnership unit Europe, said: “Our customers will profit from attractive offers and from a transparent premium system. The new solution enables Zurich, as one of the leading pan-European direct insurers, to achieve significant cost savings and pass them on to our customers. We will be bringing the Zurich Connect proposition to further major markets in Europe over the next few years.”Zurich stated they expect European direct business to generate an additional US$1 billion in gross written premiums and policy fees within the next five years.The Zurich Connect policies will be underwritten by Zurich Insurance Ireland limited, based in Dublin.

Illegal tie-upsThe New York State Insurance Department has warned insurers that the practice of refusing to renew homeowners insurance policies because a customer does not hold car or life insurance is illegal.Insurance superintendent Eric R Dinallo explained: “We have moved to protect consumers today by immediately stopping the impermissible tying of renewals of coastal homeowners insurance policies to whether the homeowner has auto or other policies with the same company. Insurance Law prohibits tying to safeguard consumer choice.”Saying that pressuring people to buy homeowners and auto or life insurance increases the insurers’ risk, he added: “This is obvious when one company’s plans allow it to renew a wood frame house – which is more susceptible to hurricanes – if the owner also has an auto or life policy, but not renew a brick house right next door because the owner has no other insurance with the company.”Dinallo stated the Department has already taken specific action and has directed two companies known to engage in the practice to cease immediately. He added that the Department has asked other companies engaged in the practice to come forward, or to stop without delay.The two insurance companies involved had told the state’s previous insurance superintendent of their plans to consider other policies held by customers when deciding to renew, but a formal determination was not made. The new ruling follows a regulatory and legal review, ordered by Dinallo.In an effort to stay on the right side of the law, the insurance firms looked at policies held on a date in the past when making renewal decisions. They argued this meant they were not trying to influence consumers’ future choices. However, the Department rejected this, saying that customers who were renewed would infer a need to maintain the other policies in order to be renewed in the future.

Generali sell to GroupamaItalian insurer Generali has announced the €1.25-billion sale of Nuova Tirrena, a non-life insurance business that is strong in central and southern Italy, to France’s Groupama. Generali also announced that it would start a €1.5-billion share buy-back programme; buy-backs were suspended in 2006 after it acquired rival Italian insurer Toro.Some analysts have recently claimed that Generali is lagging behind its peers in performance and prospects, in part owing to an unusual governance system, which some believe could be improved. However, this year it has reformed the composition of its board, and is also expected to announce a new business plan with a raised target. Giovanni Perissinotto, one of the firm’s two chief executives, told the Financial Times that the

revised targets would ‘take into account our ambitions to grow the business much more rapidly’, and would also reflect the nature of recent acquisitions. The new board, which has seen lawyers replaced by those with a firmer grounding in business operations, said it had ‘extended the pool of business experience’ at director level. What remained unclear, however, is whether the company is going to fall in line with other insurers with the appointment of a chief financial officer, the use of one, sole chief executive, or a reduction in the number of people on the board. Perissinotto said of the matter: “Any changes cannot just be a ticking of boxes but must make a material difference to our customers and to our ability to create greater value.”

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Reinsurance reviewedWillis Group Holdings, the global insurance broker, has released its latest review of the marketplace for the July reinsurance renewals. The report covers seven territories and seven classes of business. The key findings of the report are that 2006 enjoyed favourable financial results, continued capitalisation, diversifying reinsurer appetites and continuing populist movements in the US, which are all factors that continue to depress reinsurance property prices and, in turn, create competition for other lines of business. A fifth factor that is emerging from the July renewal cycle is that insurers are buying less reinsurance and, as a consequence, there is less premium available in the marketplace. Reinsurers are, therefore, competing aggressively for the remaining business.In North America, reinsurers continue to fight against competitive pricing, capital market competition, government-sponsored reinsurance vehicles, such as Florida’s hurricane catastrophe fund, and the explosion of residual markets. Willis Re CEO Peter Hearn said: “The reinsurance industry is undergoing a seminal change and includes a variety of constituents such as capital markets, local governments, residual markets and self insurance.”

Challenges await SantsBritain’s financial watchdog, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), has named former investment banker Hector Sants as its new chief executive, replacing John Tiner. Sants has some challenges to face up to straight away, including what Tiner has named as his major focus, the abuse of the market. Although famously described as a ‘victimless crime’, figures published by the FSA showed insider dealing may have taken place in almost a quarter of takeover deals in 2005. The FSA has since told firms to toughen up rules on leaks, asking them to be more rigorous when they choose people who need to know about a deal. Tiner has also called on the government to give the FSA more tools with which to prosecute market abuse cases, including the ability

to offer immunity for evidence.Other challenges facing Sants include the idea of principles-based regulation – words that make some insurers shiver. The move to more flexible regulation turns the FSA away from its traditional ‘tick box’ style of check ups. The approach has seen success with London’s mature institutional and wholesale market, but the focus is now moving to the retail side, where smaller firms are often less well equipped to handle broad sweeping changes. The decision to go to principles-based regulation has prompted the FSA to overhaul its own infrastructure, with the regulator losing staff over the next three years, but also seeking to attract higher-quality employees who are more able to enforce

RMS estimates hurricane lossesRisk Management Solutions, a provider of products and services for catastrophe risk management, has estimated that insured losses from the recent Hurricane Felix are likely to be minimal, at less than $200 million. The storm reached category five and struck a scarcely populated area of Central America having previously passed by Aruba and Antilles. Despite being a maximum-strength storm, the small population, combined with relative poverty and low insurance penetration in the area, means the economic cost will be low, though the human cost may be high.RMS predicts that most of the destruction will be from flooding and landslides as a result of the hurricane, rather than from the high winds. While the damage is significant, it is not yet anticipated to be as great as that from Hurricane Mitch, which made landfall in 1998, causing insured losses of around $300 million.Central America is an extremely hazardous region to live in, as it is vulnerable not just to hurricanes but also floods, landslides and earthquakes, according to Claire Souch, senior director of model management at RMS. She continued: “The low level of insurance or other effective risk management strategies means recovery from catastrophic events is often delayed, as was the case with Hurricane Mitch. To increase the level of preparedness for events like Felix, there is a need for better risk assessment in this region.”

Katrina rememberedGovernor Marc Racicot, president of the American Insurance Association (AIA), issued a statement on the

second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the storm that caused the largest single loss in the history of the industry, accounting for $40.6 billion in insured damage. Racicot emphasised what the industry is doing to help locals to go back to their lives pre-Katrina.“Property and casualty insurers remain focused on the rebuilding process and are committed to finding durable and principled solutions to address ongoing coastal property insurance challenges left by Katrina. To date, insurers have resolved 99 per cent of all Hurricane Katrina-related claims and paid more than $40.6

billion to their policyholders over the last two years.” He continued by saying that it is vital insurers and policymakers continue to co-operate and communicate, as the problems facing them at the moment are ‘difficult and complex’. In a sideswipe at some government figures, he also said: “The pursuit of durable and principled solutions should not be irretrievably compromised by the strong political pressures currently at play in some of our coastal states.”The American Insurance Association represents approximately 350 major insurance companies that provide all lines of property and casualty insurance and write more than $123 billion annually in premiums.

Insurers say No!Insurers operating in the UK have demanded that the government rethink proposals that would replace the policies tour operators take out to protect their customers in the event they go bust with a £1-levy on air passengers. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has estimated that an end to the so-called ATOL Bonding system would cost its members around £30 million annually in premium income, with the damage being felt particularly by specialist insurers for the area. In a strongly worded letter to Jim Fitzpatrick, the parliament undersecretary for transport, Stephen Haddrill, director general of the ABI, said the decision ‘flies in the face of government policy of transferring risk to the private sector and will seriously affect the business of our members’.Under the new proposals, there would still be a role for insurers to play in providing very high levels of cover above the protection provided by the levy. In addition, bonds would still need to be provided for new entrants to the market. However, Mr Haddrill maintained that the arrangement remained ‘untested’ and so it was impossible for insurers to ‘comment on its feasibility or cost’. Insurers said the new rules would make them take unnecessarily and unacceptably high levels of risk, which could not then be spread over a sufficiently large pool of insurance companies.Nick Starling, director of general insurance and health at the ABI, said that in the

The cost of the damage caused by the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the Japanese provinces of Niigata and Nagano on 16 July is expected to be more costly than that caused by Typhoon Man-Yi, the country’s first typhoon of the season. The quake damaged hundreds of houses, and a nuclear power plant, claiming at least seven lives and displacing some 10,000 more.Based on an evaluation of its models, California-based catastrophe modelling company Eqecat estimated that the insurance losses from the earthquake may reach, but will not surpass, 100 billion yen (US$825.3 million). According to the firm, the aftershocks that followed were too weak to cause any more significant damage. Another modeller, Risk Management Solutions, forecast that losses from buildings and contents alone will be up to 20 billion yen, excluding all business claims.

Earthquake damage

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True enterprise risk management (ERM) in Europe is still in its infancy, keeping in line with the state of the global market as a whole, but it is developing, according to the latest report from Standard & Poor’s (S&P). Enterprise Risk Management Assessments on Europe’s Insurers publishes, for the first time, S&P’s opinions on the ERM of 70 European insurance companies. S&P classifies ERM programmes at insurance companies into four categories: excellent, strong, adequate and weak. The assessment takes into account an analysis of several components, including: risk management culture, risk controls, risk and economic capital modelling and strategic risk management. The firm has been evaluating ERMs as a regular part of its credit rating analysis since 2005.

Credit analyst at S&P, Laura Santori, said: “Of all the insurers we rate based in Europe, we’ve found that ERM programmes at 86 per cent are adequate, compared with 81 per cent for insurers globally. The outlook for ERM is clearly positive.” The results of a survey carried out by S&P showed that eight per cent of ERM programmes were strong, four per cent are excellent and two per cent are weak. Keith Bevan, another analyst at S&P, said the firm has seen ‘greater interest by insurers in establishing ERM systems not only to meet regulatory requirements but also to better their competitive advantage’. The news comes as the industry as a whole sees an increased pace of change in risk management practices on the run-up to the implementation of Solvency II.

The ongoing saga that is the deal between Friends Provident and Resolution has had another twist – the insurers will change the legal structure of the merger, apparently making it harder for rival firm Pearl to block the creation of merged group Friends Financial. For the deal to go ahead now, Friends Provident would require the agreement of 75 per cent of shareholders under a scheme of arrangement, while Resolution needs 50 per cent, thus reversing the previous arrangement.The announcement to change the structure of the deal has been seen by those in the industry as a sign of the companies’ commitment to complete the proposed £8.6-billion merger. Soon after the possible merger was announced in July this year,

Pearl immediately began to build a stake in Resolution in what appeared to be an attempt to put the merger off course – it now owns 16.5 per cent of the firm.Clive Cowdery, chairman of Resolution, said the alterations simply denoted ‘[Resolutions’] intention to clear the path for the merger’, and that the firm would welcome any other bids that are forthcoming. There has been speculation in the industry that an all-cash bid by Pearl is on the way. Pearl’s chief executive, Hugh Osmond, criticised the deal, saying it gives a poor deal to Resolution shareholders – Pearl has the largest share portfolio. Mr Cowdery hit back by saying Resolution’s falling share price was due to a ‘flat and depressed’ insurance sector, rather than a lack of shareholder enthusiasm for the new company.

S&P: Outlook is positive for ERM

Dinallo ponders exchange revivalUS insurance regulator, Eric Dinallo, has said he is ‘seriously considering’ reviving the now defunct New York Insurance Exchange, which operated near Wall Street for seven years before fizzling out in the 1980s. Mr Dinallo said the move was being considered in order to give insurers the chance to operate with freedom from many rules that currently govern the insurance industry in America.Should the concept be seen through to fruition, it could mean more space for insurers to sell commercial insurance policies. Insurers in the US are regulated by the state, which can often oversee the rates they charge, as well as exerting some authority over other aspects of their business. A revived insurance exchange would mean a different modus operandi for insurers, as they would be allowed to charge what the market will bear, much as insurers who sell policies at the Lloyd’s of London market can.Mr Dinallo’s office would decide which policies could be sold through the exchange, which would typically mean that those insurers who cover large, complex or unusual commercial risks would be given the opportunity to use the exchange to sell, as the exchange law forbids the sale of consumer and some other types of policy.In order for the insurance exchange to be a success this time round, an effort will have to be made to overcome bitter memories of the demise of the first one. Mr Dinallo is said to have discussed the idea with industry executives, who have adopted a ‘wait and see’ approach. In London, meanwhile, Lord Levene, chairman of Lloyd’s, does not seem worried about the possible effects the move could have on the London market – he said that in order to make it work, it will first require ‘a lot of work and a lot of thought’. Aside from

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1� HEALTHMATTERS


Legionella fear for cruisersA group of elderly Britons feared to have symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease are now in a stable condition in a Swedish hospital, after falling ill on a cruise ship whilst travelling around Lapland. Seven British passengers aboard the Fred Olsen cruise liner Black Watch were taken to hospital in Stockholm, according to the firm’s spokesperson, Wendy Hooper-Greenhill. The holidaymakers, she said, all in their 70s and 80s, had fallen ill with what were said to be flu-like symptoms while onboard the ship. The ship’s

pools and Jacuzzi were closed down as a precaution, on the suggestion of the Swedish health authorities.

Tourists in Bali urged not to panicTourists in Bali have been urged to stay away from rural areas but remain calm, after bird flu claimed its first victim on the Indonesian island. The deputy director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, Ian Barr, said there was no need for people to panic. “Most of these cases occur in villages, not in downtown Kuta or Denpasar, so I’m not sure that travellers should be too concerned,” he said in an interview with local press. Officials said the Balinese victim came from a village in the northwest district of Jembrana, an area where poultry are known to be affected. The woman’s five-year-old child also died recently of similar symptoms, although the cause of death is not known.A local 29-year-old woman died from infection with the bird flu virus on 16th August, according to the head of the national bird flu team Joko Suyono. In total, Indonesia has now confirmed 82 human deaths from bird flu, and is the world’s worst affected country. Since the H5N1 virus emerged in Southeast Asia in late 2003, it has claimed more than 180 lives around the world.In related news, a mathematical analysis has confirmed that H5N1 avian flu spread from person to person in Indonesia in April this year. US researchers said they had developed a tool to run quick tests on disease outbreaks to see if a dangerous pandemic may be developing. Ira Longini and colleagues at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center looked at two clusters of outbreaks in Sumatra, where eight family members died, and Turkey, where eight people were infected and four died. The researchers found that there was indisputable evidence that the Sumatra cases involved human-to-human transmissions, but that evidence from Turkey was not conclusive. After their research, the scientists have estimated the secondary-attack rate, which is the risk that one person will infect another, was 20 per cent – similar to what is seen for seasonal flu type A in the US.

Worrying report from WHOThe annual report by the World Health Organization (WHO) says that the world will face a deadly new threat on the scale of SARS, AIDS and Ebola within a decade, as it warned that diseases were spreading more quickly than at any time in history. It also said the diseases are emerging at an unprecedented rate of one a year, and are becoming ever more difficult to treat. The report authors point to passenger flights, of which there are now over two billion a year, as being an alarmingly efficient way for spreading diseases rapidly across continents and oceans. New diseases that pose a sudden threat in one part of the world are only ‘a few hours away’ from becoming a threat somewhere else. Margaret Chan, director general of the WHO, said: “Population growth, incursion

into previously uninhabited areas, rapid urbanisation, intensive farming practices, environmental degradation and the misuse of antimicrobials have disrupted the equilibrium of the microbial world.”The report identifies 40 diseases unknown a generation ago, and reveals that during the past five years, the WHO has verified more than 1,100 epidemic events worldwide. According to the report, cholera, yellow fever and epidemic meningococcal diseases made a comeback in the last 25 years; SARS and avian flu continue to have the potential to wreak havoc; viral diseases such as Ebola and Nipah virus both pose threats to global public health; and the use of smallpox in bioterrorism is thought to be a particularly worrying threat. To prepare for these events, say the WHO, there must be unprecedented global and political collaboration, and renewed efforts to share information.

Typhoid returns to UKDoctors from the British Health Protection Agency have warned that people holidaying in exotic places without being vaccinated are causing a rise in dangerous diseases such as typhoid, the rate of which has increased by 69 per cent in recent years. They claimed that low airfares could well be fuelling the problem, and have launched a campaign called Valuing Vaccines to spread the message of the importance of immunisation.Dr Jane Zuckerman, director of the Centre for Travel Medicine in north London, said: “The level of public ignorance exposed by these results is extremely worrying. We have seen vaccine-preventable diseases like typhoid on the increase because people travel abroad to endemic areas without being vaccinated and return sick to the UK.”Worldwide, typhoid is estimated to kill 600,000 people every year. In 2002, 147 typhoid cases were reported in England and Wales, with 101 of

those acquired abroad. In 2006, however, this had leapt to 248 cases, 122 of which were acquired overseas.

Ebola resurfaces in CongoAn outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus has been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and has killed at least eight people so far, according to the World Health Organization. Blood samples from the southern province of Kasai were sent to laboratories specialising in haemorrhagic fever.Over 100 people have now died in the region in the last three months, with the first deaths being attributed to another virus, Shigella. Some of the samples have also tested positive for typhoid, meaning the region is trying to cope with poor levels of sanitation and three deadly diseases at the same time. Emergency response teams have now been sent to DR Congo to try and contain the outbreak; Ebola is untreatable and nearly always fatal, no matter what care is given. It is thought to be transmitted through the consumption of infected bush meat, but can also be spread by contact with blood secretions of infected people. The last major incidence of Ebola was in Uganda in 2001, when more than 400 cases were reported and more than half the patients died.

Italian outbreakItalian health authorities have recently reported hundreds of cases of chikungunya fever in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, in the northeast of the country. More than 254 people have been confirmed infected with the virus, and one has died. The fever is a viral disease spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. Symptoms can include sudden onset of fever, chills, headaches, nausea, vomiting, joint pain and a rash. The symptoms are similar to those of dengue fever, but, unlike dengue, there is not usually any bleeding or shock syndrome.Local transmission of the virus has been confirmed, representing the first time that local transmission of chikungunya through mosquitoes has been detected in Europe, and there are now fears from scientists that a succession of warm summers and mild winters could allow it to spread to Switzerland, France and the UK. Travellers are therefore being advised by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to take steps to avoid mosquito bites, and to be aware of the symptoms the fever presents.

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NEWSWIREHelijet International Inc. has been awarded

a two-year extension to its existing British Columbia Air Ambulance helicopter contact, which has an estimated value of $10 million. The contract is now safe until 2010.

Raisbeck Engineering has formed an alliance with Analytical Methods, Inc., to provide preliminary

design consulting services on upcoming product development programmes.

In its first month, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight air ambulance service has flown more than 50

missions.

RAF Wyton in the UK has become the new base for the air ambulance service covering

Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire.

Raisbeck has completed its 50th ZR Lite installation on a Learjet 31A-142, operated by

Kirkland Construction in Pueblo, Colorado.

New York-based Mercy Flight Central has asked the public for donations to update its ailing

helicopters, as parts on its 20-year-old choppers are becoming more difficult to replace or repair.

Raisbeck has appointed the Naples Jet Centre in Florida, US, as a new authorised installation

centre, with the responsibility of selling and installing Raisbeck King Air Performance System to current and prospective customers.

Lee County Emergency Management Services in the US is preparing to move its medical flight

operations back to Page Field General Aviation Airport, as it is close to the Lee Memorial Hospital.

German air rescuer DRF has become an approved design organisation according to EASA Part 21J.

DRF’s design approval has been extended for technical modifications and repairs of all helicopter types.

Charity fury in Northern IrelandCharity organisation Alpha 5 Ireland Air Ambulance Group is preparing to launch a public consultation in order to highlight its displeasure over being refused lottery funding. The group’s Mark Sellers said the charity has asked the Big Lottery Fund (BLF) in Belfast, which distributes National Lottery charity cash to good causes, for help with costs on three occasions over the past 18 months, but has been turned down on all attempts. He said the public were now beginning to ask volunteers fund-raising for the charity why they were not entitled to any cash. Thus, the impetus for a public consultation was born.The charity could either lease a helicopter at a cost of around £2.5 million per year, or buy one outright at a cost of £4 million and cover its running costs. A Big Lottery Fund spokesman said: “Air ambulance services are eligible to apply for a range of programmes run by BLF. None of our programmes, however, could fund an application for £4 million capital equipment such as an air ambulance.” Most of the programmes, he went on to explain, offer a percentage of funding for capital and this could be used for equipment or building works.

Air ambulance in weather station bidUK-based Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) charity is launching a trailblazing project to set up a series of weather stations in hospital grounds across the county, which will give an up-to-the-minute picture of weather conditions. They will be equipped with a video camera and computer, which will link directly to the YAA control centre at Leeds-Bradford airport. When established, the network will be the first of its kind in the country.Air ambulance charity bosses are now said to be seeking extra funding from committees across Yorkshire to help meet the estimated cost of £37,600. In the long term, the aim is to set up cameras in more remote locations, such as in the midst of the Dales, where moorland stretches for miles without a break in the horizon. Martin Eede from YAA noted: “The weather in the county can vary dramatically from one location to another, each having a particular micro-climate. Frequently we take off in good weather and find that

the ambulance cannot land either at the designated site or the hospital landing site.”Inspiration for the weather video cameras came from a National Health Service-paid trip to visit the well-organised and recognised Swiss air ambulance system, Rega. Staff were said to have been struck by the efficacy of the weather stations, and believed they could be a real asset to services in Yorkshire.Sadly, chief executive of the YAA, Martin Ede, has recently announced his retirement. Martin joined the charity less than four years ago, and has worked tirelessly to raise the profile of the organisation. In that time, it has acquired two new-generation helicopters and the county’s first dispatch desk. Mr Ede said he felt he had achieved every target he wanted to. Chairman of the YAA, Peter Sunderland, said: “We all recognise Martin’s role at the YAA in making the positive changes that have taken place over the past few years. We wish him every success for the future.”

Air Methods expandUS-based Air Methods Corporation announced recently the acquisition of FSS Airholdings Inc., another air ambulance company, for $25 million cash. The company said it expects the deal to improve its position in the eastern US marketplace, where Pittsburgh-based Airholdings has its operations.Aaron Todd, chief executive officer of Air Methods, said: “The significant maintenance, overhaul and logistics capabilities at Airholdings’ headquarters will be able to provide added support for all our aircraft operations in the Eastern United States.” He added that the firm expected the deal to close some time in October; Air Methods’ share price rose following the news.

Former CareFlight pilot wins rulingA former CareFlight pilot for Miami Valley Hospital who refused to fly helicopter missions he felt were unsafe has won a wrongful termination lawsuit against the hospital and his former employer’s base manager. Judge Joseph Kane, in conjunction with the US Department of Labor, ordered Miami Valley Hospital (MVH) and CJ Systems Aviation Group Inc. to pay pilot Richard Evans nearly $80,000 in back pay with interest, $100,000 in compensatory damages, and his legal bill. Judge Kane also ordered the hospital and CJ Systems to give Evans back his job immediately.In his ruling, the judge noted: “The facts illustrate numerous instances where (Evans) notified CJ Systems and MVH about safety issues, only to be ignored or disciplined.” MVH has said it plans to appeal the ruling, and CJ Systems, CareFlight’s base manager, is said to be weighing up its options.

Children targetedTeam DRF, the German air rescue organisation, has been working closely with the ECMO Centre of the Children’s Clinic in Mannheim, with the aim of increasing the chances of survival for newborns, infants and children who need an artificial lung, which is known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The project goes by the name of KITS, and aims to assure smooth transport logistics for ill children. A specialised team of the ECMO centre in Mannheim picks up the children at the clinic of origin, and flies them back to an ECMO centre – the transport is carried out by DRF using either a Bell 412 or BK 117 helicopter.The move by the clinic and DRF to tie up and offer a specialised ECMO team, which includes two paediatricians, one paediatric surgeon and one intensive care nurse, is new in the country. It has been made possible through the donations of the Children’s University Clinic of Mannheim, which enabled the clinic to buy a new transport unit for the children. It is globally unique and can be used during flight with special artificial respiration and an artificial lung. In this way, the ECMO therapy can begin in the clinic of origin and can be continued during the flight into a specialised ECMO centre.In the past, child transports have been organised by the clinics in which the kids undergo their primary medical treatment. Smaller hospitals in particular faced problems, as they did not have the necessary equipment and special personnel experienced in intensive care transports. With the new logistics, Team DRF say that the ‘survival rates of the sick children can be considerably improved’.

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The air ambulance industry in the US continues to grow at a phenomenal rate, fuelling concerns at federal government level about the number of crashes involving fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters operating in the medevac role. As any private-sector medical emergency operator knows, start-up costs in the sector are huge, and there is equally huge pressure to maximise aircraft use.The medevac sector in Europe hasn’t grown quite so rapidly, and it continues to be dominated to a considerable extent by state-operated or parastatal entities such as police forces, hospital trusts, coastguard search and rescue, and the military, all of which are frequently called on to operate in supplying civilian emergency medical services. Nevertheless, it has grown fast enough to help fuel huge demand for rotorcraft that can operate in the medevac role, and growth in demand for emergency medical transfers has prompted some concern that demand could outstrip supply.Thus, it is of key importance that organisations such as police forces should be able to convert their rotorcraft between roles – for example, from police surveillance and pursuit to the air ambulance role – in the shortest possible time.One highly successful solution is offered by Air Ambulance Technology GmbH’s tailor-made ‘Quick Conversion’ emergency medical service kit for helicopters, which the Ranshofen, Austria-based company promises can be installed or removed in less than 20 minutes. The kit features an integrally milled floor, medical crew seats, a medical cabinet, a 20g rescue stretcher, an oxygen and electrical supply system, holders for different medical devices and an integration for incubator transport. Recent customers include Germany’s Bundespolizei and Bundesamt für Bevölkerungsschutz und Katastrophenhilfe (BBK – Civilian Population and Disaster Relief). The kit makes BP and BBK EC 135 helicopters virtually interchangeable, effectively increasing the number of aircraft available for the medevac role.That added flexibility makes the EC 135 even more attractive to organisations that use helicopters in

multiple roles including medevac. The EC 135 is claimed by its maker, Eurocopter, to be the best-selling light twin rotorcraft in the market, and since it launched in 1994 – following the merger of Aerospatiale and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace to form Eurocopter – the manufacturer has consistently improved on the original version, improving range, carrying capacity and performance.Two late versions, the EC135T1 and EC135 P2i were certified last year and are said to offer substantially faster take-off, faster rate of climb and a 180-kilogram increase in hover weight. The 16 new EC135s ordered for the German BBK also

feature the new HELLAS (Helicopter Laser) radar obstacle warning system.Competition between Eurocopter and its European rival Agusta Westland (AW) for share in the ever-expanding air ambulance market is fierce, which may help to explain Agusta Westland’s recent eviction of the UK’s Dorset and Somerset Air

Ambulance (DSAA) from AW’s base at Yeovil in Somerset.After initially offering the West of England air ambulance the use of the Yeovil site, AW executives revoked the offer, according to Police Aviation News, because they felt that having a rival company’s helicopter operating from their airfield was bad for Agusta Westland’s image.As any public relations professional could have

told them, this breaks one of the golden rules of PR: always stand by your own product. Agusta Westland could have reaped a PR dividend by offering to lend or subsidise one of its own rotorcraft for DSAA to use in tandem with its Eurocopter. Instead, its action makes it look as if AW is scared of comparisons between its product and Eurocopter’s. That is probably not the case – both Agusta Westland’s AW139 medium twin helicopter and its AW119 single turbine have proved highly popular with air ambulance buyers, and craft rolling off assembly lines in Italy and at its new AW139 plant in Philadelphia are reportedly selling faster than AW can build them. But it wouldn’t be surprising to see rivalry between the two European helicopter makers making more headlines soon.

High flying rivalry

Doctors added to crewUK-based Essex and Herts Air Ambulance Trust has announced plans to introduce doctors onboard its medical helicopter, taking the service into the future by providing enhanced critical care to the most severely ill and injured in the region. The doctors will work alongside the current paramedics, mirroring the service pioneered by London’s Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS), which is proven

to increase chances of survival and recovery for the most seriously ill and injured patients.Doctors will be selected on behalf of the charity by Barts and the London National Health Service Trust, where HEMS London is based and where the doctors will receive dedicated training in pre-hospital care and helicopter operations.

Apollo and Deccan tie upApollo Hospitals Enterprises and Deccan Aviation in India have launched an air ambulance plan, and are hoping to involve local and international medical insurance companies in order to drive business forward. “A large number of emergency cases need air lifting for timely medical attention, and helicopter service being expensive, it is up to health insurance companies to make it affordable,” said Ms Sangita Reddy, executive of Apollo Enterprises. She added that talks are currently underway with three or four insurance providers.The Apollo Group has made 400 emergency airlifts in the past two and half years, according to Ms Reddy, and each trip can cost up to Rs200,000, depending on the distance to the hospital. With the introduction of insurance coverage, the costs could be brought down through deals between the hospital and insurance providers, guaranteeing a certain number of patients. Another way in which Apollo is doing its best to increase air ambulance usage in India is to allow corporate companies to tie up with insurers for the service. Captain GR Gopinath, executive chairman of Deccan Aviation, said of the matter: “An alarming number of patients or accident victims succumb without medical help in the first, golden hour of treatment. There is an urgent need to plug this gap by providing immediate medical assistance, which also includes air lifting [patients].” Third-party administrator Medi Assist India Pvt Ltd is sharing the cost of running the scheme with Apollo hospitals, according to its CEO, Mr B Madhavan. Deccan Aviation has a fleet of 10 helicopters and two small planes that will all be used as part of the deal, stationed at various key cities in India for maximum efficient coverage. Apollo is able to offer the services of the helicopters at its centres in Bangalore, Delhi, Bhubaneswar and Kolkata, where it has either helipads or landing facilities.

organisations such as police forces should be able to convert their rotorcraft

between roles

Air Evac awardedThe Air Evac team in Wichita Falls, Texas, has been presented with the 2007 Regional Community Service Base Award at the regional awards banquet in Fort Worth. A spokesperson for the firm said the award had been given thanks to its ‘outstanding community service’ in their market area: “The supervisors have done a fine job in arranging and teaching outreach education to area emergency medical services and hospitals. The crews participate in many functions, from delivering Santa to anxious children, to flying news crews and emergency management personnel for the city when the area was flooded.”Area manager for the base is Pete Wolf, who said: “Myself and the crew are ecstatic about this award. It is for the Texas and Oklahoma regions and encompasses about 25 or 26 bases, plus it puts us in the running for the Air Evac corporate award.”

CORRECTIONIn the last issue of ITIJ, we inaccurately reported that helijet would provide the medical personnel for the tie-up between helijet and Skyservice Air Ambulance. In fact Skyservice will provide the medical personnel.

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FEMA contract awardedThe US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded American Medical Response (AMR), part of Emergency Medical Services Corporation, an exclusive agreement to provide ground and air ambulance services through its Air

Ambulance Specialists Inc. subsidiary. The contract covers the 21 states that lie along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coats. The one-year contract, which took effect on 1 August, carries the option of four one-year extensions after the initial term.Following the undeniably severe hurricane season of 2005, the government in the US recognised a need to have a national ambulance response plan to support the state and regional plans that were in place, but completely overwhelmed by the extent of damage and help needed after Katrina and Rita hit. AMR responded to these disasters and assisted in the evacuation of injured people and the provision of emergency medical services. For the 2006 hurricane seasons, FEMA again contracted with AMR to provide evacuation to southern Louisiana in the event of another lively hurricane season.The new and improved contract for this year, however, provides more than just medical transportation services. It also includes patient triage, treatment, hazard recognition, symptom surveillance and reporting. AMR assets could also be used to provide immunisations, staffi ng for shelters and hospital emergency departments and setup mobile medical units.Don Harvey, chief operating offi cer of the company, said that AMR ‘employs more than 18,500 people and operates in 37 states with a fl eet of more than 4,500 vehicles’. It is these extensive resources, combined with the company’s capability to cope with a surge in capacity, that make it ‘uniquely qualifi ed’ to win the FEMA contract.

Australia’s rural residents hit

Residents in rural New South Wales (NSW) in Australia look set to be hit hardest by increases to air ambulance bills, following the decision by the local government to increase rates by 15 per cent – an increase of six times the rate of infl ation. The government has also increased the per-kilometre charge. Health Minister Reba Meagher’s offi ce said the rise in charges were ‘in line with a review by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’. The cost of an emergency helicopter travelling between hospitals has jumped from $3,666 to $4,341 for the fi rst 30 minutes of a journey, a rise of more than 18 per cent.In related news, the state’s controversial new multi-million dollar fl eet of rescue helicopters is reported to be regularly grounded, and its medical crews being sent by road to treat critically ill patients. The Daily Telegraph has reported that, despite expenditure of $270 million to replace the Westpac Lifesaver and NRMA CareFlight services with Canadian company CHC, the NSW Ambulance service has cut back on staffi ng levels. Two medical helicopters and two road ambulances are on call 24 hours a day, but

with only two medical crews, each comprising of a doctor and paramedic, they are under-utilised. At least eight times in the past month, one of the crews has been sent to the scene of an accident by road, thus leaving their helicopter unable to respond to emergencies.Doctors have warned that the lack of properly trained staff could threaten lives, with one source telling the newspaper: “It doesn’t make sense for the Government to spend $270

million to get the best and most reliable service with the latest technology and then leave them sitting on the ground because they won’t pay for staff.” Problems have arisen frequently due to bad weather, when the helicopter can’t take off, so the crews are sent by road ambulance, leaving the helicopter without a crew and unable to service the Sydney area. Previously, there has been one road retrieval team on duty as well as the helicopter teams. NSW Ambulance general operations manager Mick Willis denied the service was trying to save money, and added that there were no staffi ng problems. “The operation we are doing now from the single base at Bankstown is exactly the same as what we were doing prior to May 14 from the two bases. Nothing has changed in the rostering.” He then claimed that there are actually four crews at the Bankstown base at any time, not two. The Daily Telegraph had been told by a source that there are only two crews on the base at a time, the other two are said to be on call at home.

Spotlight on Sikorsky S-76C++

Capacity: Capacity: Flight crew Flight crew 1/2 1/2Medical crewMedical crew 4 4Medical crewMedical crew 4Medical crewMedical crewStretchersStretchers 2 2

Length: 16 mLength: 16 mMinimum hangar size 9.5xMinimum hangar size 9.5x(rotor not folded): 15.25x4.4m(rotor not folded): 15.25x4.4mStd confi guration weight: 3,177 kgStd confi guration weight: 3,177 kgIgE hovering ceiling: 2,149 mIgE hovering ceiling: 2,149 m

Max range: 639 kmMax range: 639 kmMax gross weight: 5,306 kgMax gross weight: 5,306 kgMax cruise speed: 287 km/hMax cruise speed: 287 km/h

Specifi cations

Designed and confi gured to perform HEMS missions with fl exibility and effectiveness. The S-��C++ features low direct operating costs, a large cabin and modern technology enhancements such as more powerful engines, EGPWS advanced terrain avoidance system, weather radar, Automated Flight Control System and other safety features. Sliding doors on both sides of the helicopter help to accommodate stretchers easily, along with critical care support equipment for single or dual patients.

One trip – no problemAirMed International has announced its new Short Term Plans are now available for US and Canadian residents for anyone wanting air ambulance coverage for a short, specifi c period of time. The AirMed Traveller short-term memberships are very affordable, and offer cover for a family of up to fi ve people, with the choice of 14-day or 30-day policies.

Benefi ts of the packages include access to the fi rm’s medical services hotline 24 hours a day. There are no co-payments, no claim forms, and no ‘nearest appropriate facility’ restrictions placed on the plan either. There are also no fi nancial limits and no out-of-pocket costs that are sometimes associated with an air ambulance coverage plan.

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No entry for UK charityThe independent air ambulance charity that serves three southern counties in the UK is calling for heads to roll at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead after it was revealed that the hospital, which has the county’s only burns unit, has adopted a policy of not accepting any patients referred by the charity’s doctors. On Sunday 5 August, a distraught mother rushed her seriously burned eight-month-old son to the charity’s air base in Kent, to seek immediate help from the medical crew there. The doctor on duty decided that the third-degree burns were severe enough to warrant being treated at a specialist burns hospital. However, because the emergency helicopter had gone off-line for the day by the time she arrived (it operates 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.) arrangements were subsequently made with the South East Coast Ambulance Service to take the boy to the East Grinstead hospital. Up until this point, agreed protocols had come off without a hitch. But, when the Kent Air Ambulance doctor phoned the hospital’s burns unit to make the referral, she was told by

the nurse in charge that the unit was not prepared to accept the patient. When challenged, the nurse admitted the hospital had just implemented a policy of not accepting any air ambulance patients at all.Speaking on behalf of the charity, chief executive David Philpott said he would not let matters rest until the issue had been sorted: “If, as it would appear, parts of this hospital have adopted a policy of refusing

to accept our patients, we will want to know who made the decision, and whether the hospital board supported it.” In his view, the hospital ‘may have been guilty of a gross breach of the relevant care of duty’ and had the hospital’s decision not to treat resulted in the

death of the child, there would be no question that the hospital trust would have to face a full criminal investigation.Unfortunately, this is not the first time the charity and hospital have come to blows. In 2006, the charity threatened the hospital with a Section 11 notice under the Health and Social Care Act 2001, after it emerged the hospital had closed its helipad without consulting the air ambulance. Eventually, the hospital promised it would re-open the helipad elsewhere in the grounds and the action was dropped. To date, however, this promise has not been fulfilled, and the air ambulance charity is still having to fly its patients to London hospitals.

AirMed receives re-accreditationAirMed International has now joined the elite group of air ambulance transport companies that have earned re-accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS). Jeffery Tolbert, president and CEO of the company, said he was pleased and excited by the outcome of the recent accreditation survey, saying it ‘represents our continued commitment to excellence in all aspects of our operations’.The CAMTS Board of Directors singled out AirMed as ‘the type of programme that all air ambulance companies should aspire to be’, and further recognised the firm for their ‘excellence’ in international transports – AirMed is also the preferred provider for the US Department of Defence. The firm has received a three-year accreditation from CAMTS, which, says Denise Treadwell, executive vice-president of the company, ‘speaks volumes for the quality of staff and programme’.CAMTS accreditation is voluntary, and focuses on the delivery of high-quality medical transport services. The accreditation process involves an on-site survey, coupled with a broad review of the operation as a whole. Similar to the strict standards and evaluation of hospitals by the joint Commission of Accredited Healthcare Organizations, CAMTS offers medical transport companies a means to demonstrate high performance levels in the areas of quality and safety.

Reach expansionCalifornia-based Reach Medical Holdings, Inc. has announced that it has acquired Air Angels, Inc., a full-service air and ground critical care transportation provider in Illinois. Air Angels will maintain its original name and will also continue to provide critical care transportation for thousands of patients in Northern Illinois and Northwest Indiana. Jim Adams, CEO of Reach, said he was ‘very excited’ to expand operations into the Illinois region.Reach began providing helicopter air ambulance services from a single base of operations in Northern California in 1987, and since then has grown to have nine bases throughout Northern California and Oregon.

20 TRAVELMATTERS


Police crackdown on PhuketNew Thai police superintendent Col Grissak Songmoonnark has signed a pact with Patong business leaders aimed at lifting Phuket’s image among tourists. Col Grissak said that he had invited representatives of various groups in Patong to attend a series of meetings where an agreement was reached. “I have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with entertainment industry leaders in Patong. They have agreed to have their female service staff dress in a more modest fashion while on their way to work,” the police chief told

a local paper. Many female bar staff wear revealing clothing on their way to and from work, said Grissak, and he did want tourists to get the impression that this is normal. As part of the effort to clean up Phuket, nightclub owners had been asked to have their staff search customers and report any illegal narcotics to the police. Tuk-tuk and taxi drivers will soon be asked to sign another MoU aimed at lifting service standards, eliminating overcharging and limiting the number of taxis on the roads in an effort to relieve congestion.

Cruise chargesLong-haul gains groundOnline travel retailer lastminute.com says that adventure-seeking holidaymakers are branching out to more far-flung destinations than ever before this summer. The website saw bookings to the Maldives grow by 34 per cent year-on-year, while Kenya and Thailand (and Phuket in particular) are also gaining ground in the popularity stakes. Greece has overtaken Egypt as the most popular destination for UK travellers.According to the website creators, Turkey is once again among its best-selling destinations, having returned to the company’s top-five list after a brief absence. The nation, despite all its troubles this summer, has beaten Italy and Portugal, with a record 33-per-cent increase in bookings. The continuing strength of the pound against the dollar is also making city breaks to New York, San Francisco and Las Vegas, usually winter favourites, very popular this summer, with bookings up by 50 per cent.Newly popular destinations with UK travellers include China, with Beijing and Shanghai both enjoying increased visitor numbers. Cape Verde and Eastern European countries, such as Latvia, Slovenia, Lithuania and Poland, are now also on people’s hit lists for holidays. John Bevan, UK managing director for lastminute.com, said: “We are seeing some really interesting shifts in trends this year where our customers are abandoning the traditional resorts in favour of more exotic and far-flung locations.” The trend, according to Bevan, is most likely due to an increased desire for more luxury, and great value for money, combined with low fares and the weakness of the dollar.

Errant baggage sparks tagsIn an attempt to deal with the thousands of bags that go missing at Heathrow every week, luggage at the airport is to be electronically tagged. Trials of the new technology will come too late for the millions of people who went away this summer

without their luggage joining them, but still, better late than never. BAA, the owner of Heathrow, has said it will launch a trial of radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging at the airport in October. The trial involves putting computer chips in bag labels that will emit a signal detailing the owner’s name and destination. In theory, sensors could be pointed at a mound of bags and a baggage handler would then be able to download the details of every piece of luggage in the pile. Baggage handling is not BAA’s responsibility, as airlines hire firms to manage luggage or do it themselves, but as the airport owner, it is in charge of installing the RFID technology. News of the trial could not

come at a more chaotic time for Heathrow. As this is being written, British Airways, which employs its own handlers, is struggling to reunite 20,000 stranded bags with their owners amid mounting tension with staff.IATA, the global airline industry body, has welcomed the trial, but cautioned that it would be more effective if Heathrow launched it in conjunction with another airport owner. As it stands, BAA will be able to track bags leaving the airport, but not those coming in. RFID has been tested at other UK airports, but with passengers rather than bags being tagged. Manchester has carried out a six-month trial where tags were attached to boarding cards to prevent delays caused by passengers going missing when a plane is boarding. Politicians in the European Union have protested that the technology could lead to a “Big Brother” style monitoring of airports, but the threat of further terror attacks mean BAA has little choice but to continue to upgrade security.

Aussies can’t wait to get awayMatthew Hingerty, Australian Tourism Export Council managing director, has reacted to the release of a national visitor survey by saying that as more Australians are heading overseas for holidays, the country’s tourism industry must step up its focus on attracting foreign tourists. Tourism Research Australia’s national visitor survey showed that Australians took 4.4 million international trips last year, a 2.3-per-cent increase on 2005. By comparison, just over five million international travellers visited Oz in the same period.“The strong Australian dollar, booming economy, cheap international flights and a lack of interest by many young Australians in seeing their own country means more Aussies than ever before are reaching for their passports when they book a holiday,” said Hingerty.

Although he admitted it was difficult to combat the cultural and economic factors, the tourism council could do more to attract international tourists. He added that both government and industry needed to focus on developing the product, experiences and service levels that discerning overseas tourists are looking for.

Competition heating upAn online study in the UK has confirmed that British holidaymakers are increasingly using the Internet to research and book holidays online, with 40 per cent of respondents choosing not to use a travel agent in the past two years. Matthew Tod, CEO of Logan Tod, the company that carried out the survey, said he believes the results ‘indicate that online travel sites can no longer rely on market growth to boost sales, and must optimise their customer experience to secure travel bookings’.The study has shown that 67 per cent of online British holidaymakers intend to conduct most or all of their travel planning online next year, while only four per cent will avoid the Internet for travel purposes, and 11 per cent unsure of how they were going to book their next trip. Eighty-four per cent of respondents used the Net because it is easier and quicker, 82 per cent said prices were better online, and 76 per cent said they used the Internet as it is open 24/7, unlike the high street. Seventy-six per cent of holiday planners in the UK use the Internet to research their destination, but only 66 per cent will use it to book flights or accommodation. According to Tod, these sales rates could be improved upon if websites enhance their design and navigation to become more user-friendly.

Readers of Cruise Critic magazine have agreed in a survey that drunken passengers who leap off their ships and survive should be billed for the cost of their rescue, but would this really happen in practice? According to a spokesperson for Cruise Line International Association (CLIA), ‘even though guests that have gone overboard recently have not been fined, it could happen, depending on the circumstances’. CLIA says that, in common with land accommodation and airline rules, cruise lines can also charge for damages and/or ask misbehaving guests to leave at the next port of call. The Federal Aviation Administration has taken it a step further and can fine unruly passengers up to $25,000 per violation, where one incident can result in multiple violations. CLIA said that cruise passengers who leap from the vessel are not being made to pay for the cost of their rescue because the Coast Guard is often given most of the bill for search and rescue operations. The primary reason cruise lines don’t charge, according to Carnival spokesman Tim Gallagher, is because ‘in the instance where the person is not recovered alive or at all, then the family is understandably devastated’.

21TRAVELMATTERS


European growth set to slowA recent report by the European Travel Commission has found that the continent’s growth in international tourist arrivals in 2006 of four per cent was below the world average. Despite uncertainty over the implications of climate change, and continuing concerns over health issues and the risk of terrorism, Europe remains on course to achieve overall growth in arrivals of around three per cent this year. The increase, albeit small, still represents 17 million extra arrivals in Europe in 2006 – 47 per cent of the total global increase estimated for last year. Northern Europe, which accounts for a 12-per-cent share of total arrivals on the continent, also generated the highest level of receipts per visitor. Countries with the highest performance include Finland, Iceland and Ireland, all recording increases in arrivals over 10 per cent. With the exception of Denmark, all other countries in the northern region also performed above average last year.

The Travel Commission said overall demand was boosted by a larger than usual number of events in Europe, including the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, the football World Cup in Germany and the Ryder Cup in Ireland. This year’s report, the third of its kind, shows that although it is a mature destination, Europe’s tourism performance over the past few years has been impressive. As a result, the region has maintained its dominant share of the world market – 54 per cent of all arrivals go to Europe.

Business as usual in GreeceHATTA, the Greek association of travel agents, has sent an assurance to UK agents about the impact of forest fires that have been raging for weeks now. Through the Association of British Travel Agents, HATTA is telling other agencies that ‘all national roads are fully accessible, all archaeological sites and museums are open to visitors, and hotels and resorts are not affected.’The official death toll from the fires, which were at least in part started by arsonists, stands at 64. Fires swept across the Peloponnese (southern mainland), Attica (around Athens) and the island of Evvia (north of Athens). Although fire crews and the government have both said the fires are now under control, continuing high temperatures and winds threaten another flare up at any time.

Ecotourism takes offA report by the World Tourism Organization has found that ecotourism is growing at an annual rate of five per cent, or around three times better than the industry as a whole. Dave Sollet, executive director of the International Ecotourism Society, said that it is the fastest growing sector simply due to increased consumer demand for the product.The news has been welcomed by some areas in the US that have not traditionally been on visitor’s wish lists of places to visit, such as Appalachia in Virginia, where tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries in the state. The Heart of Appalachia region comes with first-class credentials for ecotourism, including thousands of acres of national forest land, the Breaks Interstate Park (the Grand Canyon of the South) and the new Heart of Appalachia bike route, which weaves its way through the region. Jane Seekings, a senior consultant at Atlas travel Services, said the eco-trips were usually attended by younger people, the 25 to 35 age group, as older travellers wanted more home comforts.

Sydney earns a bad reputationA recently-released study commissioned by the Australian Tourism Business Alliance said that tourists are being charged for the privilege of seeing the Sydney Opera house, and other famous landmarks, by unscrupulous tour guides. The study also said that in addition to being cheated out of money to see Sydney spots, tourists are being tricked in under-the-counter foreign exchange deals.The report states that thousands of tourists are being transported to so-called tax-free shopping outlets that then turn out to be warehouses selling goods at inflated prices. Others, meanwhile, pay vastly inflated prices for trinkets from their trip, such as AU$1,200 for a sheepskin rug, when the real price is a mere fifth of that. Naïve visitors are also being sold a product called essence of Kangaroo, made of meat extract, which is being sold as an aphrodisiac.Throughout Sydney, found the report, there is ‘little evidence of any regard for the consumer rights of foreign tourists’. Matthew Hingerty, managing director of the Australian Tourism Export Council, said: “People from countries like Hong Kong, China and Taiwan are relatively new to travel and are much more innocent than other visitors. Tourists from the UK are savvier. They do a lot of research … and know how to get the best value out of their holidays.” Although the number of visitors to the country rose by four per cent in 2006, many are said to be staying for shorter periods, due to the expense of holidaying in a capital city.

22 NEWSANALYSIS


Businesses sending staff overseas continue to be responsible for

their safety and well-being. Hannah Kitt explains how companies must

choose between forward planning to minimise the risks or picking up the

pieces when it all goes wrong

Risky business

23NEWSANALYSIS


It’s not just terrorist activity, tricky local politics, corrupt authorities or natural disasters that cause problems for business travellers. A weakness for pretty girls, bargain-hunting and tourist cafés left one unwary westerner scared, alone

and isolated in Hong Kong for two days. He was tricked into a high-stakes card game by a girl posing as a journalist and her friends who, not surprisingly, got the upper hand until his wallet and credit card accounts were empty. By pure chance he managed to flee the gang, but the ordeal left him too scared to leave his hotel room or contact anyone back home in case it alerted the gang to his whereabouts. Eventually, his employer contacted CR24, Control Risks’ 24-hour operations centre and one of our local representatives helped co-ordinate his return home and allay his fears about his personal safety.

Caution to the windThe tale might sound extreme and bizarre, but is one of many that we have dealt with over the years where business travellers have thrown caution and company policy to the wind. Perhaps more worryingly, we’ve also had stories of companies that didn’t have a travel policy at all, or if they did it wasn’t sufficiently detailed or comprehensive to provide much help in an emergency. The all-too-often result is traumatised staff and damaged reputations. This year, Control Risks commissioned our first global business travellers’ survey to try to get a better idea of companies’ attitudes to the risks and the main concerns of their staff who travel. Some of the findings were shocking, such as the fact that while nearly half of all business travellers visit risky locations, in the UK only two-in-five of their companies have a travel security policy. In the US, this rises to just over half. From this, it comes as no surprise to find that three-in-five Britons don’t believe their firm would be able to give them the correct advice in an emergency. But surely a company that has invested in recruiting, training and retaining its staff would also want to take steps to protect that investment? Our experience shows that although they think they do, in reality, too often security lags behind expansion.

Emerging marketsWe’ve seen lots of companies moving aggressively into emerging markets where revenue prospects look good. Traditionally, managing financial risk is deemed more important than managing security and thorough financial due diligence will be done. Not so for security, and while many within operations will have been party to research and forward planning to enable them to hit the road running, those looking after security are often only told about new ventures in countries as the deal is announced. As a result, security processes and contingency planning lag behind need.This stems from the fact that risk management is still far too low down the corporate agenda and security managers have a tough fight to get any budget. Even when there has been an international incident, the surge of interest by senior management and board members can be short lived.Let’s hope this is going to change – and soon. Our survey found that just over half of the respondents in the UK (53 per cent) and just under half in the US (43 per cent) thought the world would be a more dangerous place for business travellers in the next five years. Already, the number of travellers being sent

to more risky areas is on the rise – 26 per cent in the UK said they travelled more often to risky places than before, while in the US, this figure was 24 per cent. In addition, many (40 per cent in the UK and 35 per cent in the US) felt they were becoming more attractive as targets for extremists.With this in mind, it is shocking to find that among UK companies in particular, there is an incredible lack of any support systems for employees abroad – more than half of UK firms offer no form of in-house or external security support. In this regard, the US is much better prepared, with around three-quarters

having access to support services either within their company or outside. Of those that do take steps to look after their staff while abroad, many don’t in fact have any embedded structural security policy. This means that staff often travel in dangerous countries without anyone knowing where they are staying, which flights they are on, where their meetings are and even when they are due to return.

Accurate adviceNor do they seek impartial and accurate advice, with many companies relying on embassies or the

Foreign Office, blindly unaware of the drawbacks this type of intelligence brings. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office certainly does a good job, but it also has a difficult task. Their advice must suit a wide audience from the back-packer to the resident expatriate. Having independent advice, formulated after consulting a range of sources, allows a company to take an informed and safe decision. We would rarely tell clients not to go to particular places, as we know many, such as journalists and NGOs, have little choice but to work in some of the most hostile countries in the world. Instead, we can clearly advise what the risks are, how to mitigate or manage them, and how to stay safe.Indeed, the most important thing that a travel security policy can achieve is to keep staff safe. No one wants

more than half of UK firms offer no form of in-house or external security support

three-in-five Britons don’t believe their firm would be able to give them

the correct advice in an emergency

continued on p.24

2� NEWSANALYSIS


a colleague to be attacked or injured or worse. Having measures in place can really instill confidence because they know that if they run into any trouble, help is quickly at hand. This alone puts a company in a much better position to act effectively under pressure – a big competitive advantage in many parts of the world.

Playing with fireFor those companies that think they can justify not having a travel security policy, I’d say they are playing with fire. If something goes wrong and a gross negligence case is brought against them, a judge will look for demonstrable duty of care, not excuses. We have seen gross negligence cases with some hefty pay-outs, mainly given in out-of-court settlements. These pay-outs outweigh the costs of maintaining a travel security infrastructure. But cost should not be the only factor, as getting dragged through the media and poor morale takes a huge toll too.Indeed, one of the most surprising findings thrown up by the survey was just how widespread the belief was that an employer has a legal obligation to support their staff abroad. In the UK, this figure was 86 per cent, and 56 per cent said they would consider legal action if they were not adequately supported by their

firm while away. In the US, the figures are similar, at 80 per cent and 52 per cent respectively.But perhaps the most startling result of all was that so few of respondents, although aware they were going to a potentially dangerous place, did any research themselves or even carried an emergency phone number. In the UK, 38 per cent said they never even Googled the country they were going to and 72 per

cent never carried a contact number. The issue is that whether a traveller demonstrates common sense or

not when abroad at a company’s request, the business has full responsibility for that traveller.

Emergency supportAlthough the risk of getting caught up in an emergency when travelling is minimal, the risk is nevertheless a concern to business travellers and should be addressed. Support can be delivered in many ways, but all the evidence points to the benefits: when employees receive this level of back-up they will work better and be more prepared to travel for work. This is surely good news for management and good news for business.

56 per cent said they would consider legal action if they were not adequately supported by their firm

while away

continued from p.23

hannah Kitt is Director of Travel Security Services at Control Risks, the leading business risk consultancy director and former president of the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada (THIA).

2� FEATURE


Should care providers treating US and Canadian citizens abroad seek payment from state health coverage or private travel insurance, and which country’s laws apply? Kieran A.G. Bridge has the answers

The February issue of ITIJ examined the interplay between coverage under a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) and private travel insurance (ITIJ 73, February 2007, A European clinic’s right to choose: EHIC or travel insurance). The article discussed recent Spanish cases and legislation on the issue of whether government-owned Spanish care providers should look for payment first from private travel insurers or patients’ EHIC coverage. It appears that in Spain, the law is unclear on whether private insurers are directly obligated to pay care providers and, if so, whether their coverage is primary in relation to that under an EHIC.North American travellers and insurers are not subject to the EHIC regime. Nevertheless, like their European counterparts they are affected by questions of primary versus secondary coverage and the applicability of the laws of countries where treatment is provided. Similarly, European travellers and their insurers, both government and private,

may be affected by Canadian or American laws of the province or state where an injury or sickness occurs.

State health insuranceEach Canadian province operates a government health insurance plan (GHIP). These provide only limited coverage for out-of-country medical expenses. The amounts payable are usually far from adequate to cover US or European medical costs. The daily rates payable by GHIP are typically only a small percentage of actual US hospital costs, although there are sometimes exceptions such as under government-run or statutorily required no-fault automobile insurance benefits that may apply to Canadians while in the US. Coverage shortfalls under GHIP are also the norm regarding the cost of care throughout Europe and in most developed countries. For this reason, Canadian travellers should supplement their GHIP coverage with private travel insurance.US government health insurance is even more

limited, particularly regarding out-of-country care, and American travellers rely on private insurance coverage. The May 2007 issue of Consumer Reports, a US publication, suggested that Americans often hold travel insurance coverage through sources such as employment benefit plans, homeowners insurance and credit card benefits, and that for many, insurance specifically for travel would duplicate their existing coverage. In contrast, most Canadians must buy specific travel/medical policies or face the risk of uninsured medical expenses.

By way of example, private travel policies sold in Canada typically state their coverage is secondary to GHIP coverage (however limited the latter may be). They also often contain limitations or exclusions for pre-existing conditions,

alcohol-related injuries, and a variety of other circumstances. American hospitals that are told a claim by a Canadian patient will not be paid by the patient’s insurer, based on the policy wording,

sometimes threaten to commence, and sometimes do commence, action against the insurer in the state where the medical treatment was provided. Hospitals’ claims are usually based on either or both of these allegations: (a) the insurer made an express or implied promise to the hospital in question to pay for the treatment before it was performed, or (b) the hospital has had the benefits of the patient’s insurance policy assigned to it, and the claim is properly payable under the policy.Often such allegations are accompanied by references to state laws governing ‘post-claims underwriting’ and laws requiring health insurers to pay for emergency care (similar to Article 103 of the Spanish Insurance Contracts Act as referred to in ITIJ 73, February 2007).In this context, the legal issues that arise most frequently include the following: (a) What country’s (or province’s or state’s) laws govern the rights and obligations of travellers and their insurers? (b) Can the law of a destination country affect their respective contractual positions? (c) Can the law of a destination country compel a private insurer to pay expenses that it would not have to pay under the terms of its policy or under the law of the place of residence of the insured traveller?

private travel policies sold in Canada typically state their coverage is secondary to

GHIP coverage

Government vs private insurance: a North American perspective

2�FEATURE


JurisdictionIt is clear under Canadian law that where a travel policy was created in Canada between a Canadian resident and an insurer licensed in Canada, the contractual rights of the parties are governed by Canadian law. This is so, even regarding claims and other issues (such as subrogation rights) arising from medical expenses incurred outside the country. Because insurance matters fall under the jurisdiction of provincial governments (as opposed to the Canadian federal government) one should look at the insurance law of the province where the policy was sold. For example, where a travel policy was sold in the province of Ontario, the Ontario Court of Appeal held that province’s Insurance Act governed the insurer’s rights of subrogation even though the accident that led to the medical expenses took place in Florida (Kingsway General Insurance Co. v. Canada Life Assurance Co, 2002).State laws that create obligations for health insurers to pay for emergency care probably do not apply to care provided to foreigners who hold policies issued outside the state. Such laws are directed at employment benefit plans and private health coverage sold within the state in question. The California Department of Managed Care, for example, has stated informally that it does not consider the California laws governing health plans to apply to foreign travel insurers.To illustrate this point, consider the position of GHIP benefits available to a traveller under the law of his or her province of residence. As noted above, such benefits are usually the primary coverage, to which private travel insurance is secondary. It would be remarkable if GHIP benefits, which are created by provincial laws, were held to be subject to US state laws requiring full payment for emergency care regardless of the restrictions on GHIP coverage under the provincial law that created it. Private travel insurers should be in the same position as GHIP

vis-à-vis US state laws, in the absence of provisions in their policies making applicable the laws of the place where care is received by an insured person.For these reasons, it is unlikely that a Canadian or American court would consider the Spanish Insurance Contracts Act or Social Insurance Act (discussed in February’s ITIJ 73) to apply to disputes between a travel insurer and either an insured traveller to Spain or a Spanish care provider.

golden promiseWhere a claim by a hospital against a travel insurer is not based on an assignment of the benefits under a contract of insurance, but rather on an alleged

promise by the insurer to pay the care provider, the situation is different. In this situation, a hospital could reasonably argue that if such a promise was made, it was made in the state/country where the promise was received (by telephone or other electronic communication) and is subject to both the jurisdiction of courts in the state/country where the hospital is located, and to that state/country’s laws on promises to pay and implied obligations. An insurer’s position in these circumstances would be similar to that of the patient. Both could be subject to claims by care providers based on expressed or implied obligations arising from communications received by the care provider within the state/country in question. The courts where the care provider is located would probably find that they have jurisdiction to hear and decide such a case, and would apply the laws of that state/country in doing so.

GHIP administrators are rarely contacted by hospitals during the course of treatment of travellers abroad, and are much less likely to face claims based on alleged promises to pay. GHIP plans generally do not purport to provide assistance services for travellers, air ambulance evacuations or other services designed for travellers. Rather, it is private travel insurers and assistance companies that are often in communication with foreign hospitals and physicians and sometimes face such claims.

Subrogated claimsFinally, subrogated claims by a GHIP or private travel insurer can also raise questions about which jurisdiction’s law applies. Where an insured person is injured in another country because of a third party’s negligence, insurers’ rights of subrogation may be affected by the law of the place of the accident. Under current Canadian case law, whether the law of the place of the accident applies to subrogation rights

depends on whether the foreign law in question directly addresses the negligent third party’s liability, or whether it speaks only to the insurer’s rights vis-à-vis the insured person. In the former case, as illustrated by the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Matt v. Barber, 2002, the GHIP’s or private insurer’s right of subrogation may be precluded by the law of the place of the accident. In the latter situation, the issue becomes one of contractual rights under the policy of insurance, which are governed by the law of the place where the contract was made and the parties reside, as in Kingsway General Insurance Co. v. Canada Life Assurance, 2002. In such a situation, laws such as Arizona’s barring subrogated claims by insurers should have no application to foreign insurers, whether GHIP or private, that seek to obtain recovery from their insureds out of the proceeds of litigation against, or settlement with, negligent third parties.

EhIC rules are irrelevant in the USIn summary, it is important for travel insurers and claims administrators to be aware of the differences between the quasi-federal European government health insurance system and the health insurance regimes in North America. Rules developing in Spain or elsewhere in Europe regarding EHIC coverage and its relationship to private travel insurance are of limited or no relevance regarding non-European travellers. Similarly, neither North American insurers and administrators, nor European care providers, should assume that the laws and cases that apply to Europeans and their EHIC and private health insurance also apply to North Americans who travel to Europe or to their GHIP and private travel coverage.

Kieran A.g. Bridge is general counsel for the TU Group of Companies in Vancouver. After graduating from the University of Victoria as Law Society Gold Medallist, he was called to the bar in 1986 and received a Master of Law degree from Cambridge University in 1987. His publications have appeared in the Canadian Bar Review, the Canadian Journal of Insurance Law and numerous other law and health insurance journals. Mr Bridge is former chairman of the Vancouver Civil Litigation Section of the Canadian Bar Association and was a founding director and former president of the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada (THIA).

GHIP administrators are rarely contacted by

hospitals during the course of treatment of travellers

abroad, and are much less likely to face claims based on alleged promises to pay

28 FEATURE


Run for it. We are about to talk about the over-65s travel insurance market. If you’re quick, you can get away before we get to retirement and senility. Before that, let’s talk about discrimination. We believe discriminating against the elderly is a bad thing. We want to share some of our experiences rating the over-65s for travel insurance, and explain how this can help providers serve the market better. Whatever you want to call them (silver surfers, wrinklies, early baby boomers) there’s no doubting they are hugely relevant, they are a big market, and we can all benefit from treating them fairly.

Ageing populationWe’ve all read the same reports and articles about how a greater proportion of senior citizens are on the way. And they want to spend their cash and leisure time going on holidays and trips just like the young’uns. A recent survey from Age Concern showed us that people aged 65-74 took a holiday just as often as the under-50s, and nearly one-in-three respondents over 75 years old had taken at

least three holidays in the last year. As travel insurers, we have to get out there and cover them if we can, treating them fairly while we’re at it. If we are refusing cover without explaining why, or if premiums suddenly shoot up like a rocket at the

age of 65, it goes down badly. At Insure For All, we don’t believe there should be sweeping judgments made about these groups or blanket formulas applied to wide age bands. The other thing that happens quite often is unfair

In the first of our two-part series, Sam O’Connor looks at how detailed underwriting and careful marketing can capture the business of today’s more mature travellers

Insuring the senior traveller

2�FEATURE


loading, where premiums shoot up based on stereotyping and lack of real understanding of the actual risk. Yes, an older customer may be more likely to claim, but you need to delve into their medical background and lifestyle to get a better picture of the actual risk. Is your well-maintained 66-year-old yoga fanatic with a clean bill of health likely to fall over on that week in France? OK, that was a simple example that doesn’t meet the messy reality of what can happen, but the point is that you need the tools to help you generate realistic and accurate ratings based on the customers in front of you, as individuals. There are at least four specialist quote engines out there that serve this need. The one we’re most familiar with, which is also the newest, is provided by MediQuote.

Tailored quotesMediQuote’s Expert system was launched in May 2007. The first client to implement the engine was the Collinson group of companies, who needed a system with the ability to rate for a variety of products. The system takes the customer through a series of carefully chosen questions about their general health and lifestyle. From this a recommendation on risk is calculated and a member of staff can either offer the cover or give a decent explanation if the answer is negative. Quite simply, two months after the system was implemented, sales increased by 300 per cent as the group was able to cater for a wider selection of customers (see chart below).David Shortland, continued on p.30

we don’t believe there should be sweeping judgments made about these groups or blanket

formulas applied to wide age bands

30 FEATURE


marketing director of Columbus Direct, part of the Collinson Group, said: “Having competitive advantage is key, and this new screening system provides just that. It allows us to assess our medical risk accordingly, which in turn has enabled us to develop and offer a wider, more targeted range of products to customers, providing them with the ability to cover pre-existing medical conditions if they so choose. We really see this as a win-win situation for all parties, and provides us a quick, efficient and robust service.”The bottom line for providers is these systems allow you to get a larger number of customers on the books, and at the same time give those customers you have to reject a better explanation to cushion the blow. For example: “We are not rejecting you because you’re 71, but because of the multiple bypass operations and 70 cigarettes a day with no exercise.”Like so many things, perception is all-important for the customer. If a group feels discriminated against, they are less

likely to even pick up the phone, or look around for your product, and all their experiences in the future will be informed by this. Age Concern published a survey on age and discrimination earlier this year which reported that of those canvassed, a higher percentage of customers over 80 years old were actually put off buying travel insurance because they feared the cost. This group clearly feel their card is already marked. On the flipside, the same survey showed that 65 to 70-year-olds felt the same as the 49 to 65-year-olds. So, no different from the rest of the market, and therefore ready to buy policies where they can get them.

Tell it straightThe over-75s have to overcome the hurdle of feeling discriminated against. There is a job to be done educating them about genuine risk. Honesty really is the best policy here – telling it to them straight about the actual risk would help. This group just want to understand and know that rules are being applied fairly to them, in the same way, perhaps, you would explain to groups in flood areas that their home insurance premiums are going to be higher because of the obvious risk there. People would understand this as it seems less arbitrary than a travel insurer simply saying ‘no’ because they were over 70.Customers also feel unfairly done by with the practice of blanket loading where premiums double from age 64 to 65. It’s difficult for healthy 65-year-olds to swallow this, and understandably so. We believe a series of gradual increases, year on year, is both understandable and fair. ‘TCF’ and all that? You can look at surveys and make generalisations, but it is real individuals that are affected by all this. Take the example of Betty Cullen, 86, who was awaiting a cruise holiday with her daughter that her son-

continued from p.29

Customers also feel unfairly done by with

the practice of blanket loading where premiums double from age 64 to 65

31NEWS


in-law had booked as a gift. The smile on her face soon faded when the first insurance quote came in: £900. Then Columbus Direct, using the MediQuote system, was able to offer a more palatable £200. Betty’s son-in-law, Mr Richards, commented:

“We couldn’t believe it. When I went to sort out the insurance, I was quoted higher than the cost of the holiday! My mother-in-law does have diabetes and hypertension, but they are well under control and £900 just seemed ridiculous. We seriously thought about going ahead without insurance, but friends advised against it, and luckily one of them suggested trying Columbus Direct. Obviously we were thrilled with their quote, but I still can’t understand the huge difference in cost.”

Rise of the silver surferOne place where cost is always competitive is online. Maybe today’s over-70-year-olds are less able to get on a laptop with their debit card handy, but in the next 15-20 years this will surely change, and indications are this is already happening. A recent Ofcom survey indicated that British over-65s dedicate an average of 42 hours a month to the World Wide Web, compared with 37.9 hours among 18 to 24-year-olds. Whether this is because they are less sure of finding their way around, and have more time to look, is a moot point, but a greater interest in hobbies, news and local issues among more mature users is believed to be behind this trend which sees over-65s account for nine per cent of all time spent

online in the UK. Those who are less Net-savvy can still be encouraged to pick up their phones and seek a quote that way. Promoting dedicated phone lines might seem an odd thing to do on a website, but it has worked for Insure For All. Many more elderly customers are helped by their children (often in their 50s themselves). These children can search on various different sites and do the booking for their parents, as Mr Richards did. Why not look for this group of proxy-customers, if

you like, and target them in your marketing – after all, they will be more comfortable with price comparison sites and the whole ecosystem of the web? An added bonus is that they are the next generation of elderly folk: the people that will make the term ‘silver surfer’ seem even sillier than it is now.Websites themselves have to be designed with the elderly customer in mind. Without patronising, things like larger font sizes make good sense, as does a design that’s less ‘whizz-bang’ and more ‘touchy-feely’. If this sounds obvious, that doesn’t seem to be the case looking around at what’s out there already. An option Insure For All has looked at is Live Person, an online, instant chat provision that allows the customer to type in questions in real time and get an answer from a living operator. This is great for reassurance and for answering a range of queries, with the bonus that it puts a level of interaction on the page that can make the whole experience seem less impersonal.

Perhaps the bigger challenge is actively engaging these customers, but that’s what we pay marketing bods for: to consider the tone of the message and exactly what we want to be saying to back up our products.

Individual treatmentWhen all is said and done, we believe insurers can understand the risk better. Each customer can be treated as an individual – the tools are available – so that risk can be determined by lifestyle and other health considerations. Rating engines can really widen your ability to serve this market. This can only help sales if it’s enabling you to cover more individuals.Customers meanwhile do need to understand what process is going on when they come in for a quote. There is no need to soften the blow, we can tell it like it is, but just with more and better information than we ever offered before. This market is burgeoning and only getting more relevant – so there’s no reason to run away after all.

Monkey smuggled under hatPassengers aboard Spirit Airlines Flight 180, from Florida to New York, were surprised to find they were sharing the cabin with a small, hairy passenger. The monkey was spotted when it emerged from a man’s hat to perch on his ponytail, according to Alison Russell, spokesperson for Spirit Airlines. The fist-sized marmoset spent the rest of the journey in the man’s seat. She added that the man’s journey began in Lima, Peru, with a stopover in Fort Lauderdale, US, meaning the animal avoided detection at two airports.Michael Pastor, director of field operations for New York Animal Care and Control, said: “I don’t recall anything like this. The owner appeared to have a whim and purchased the animal on the streets.” Tom Skinner of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the monkey would be quarantined for a month, and could then be sent to a zoo.Laura Uselding, spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration, commented that if the marmoset had been carrying explosives or weapons, alarms would have been triggered.The man was questioned by police at LaGuardia airport, New York. It is unclear whether he will face criminal charges.

Alive and well – in a coffinA Romanian builder who injured his back in Macedonia has travelled hundreds of miles home – in a coffin and hearse borrowed from a friend. Mitev Jordanov had been working in a village when the accident happened, and after a few days in a local hospital, the doctors said he was fit to travel – as long as he was lying completely flat on his back. Under local laws, ambulances can only be used to transport people whose lives are in danger, and taxi drivers also refused to take him, saying their insurance was not sufficient. In the end, Mitev’s boss borrowed a hearse from a friend who runs an undertaker’s, put Mitev in the coffin and drove him all the way back to Romania.

Breaking new groundSeeking a new way to catch internet-savvy customers, a couple of insurers are now established users of Second Life, the online virtual world that has been growing in popularity since mid-2006. Europ Assistance has recently launched the first-ever assistance policy for virtual journeys within the game. Available from the Europ Assistance island, this virtual assistance policy, symbolised by a belt and an aura surrounding the protected avatars, can be taken out free of charge by any avatars keen to avoid becoming victims of teleportation accidents, which are today increasingly numerous according to a rumour currently circulating in the game. Unitrin Direct, a subsidiary of Unitrin, now has a virtual skyscraper,

a replica of the Chicago-based headquarters, in the game. Visitors to the building can view advertisements by the firm, get instant car insurance quotes and link to the company’s website.

US security shenanigansThere have been mutterings that American airport security has gone too far on occasion, and another fine example of such over-zealous security has been in the papers recently. The Sun newspaper reported that a seven-year-old boy was stopped three times by airport officials – because his name is the same as that of a known terror suspect. Javaid Iqbal was being treated to a family holiday by his mother after doing well in his school exams, but when they were on their way home, via Philadelphia Airport, a computer flagged up the boy’s name and officials swiftly cancelled their tickets. Once it was ascertained that the young boy was not, in fact, the terrorist, the family were allowed to continue their journey. His parents, who moved to England from Saudi Arabia in 2002, are said to be considering changing their son’s name.

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Samantha O’Connor has worked in general insurance for over 10 years, starting at Norwich Union before moving to head up business development at All Clear, where she managed products and medical screening. She was recruited by the Collinson Group to develop a bespoke medical screening system, where she has also been overseeing moves into the over-65 and medically impaired markets, enjoying great success with the Insure For All product and other brands in the group.

Rating engines can really widen your ability

to serve this market

Betty Cullen

32 WORLDMARKETS


It’s shaping up as the world’s most dynamic new economy, but India has ever-wider extremes of wealth and poverty and that, as Roger St. Pierre discovers, presents a challenge for everyone

Eastern Enigma

33WORLDMARKETS


Estimated to become the world’s most populous nation by 2030 – it’s currently in second place, with 1.2 billion inhabitants

– India boasts one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and some 178 billionaires, with a collective wealth of a staggering Rs185.8 billion (US$4.6 billion). Top of the pile, Wipro boss Azim Prenji alone has an income of more than the poorest two billion people on earth.But India knows something about poverty, for while the rich get richer and the burgeoning middle-class expands rapidly, 70 per cent of Indians live in rural locations, a quarter of the population earns less than the government-decreed poverty threshold of US$0.40 per day, and 46 per cent of the nation’s children under the age of three are undernourished.That said, this is the world’s fourth-largest economy in terms of purchasing power and 12th-largest at market exchange rates, and an increasing share of that wealth is now being spent within the travel industry.Indians have long spread themselves around the world as emigrants, and they now

figure heavily among both leisure and business travel statistics as well. According to the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), more than 2.5 million Indians now travel within the region annually, contributing substantially to the tourism receipts of some 29 of their neighbouring countries.

Big spendersIndians have strongly developed tourism habits. Their preference seems to be to visit several countries on each of their trips

abroad. On average they spend more per day than travellers from other Asian countries and shopping is their favourite

activity when travelling.No wonder other countries are

competing so strongly to attract them – that is, with

the notable exception of the US and UK.More than 20

countries now have tourist promotion boards set up in India, and countries as far-flung as Spain,

New Zealand, Malaysia and Hong Kong are fighting for the Indian traveller’s time – and their money.“In Singapore they now spend more than anyone else – around S$200-300 a day

on average, knocking the Japanese from the top spot,” commented Edward Chew, of the Singapore Tourism Board. He added: “We now get more than 300,000 of them a year – around a third of whom are on leisure time rather than business.”Tourism Malaysia’s marketing manager, Bhupesh Kumar, said: “Most of our Indian visitors are up-market and prefer to stay in four or five-star hotels, which is great for us. With a strong annual GDP growth of between seven and eight per cent, the potential for continuing growth is enormous.” Because of the still-vast lower class, India’s current spend on travel is just three per cent of GDP, against a global average of nine or ten per cent, but with around a million new travellers being added each year as more and more people become middle-class, the tourism industry can look forward to even rosier times.Tourism Finance Group of India’s managing director, M Narayanana, said: “Tourism was once seen as a pastime for the rich, but now more and more ordinary people are getting into the holiday habit, and that’s an added spur to the industry’s growth.”As an impressed Bernhard Steinrücke, director general of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, told the experts’ forum audience at the ITB Convention in Berlin earlier this year: “India’s increasingly affluent middle class already numbers more than 300 million, and per capita income is increasing by a healthy four to five per cent year on year, while their per capita expenditure is rising by more than double that amount.”In the first three quarters of 2005, Indian spending on outbound travel increased by a whopping 50 per cent, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization and such growth is being maintained.

Incredible IndiaInbound tourism is equally buoyant, currently generating more than US$30 billion in revenue from in excess of three million visitors annually. Around 40 hoteliers, tour operators and other service providers now take space in the national pavilion at the ITB Convention, while attendance at the World Travel Market in London is equally impressive. Additionally, the worldwide ‘Incredible India’ advertising campaign has been winning plaudits and generating business, which is currently growing at more than 20 per cent per year.The emergence of low-cost air carriers has helped, opening the skies to affordable flights from all over the world, while hotel chains are enjoying enviable occupancies and ever-higher yields and are responding with ever-greater investment programmes. Radisson Hotels, for example, have been consistently posting occupancy rates near 100 per cent.Once a heavily controlled command economy, India has now opened itself fully to inbound investment, with 100-per-cent foreign ownership of companies now permitted in most sectors.Though traditionally Indians have had a tendency to be fatalistic about life, they are nevertheless remarkably insurance-minded and hold more life assurance policies than any other nation, yet only 20 per cent of the insurable public is covered at

the world’s fourth-largest economy in terms of purchasing power

continued on p.34

around a million new travellers are added each year

3� WORLDMARKETS


present – and the figures for all forms of accident insurance, including travel cover, are similarly low. The industry as a whole is currently running at an annual premium value of around US$12 billion, contributing seven per cent to the country’s GDP and, as with tourism, growth is in the air.

Foreign investment1999 was a watershed year when the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Bill passed through parliament and lifted all restrictions for private investors and allowed foreigners to enter the market, though with some restrictions on the level of equity ownership then allowed to the latter. Since then, Rs8.7 billion (US$216 million) of foreign investment has entered the market, and privately owned insurance company numbers have reached double figures.In the accident insurance

industry, private players now command close to 60 per cent of the market, up from 30 per cent in 2006, with ICICI Lombard as the front runner.One of the front runners in India’s now fast-growing travel insurance business is Tata-AIG. This is a joint venture between the massive Indian-owned

Tata Group, one of the nation’s biggest industrial conglomerates, with revenues exceeding US$8.4 billion, and the US-based American International Group (AIG), the international insurance and financial services corporation, which has a presence

in more than 130 countries around the world.AIG International Services’ AIG Assist programme currently services more than a million travellers each year, and this worldwide support system, with its multilingual staff, familiar with local conditions and systems globally, benefits holders of Tata AIG travel insurance policies.ICICI Lombard Travel Insurance markets itself on similar high standards of service to insured persons, while locally-owned India Travel Insurance specialises in travel, medical and evacuation coverage for Indian nationals emigrating to the USA, Canada, Europe and beyond, as well as those travelling for pleasure or business.A company spokesperson said: “We can provide both companies and private individuals or family groups with short or long-term international health insurance, complete with a full range of tailored benefits. Our Visitors Care plan provides travel medical cover for individuals travelling outside their own country of citizenship for a minimum of five days up to 12 months.”

continued from p.33

Indians hold more life assurance policies than

any other nation

35WORLDMARKETS


Medical outsourcingLower healthcare costs in India – plus the high reputation of the nation’s best doctors and hospitals – is leading such major international companies as Blue Cross, Cigna, Blue Shield and Aetna to establish links with Indian hospitals, and the Germany-based DKV Group has applied for a licence from the regulatory authorities and linked up with the Apollo group of hospitals in a project to set up a stand-alone health insurance company on Indian soil. With similar aspirations, America’s Star Health has established a base in Chennai. Some American health insurers are even offering a 30 to 40-per-cent discount to people willing to opt to receive major treatment in India rather than the US.Wockhardt Hospital CEO, Vishal Bali, said: “As the US healthcare system prices itself out of reach, there is a real demand for good, cheap, reliable medical treatment. Over the past decade or more, India has attracted a lot of work from around the world for outsourcing back-office skills, especially in the medical sector, but now it is also providing an out-source for actual clinical skills as well.”Medical tourism is forecast to become a billion-dollar business in India by 2012.When India gained independence, back in 1947, the private health sector accounted for just six per cent of total patient care in the country. Today it has risen to 80 per cent of outpatient visits and 60 per cent of inpatient care. That healthcare provision has not been a priority for successive governments has only served to spur this trend.

Taking to the skiesGiven the often-vast travelling distances involved in the subcontinent, it is not surprising to find a flourishing air ambulance industry. Among the leading operators is Apollo Air Ambulance Service, which can make use of 400 airports around the country, with flights using a range of six aircraft and helicopter types, including the Cessna Citation II, which has a range of 2,000 kilometres.

Based in Delhi, the competing Air Ambulance Service uses a helicopter to reach remote locations that do not have airstrips, and also has a 653 kilometre per hour turbo-prop machine that has a service ceiling of 43,000 feet and is ideal for the rapid transport of critically ill medical, surgery and trauma cases.Domestic charter flights offer everything from basic services to the provision of escort flight nurses and physicians for stretcher cases. The company has on-

hand doctors and nurses who hold visas for travel to all parts of the world and can provide full medical back-up for patients on oxygen or life-support. Patients can also be accommodated, along with attendant doctors and nurses as required, on scheduled commercial flights, both domestically and internationally.Headquartered in Delhi, with bases in Mumbai and Goa, Meera Rescue offers exceptionally comprehensive services, with a rapid and direct

response 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The company has airlifted mountaineers and trekkers from Himalayan slopes, and rescued sick and injured patients from the densest jungles. Larger aircraft can even accommodate accompanying relatives in comfort, while pressurisation to sea level ensures optimal comfort for those suffering breathing difficulties or cardiac arrest.Communication with aviation and medical staff on the ground enables flight plans to be adjusted to

ensure the best possible outcome for the patient, while ground support includes the widest possible database of medical, aviation and ground handling contacts worldwide. The company’s aircraft are equipped with oxygen, heart monitors, defibrillators, life-support equipment and a comprehensive inventory of drugs and other medical equipment.

As in so many other areas of its economy, India’s continued growth as a country that welcomes increasing numbers of visitors, while sending ever more of its own people on trips abroad, is likely to be a prolonged success story and offers a wealth of opportunity for savvy incoming operators in the travel insurance industry.

Medical tourism is forecast to become a billion-dollar business in India by 2012

3� SERVICEDIRECTORY To have your company listed in the Service Directory email: [email protected]


AFRICA Air Ambulance Worldwide Inc. Mark Jones – President

35246 US Hwy 19 North [email protected] #210 www.airambulanceworldwide.com Palm Harbor Tel: +1 727 781 1198 Florida 34684 Fax: +1 727 786 0897 USA

AMREF Flying Doctor Service Dr Bettina Vadera – Medical Director Wilson Airport [email protected] LangataRoad www.amref.org PO Box 18617 Tel: +254 20 600 090

Nairobi Fax: +254 20 344 170 KENYA

European Air Ambulance Patrick Schomaker – Director Sales & Mkt 175A, rue de Cessange [email protected] L-1321 www.air-ambulance.com LUXEMBOURg Tel (24 hr): +49 711 7007 7007

Fax: +49 711 7007 7009

JET ICU Carlos Elcoro – International Program Director 15725 Fairchild Drive [email protected] Clearwater www.jeticu.com FL 33762 Tel: +1 877 453 8428

USA Tel: +1 727 524 9825 Fax: +1 727 524 9826

Netcare 911 Aeromedical Shane Marais Netcare 911 House [email protected]

49 New Road www.netcare911.co.za Halfway House Tel: +27 11 254 1392 Midrand 1685 Fax: +27 11 254 1405 SOUTh AFRICA

AUSTRALASIAAir Ambulance Worldwide Inc. Mark Jones – President

35246 US Hwy 19 North [email protected] #210 www.airambulanceworldwide.com Palm Harbor Tel: +1 727 781 1198 Florida 34684 Fax: +1 727 786 0897 USA

Asia Assistance Partners Siriporn Wongurai – Int. Ops. Director 184/235 Forum Tower [email protected] 36 Flr Ratchadapisek Rd www.aapartners.net Huaykwang Tel: +662 645 3733-5

Bangkok 10320 Fax: +662 645 3732 ThAILAND

Asia Medical Assistance Abhijeet Sachdev – Vice President DLF City-ll [email protected] M.G Road www.privathealthcaregroup.com New Delhi Tel: +91 9899 198 198

Gurgaon 122002 Fax: +91 1242 235 2527 INDIA

CareFlight International Colin Robshaw – Co-ordinator Westmead Hospital Campus [email protected] PO Box 159 www.careflight.org Westmead Tel: +61 1300 655 855

NSW 2145 Fax: +61 2 4751 2995 AUSTRALIA


Fax: +49 711 7007 7009


USA Tel: +1 727 524 9825 Fax: +1 727 524 982

Medical Wings Dr Sommart Somsiri – Medical Director 222 Room 3259 [email protected]

Donmuang Int Airport Moo 10 www.medicalwings.com Viphavadee-Rangsit Rd, Sikan Tel: +662 247 3392 Don Muang, Bangkok 10210 Fax:+662 535 4355 ThAILAND

Mediflight Debra O’Brien – Operations Manager Royal Adelaide Hospital [email protected]

North Terrace www.mediflight.com.au Adelaide Tel: +61 8 8223 6618 SA 5000 Fax:+61 8 8223 6340 AUSTRALIA

Pacific Flight Services Pte Ltd Katherine Yeo – Assistant Marketing Mgr ST Aerospace Engineering Bldg [email protected]

Seletar West Camp www.fly-pfs.com Seletar Airport Tel: +65 6481 3756 797796 Fax: +65 6482 1727 SINGAPORE

South Pacific Air Ambulance Scotty Watson – Managing Director NEW ZEALAND [email protected] AUSTRALIA Tel: +649 623 0162

SINgAPORE Fax: +649 630 8063

EUROPEADAC-Ambulance Service Robert glueck – Marketing & Sales Director Am Westpark 8 [email protected] 81373 Munich www.adac.de/ambulance gERMANY Tel: +49 89 76 76 52 85 24-h alarm centre:

+49 89 76 76 50 05

AeroMed 365 Paul golder – Commercial Director Worth Corner Business Cntr [email protected]

Turners Hill Road www.aeromed365.com Pound Hill Tel: +44 8707 596 999 Crawley RH10 7SL Fax: +44 8707 559599 UK

Air Ambulance Worldwide Inc. Mark Jones – President 35246 US Hwy 19 North [email protected]

#210 www.airambulanceworldwide.com Palm Harbor Tel: +1 727 781 1198 Florida 34684 Fax: +1 727 786 0897 USA

AirMed International LLC Jeffrey T Tolbert – President 1000 Urban Center Drive [email protected] Suite 470 www.airmed.com Birmingham Tel: +1 205 443 4840

AL 35242 Fax: +1 205 443 4841 USA Toll Free: +1 877 633 5387

Air Medical Ltd glenn Salt – Flight Operations Manager Oxford Airport [email protected] Kidlington www.airmed.co.uk Oxfordshire Tel: +44 1865 842 887

OX5 1QX Tel: +44 1865 370 642 UK

Alba Consulting Ltd. Andrew Mcgill – Managing Director Unit G11, Hanger 4 [email protected] Shoreham Airport www.albaconsulting.org Shoreham-By-Sea Tel: +44 (0) 1273 453999

BN43 5FF Fax: +44 (0) 1273 455118 UK Mobile: +44 (0) 7810 876762

Augsburg Air Ambulance Roland Schoberth – Director Roseggerstr 17 [email protected] D-86368 www.ambulanzflugdienst.de Gersthofen Tel: +49 821 299 1020

gERMANY Tel: +49 821 299 2030

EMC Meditrans Servé de Klerk – President Hoevestein 23 [email protected] Postbus 4190 www.emc.nl 4900 CD Tel: +31 162 496 000 Oosterhout Fax: +31 8 42 24 64 86

ThE NEThERLANDS

Euro-flite Air Ambulance Juani Missonen – Coordinator Helsinki International Airport [email protected] PO Box 187 Tel: +358 20510 1900 FIN-01531 Fax: +358 20510 1901

Vantaa FINLAND


Fax: +49 711 7007 7009

FAI – rent-a-jet Ag Volker Lemke – Director Sales & Marketing Flughafenstrasse 100 [email protected] D-90268 Nuremberg www.rent-a-jet.de

gERMANY Tel: +49 911 36009 31 Fax: +49 911 36009 59

global Medical Support Otto Karud – Marketing Director Ullevaal University Hospital [email protected] 0407 Oslo www.globalmedicalsupport.com NORWAY Tel: +47 22 96 50 50

Telfax: +47 22 96 50 51

IFRA Dr Christian Steindl – Director Bahnhofplatz 13/5 [email protected] POB 160 www.ifra.at 3500 Krems Tel: +43 2732 825 610

AUSTRIA Fax: +43 2732 851 01

1. AIR AMBULANCE (CONT.)1. AIR AMBULANCE

3�SERVICEDIRECTORYcall +�� (0) 11� �25 5151 To make an alteration to a listing email: [email protected]


Canadian global Air Ambulance Jeff McIntosh – President Toronto [email protected] Winnipeg www.canadianglobalair.ca Vancouver Toll Free: +1 800 563 3822 CANADA Tel: +1 204 888 5555

Fax: +1 204 888 9111


Fax: +49 711 7007 7009


USA Tel: +1 727 524 9825 Fax: +1 727 524 9826

Life Flight International Inc. Chris Connor – Operations Victoria International Airport [email protected] Viscount Business Center www.lifeflight.ca

103-9800 McDonald Pk Rd Tel: +1 250 655 1630 Sidney, British Columbia Fax: +1 250 656 9394 CANADA

National Air Ambulance george Martinez – Mgr Flight Co-ordination 3495 SW 9th Ave [email protected] Fort Lauderdale www.nationalairambulance.com

FL 33315 Tel: +1 954 359 9900 USA Fax: +1 954 359 9500

Skyservice Air Ambulance David Ewing – VP Int. Market Development YUL/Trudeau Int Airport [email protected] 9785 Avenue Ryan www.skyservice.com/airambulance

Montreal (Quebec) N AmericaToll Free: +800 463 3482 H9P 1A2 Tel: +1 514 497 7000 CANADA Fax: +1 514 636 0096

Jet Executive International Charter günter Krahé – Ground Ops Manager Mündelheimer Weg 50 [email protected] D-40472 www.jetexecutive.com Düsseldorf Tel: +49 211 602 7775

gERMANY Fax: +49 211 602 77766 “Homebase FRA & MUC”


USA Tel: +1 727 524 9825 Fax: +1 727 524 9826

Med Call gmbh Michael Diefenbach – CEO Bahnhofstrasse 22 [email protected] 65185 www.medcallgmbh.com

Wiesbaden Tel: +49 611 9310 310 gERMANY Fax: +49 611 9310 311

Medical Jet Services & Partner W Dichtl Radetzkystr 19 [email protected] Vienna www.medicaljetservice.com 1030 Tel: +43 1 600 1212 AUSTRIA Fax: +43 1 713 2799-19

Red Star Aviation Mustafa Atac – CEO Sabiha Gokcen Int Airport [email protected] J Blok Kurtkoy www.redstar-aviation.com 34912 Tel: +90 216 588 0216

Istanbul Fax: +90 216 588 0225 TURKEY

Swiss Air Ambulance/REgA Walter Stunzi – PR/Marketing Mgr PO Box 1414 [email protected] Zurich Airport www.rega.ch

CH-8058 Tel: +41 333 333 333 SWITZERLAND Fax: +41 44 654 3590

Tyrol Air Ambulance Jakob Ringler – Managing Director PO Box 81 [email protected] A-6026 www.taa.at Innsbruck Airport Tel: +43 512 224 220

AUSTRIA Fax: +43 512 288 888

NORTh AMERICAAerojet Stuart hayman – President 4631 NW 31st Ave [email protected] #220 www.aero-jet.com Ft Lauderdale Tel: +1 954 730 9300

FL 33309 Fax: +1 954 485 6564 USA

Aeromedevac Air Ambulance Jesus Mendez – Provider Relations 681 Kenney Street [email protected] Gillespie Field Airport www.aeromedevac.com El Cajon Tel: US: +1 619 284 7910 CA 92020 Tel: Mexico: 00 1-800-832-5087

USA Fax: +1 619 284-7918

Air Ambulance Professionals, Inc. Brian L. Weisz – President Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport [email protected] 1535 South Perimeter Rd www.airambulanceprof.com Hangar 36B Ft. Lauderdale Tel: +1 954 491 0555

Florida 33309 Fax: +1 954 491 6114 USA

Air Ambulance Specialists, Inc. Donald Jones – President 8001 S.Interport Blvd. [email protected] Suite 250 www.airaasi.com Englewood Toll Free: +1 800 424 7060 CO 80111 Tel: +1 720 875 9182

USA Fax: +1 720 875 9183

Air Ambulance Worldwide Inc. Mark Jones – President 35246 US Hwy 19 North [email protected] #210 www.airambulanceworldwide.com Palm Harbor Tel: +1 727 781 1198 Florida 34684 Fax: +1 727 786 0897

USA

AirMed International LLC Jeffrey T Tolbert – President 1000 Urban Center Drive [email protected] Suite 470 www.airmed.com Birmingham Tel: +1 205 443 4840

AL 35242 Fax: +1 205 443 4841 USA Toll Free: +1 877 633 5387

American Care Air Ambulance Joel Reynolds – General Manager 8775 Aero Drive [email protected] Suite 120 www.americancareairambulance.com San Diego Tel: +1 858 627 0515

CA 92123 Fax: +1 858 627 0534 USA

1. AIR AMBULANCE (CONT.) 1. AIR AMBULANCE (CONT.)

IF YOU WANT TO BE INCLUDED IN ThE LISTINg OR YOU hAVE ANY ENqUIRES PLEASE CALL OUR

SALES DEPARTMENT ON: +44 (0)1179 25 51 51

38 SERVICEDIRECTORY To have your company listed in the Service Directory email: [email protected]


4. ASSISTANCE COMPANIES (CONT.)South Pacific Air Ambulance Scotty Watson – Managing Director

NEW ZEALAND [email protected] AUSTRALIA Tel: +649 623 0162

SINgAPORE Fax: +649 630 8063

EUROPE & ThE MEDITERRANEANADAC-Ambulance Service Robert glueck – Marketing & Sales Director Am Westpark 8 [email protected] 81373 Munich www.adac.de/ambulance gERMANY Tel: +49 89 76 76 52 85 24-h alarm centre:

+49 89 76 76 50 05

ARC Transistance hans Biekmann – Network Director Avenue des Olympiades 2 [email protected] 1140 Brussels www.arctransistance.com BELgIUM Tel: +32 2 706 6660

Fax: +32 2 706 6601

Assistance Plus Maria Berkova – General Manager 10 Building 3, Office 17 [email protected] Petrovsko-Razumovskaya alleya www.assistplus.ru Moscow 127083 Tel: +7 495 785 5525

RUSSIA Fax: +7 495 786 9683

Atlantic Assist Adriano gouveia – Operations Manager Rua da Alfandega 10-2.D [email protected] PO Box 750 www.atlanticassist.com 9000-056 Funchal Tel: +351 291 214 200 Madeira Fax: +351 291 214 202

PORTUgAL

Express Assist Vardan Azatian – General Director 11-th Radialnaya, 2 [email protected]

115404 www.expressassist.ru Moscow Tel: +7 495 775 2090 RUSSIA Fax: +7 495 775 2091

global Voyager Assistance Costas Danilenko – CEO PO Box II [email protected] 125124 www.gvassistance.com Moscow Tel: +7 495 775 0999

RUSSIA Fax: +7 495 775 0998

Mapfre Asistencia Natalia Jorquera – Int Com & Mkt Mgr Sor Ángela de la Cruz, 6 [email protected] 28020 Madrid www.mapfreasistencia.com SPAIN Tel: +34 91 581 4998

Fax: +34 91 581 1850

Marm Assistance Jill Atac – CEO Sabiha Gokcen Int Airport [email protected] J Blok Kurtkoy www.marmassistance.com 34912 Tel: +90 216 588 0588 Istanbul Fax: +90 216 588 0602

TURKEY

MK International Emergency Services Minas Kaloumenos – General Manager 95, Ioanninon Street [email protected] 10444 Tel: +30 210 5154600 Athens Fax: +30 210 5131660

gREECE

SOS International helle Drager – Comms & Marketing Manager Nitivej 6 [email protected] DK-2000 www.sos.eu

Frederiksberg Tel: +45 7010 5055 Copenhagen Fax: +45 7010 5056 DENMARK

TBS Team 24 d.o.o Edvard hojnik – General Manager Ljubljanska Ulica 42 [email protected]

2000 Maribor www.tbs-team24.com SLOVENIJA Tel: +386 2618 2301 (Croatia, Slovenia, Fax: +386 2618 5800 Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia-Montenegro, Kosovo)

NORTh & CENTRAL AMERICAASISTUR Emilio guevara – Managing Director Prado 208 [email protected] e/ Colon y Trocadero www.asistur.cu Habana Vieja Tel: +537 8664499

Ciudad Habana 10100 Fax: +537 8668087 CUBA

Assured Assistance Inc. Martha Turnbull – Director of Operations 6880 Financial Drive [email protected] Mississauga Tel: +1 905 816 2495

Ontario Fax: +1 905 813 4719 L5N 7Y5 CANADA

2. AIR AMBULANCE INTERIORAir Ambulance Technology Egon Kuntner – President A-5282 [email protected] Ranshofen www.airambulancetechnology.com

AUSTRIA Tel: +43 7722 85051 Fax: +43 7722 85051-22

3. AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONSRAISBECK Engineering Nick Nicholson – Sales Manager 4411 South Ryan Way [email protected] Seattle WA98178 www.raisbeck.com

USA Tel: +1 206 723 2000 Fax: +1 206 723 2884

4. ASSISTANCE COMPANIESAFRICA

AIMS Bernadette Breton – Managing Director Private Bag X5 [email protected] Benmore Gardens 2010 www.aims.org.za

Johannesburg Tel: +27 11 245 5777 SOUTh AFRICA Fax: +27 11 783 9277

AMREF Flying Doctor Service Dr Bettina Vadera – Medical Director Wilson Airport [email protected] Langata Road www.amref.org PO Box 18617 Tel: +254 20 600 090 Nairobi Fax: +254 20 344 170

KENYA

Connex Assistance Egypt Lara helmi – Int Network Director Office II [email protected] Ist Floor www.connexassistance.com 6 Sad El Aali Street Tel (24hr): +2 02 336 0005

Dokki, Cairo Fax (24hr): +2 02 762 0003 EgYPT

Netcare 911 Aeromedical Shane Marais Netcare 911 House [email protected]

49 New Road www.netcare911.co.za Halfway House Tel: +27 11 254 1392 Midrand 1685 Fax: +27 11 254 1405 SOUTh AFRICA

AUSTRALASIAAsia Assistance Partners Siriporn Wongurai – Int. Ops. Director 184/235 Forum Tower [email protected] 36 Flr Ratchadapisek Rd www.aapartners.net Huaykwang Tel: +662 645 3733-5


Asia Medical Assistance India Abhijeet Sachdev – Vice President DLF City-ll [email protected]

M.G Road www.privathealthcaregroup.com New Delhi Tel: +91 9899 198 198 Gurgaon 122002 Fax:+91 2440 147 28 INDIA

Asia Medical Assistance Thailand Abhijeet Sachdev – Vice President 1011 10th Fl, BB Building [email protected]

54 Sukhumvit Soi 21 (Asoke) www.privathealthcaregroup.com N Klong Toey, Wattana Tel: +66 225 833 55 Bangkok Tel: +91 9899 198 198 ThAILAND Fax:+66 225 822 77

Blue Dot Assistance haryanto Sutadi – President Director Blue Dot Center [email protected]

Blok K, L, M www.bluedot.web.id Jl Gelong Baru Utara 5-8 Tel: +62 21 5696 1177 Tomang, Jakarta Barat 1440 Fax: +62 21 5696 1169 INDONESIA

Customer Care Pty Ltd Janine Benson – Operations Manager Level 3 [email protected]

60 Miller Street www.customercare.com.au North Sydney 2060 Tel: +612 9202 8222 NSW Fax: +612 9202 8220 AUSTRALIA

First Assistance Mary-Jo McDonald – General Manager PO Box 17-310 [email protected] Greenlane www.firstassistance.co.nz Auckland Tel: +64 9 356 1650

NEW ZEALAND Fax: +64 9 525 1278

global Assistance & healthcare Mario Babin – Chief Executive Officer Jalan Pattimura [email protected] 15 Kebayoran Baru www.global-assistance.net Jakaita Tel: +62 21 725 8115 12110 Fax: +62 21 725 7961

INDONESIA

3�SERVICEDIRECTORYcall +�� (0) 11� �25 5151 To make an alteration to a listing email: [email protected]


1. Air Ambulance

2. Air Ambulance Interior

3. Aircraft Performance Solutions

4. Assistance Companies

5. Catastrophic Claims Specialist

CATEGORY KEY 6. Cost Containment

7. Claims Management

8. Claims Subrogation

9. Critical Care Patient Transport

10. Funeral Directors

11. healthcare Clinics

12. hospitals

13. Medical Escort on Commercial Airlines

14. Medical Provider

15. Medical Screening

16. Re-insurance

17. Travel Agents

6. COST CONTAINMENT (CONT.)4. ASSISTANCE COMPANIES (CONT.)global Excel Management Brian Allatt – CEO 73 Queen Street [email protected] Lennoxville, Quebec www.globalexcel.ca JIM IJ3, CANADA Tel: +1 866 566 1130

4242 Cranmore Court Fax: +1 819 566 8335 Belle Isle, Fl 32812, USA

Medex Assistance Corporation Linda Mcgee – SVP of Sales 8501 LaSalle Road [email protected] Suite 200 www.medexassist.com Baltimore Tel: +1 410 453 6300

MD 21286 Fax: +1 410 453 6301 USA

OneWorld Assist Taka Katsube – Dir Assist & Cost Mngment 10th Floor [email protected] 6081 No.3 Road www.oneworldassist.com

Richmond, BC Tel: +1 604 303 2113 V6Y 2B2 Fax: +1 604 276 4593 CANADA

TMCA Margaret Whartom – Ops Manager 217 Broadway [email protected] Suite 600 www.tmcatravel.com NYC Tel: +1 212 964 8580

NY 10007 Fax: +1 212 406 1520 USA

World Travel Protection Canada Inc. Dr Ron Mayer – President & Chf Med Officer 400 University Avenue [email protected] 15th Floor www.wtp.ca

Toronto Tel: +1 416 977 3565 Ontario M5G IS7 Fax: +1 416 205 4676 CANADA

5. CATASTROPhIC CLAIMS SPECIALISTDr Colin Plotkin Consulting Dr Colin Plotkin – Managing Director 27-3088 Francis Road [email protected] Richmond Tel: +1 604 241 9677 British Columbia Fax: +1 604 241 0733 V7C 5V9

CANADA

6. COST CONTAINMENTAFRICA

AIMS Bernadette Breton – Managing Director Private Bag X5 [email protected] Benmore Gardens www.aims.org.za 2010 Tel: +27 11 245 5777

Johannesburg Fax: +27 11 783 9277 SOUTh AFRICA

EUROPEChargeCare International Christiane Burniston – Managing Director Monument Business Park [email protected] 1D, Park Offices www.chargecare.co.uk Warpsgrove Lane Tel: +44 1865 400 007

Chalgrove, Oxford Fax: +44 1865 400 707 UK Mobile: +44 777 44 35 649

Marm Assistance Jill Atac – CEO Sabiha Gokcen Int Airport [email protected] J Blok Kurtkoy www.marmassistance.com

34912 Tel: +90 216 588 0588 Istanbul Fax: +90 216 588 0602 TURKEY

Medical Claims International Spain Fatima guillen grande – Managing Director C/Ciudad de Aguilas No.2 [email protected] Local 2A www.mcimanager.com Madrid 28030 Tel: 00 34 913 016 145

SPAIN Fax: 00 34 913 016 160

OneWorld Assist Jeanette harper – Business Dev. Manager 89 Fleet Street [email protected] London www.oneworldassist.co.uk

EC4Y 1DH Tel: +44 7786 982 624 UK Fax: +44 1189 32 80 68

NORTh AMERICAglobal Excel Management Brian Allatt – CEO 73 Queen Street, Lennoxville [email protected] Quebec, JIM 1J3, CANADA www.globalexcel.ca

4242 Cranmore Court Tel: +1 866 566 1130 Belle Isle, FL 32812, USA Fax: +1 819 566 8335

global Medical Management Raija Itzchaki – Assistant VP Marketing 7901 SW 36th Street [email protected] Suite 100 www.gmmusa.com

Davie Tel: +1 954 370 6404 FL 33328 Fax: +1 954 370 8613 USA

health Systems International Peggy Novotny – VP / Gen Mngr Intl Bus. 5975 Castle Creek Parkway [email protected] Suite 100 www.us-hsi.com Indianapolis Tel: +1 317 806 2000

IN 46250 Fax: +1 317 806 2033 USA

Medsave USA Jeffrey Baker – President 1400 Old Country Road [email protected] Suite 109 www.medsaveusa.com Westbury Tel: +1 516 622 1784

NY 11590 Fax: +1 516 294 6761 USA

Star healthcare gigi galen – President 850 7th Avenue [email protected] Suit 803 www.starhealthcarenet.com New York 10019 Tel: +1 212 581 8228

USA Fax: +1 212 581 8272

TMCA Margaret Whartom – Ops Manager 217 Broadway [email protected] Suite 600 www.tmcatravel.com NYC Tel: +1 212 964 8580 NY 10007 Fax: +1 212 406 1520

USA

United health International Philip Brun – Director of Business Development 15500 New Barn Road [email protected] Suite 200 www.hygeia.net Miami Lakes Tel: +1 305 594 9291 Ext.3312 FL 33014 Fax: +1 305 594 9201

USA

7. CLAIMS MANAgEMENTglobal Assistance & healthcare Nathan hannah – TPA Mgr Asia/Pac Jalan Pattimura [email protected] 15 Kebayoran Baru www.global-assistance.net Jakaita Tel: +62 21 725 8115

12110 Fax: +62 21 725 8951 INDONESIA

global Excel Management Brian Allatt – CEO 73 Queen Street, Lennoxville [email protected] Quebec, JIM 1J3, CANADA www.globalexcel.ca 4242 Cranmore Court Tel: +1 866 566 1130

Belle Isle, FL 32812 USA Fax: +1 819 566 8335

Star healthcare gigi galen – President 850 7th Avenue [email protected] Suit 803 www.starhealthcarenet.com New York Tel: +1 212 581 8228 10019 Fax: +1 212 581 8272

USA

�0 SERVICEDIRECTORY To have your company listed in the Service Directory email: [email protected]


CATEGORY KEY 1. Air Ambulance

2. Air Ambulance Interior

3. Aircraft Performance Solutions

4. Assistance Companies

5. Catastrophic Claims Specialist

6. Cost Containment

7. Claims Management

8. Claims Subrogation

9. Critical Care Patient Transport

10. Funeral Directors

11. healthcare Clinics

12. hospitals

13. Medical Escort on Commercial Airlines

14. Medical Provider

15. Medical Screening

16. Re-insurance

17. Travel Agents

11. hEALThCARE CLINICSLuzdoc Dr Maria Alica Silva – Medical Director Rua 25 de Abril [email protected] 12 Vila da Luz www.luzdoc.com

8600-174 LGS Tel: +351 282 780 700 PORTUgAL Fax: +351 282 780 709

Number One health group Dr Charlie Easmon – Director 1 Harley Street [email protected] London www.numberonehealth.co.uk

W1G 9QD Tel: +44 207 307 8756 UK Fax: +44 207 504 3758

12. hOSPITALSASIA

Bangkok hospital Medical Center Judy Mitchell – Third Party Payor Services Bangkok International Hospital [email protected] 2 Soi Soonvijai 7 www.bangkokhospital.com New Petchburi Road Tel: +66 2310 3000


Piyavate hospital Intl. health Care Dr. Tanatip Suppradit – CEO Piyavate International Hospital [email protected] 998 Rimklongsamsaen Rd. www.piyavate.com (Rama IX Rd.), Bangkapi, Tel: +66 2625 6500

Huay Kwang, Bangkok 10310 Fax: +66 2625 6890 ThAILAND

Privat hospital Abhijeet Sachdev – Vice President DLF City-ll [email protected] M.G Road www.privathealthcaregroup.com New Delhi Tel: +91 9899 198 198

Gurgaon 122002 Fax: +91 124 235 3794 INDIA

Wockhardt hospitals Pradeep Thukral – Head International Mrktg Mulund Goregaon [email protected], [email protected] Link Road www.wockhardthospitals.net Mumbai Tel: +91 9819015749 400 078 Tel: +91 22 26596502

INDIA Fax: +91-22-55994242

EUROPEXanit hospital de Benalmadena Dr. Juan Bosco Rodriguez hurtado – Director Camino de Gilabert s/n [email protected] Benalmadena www.xanit.net 29630 Tel: +34 952 367 190

Malaga Fax: +34 952 367 191 SPAIN

NORTh AMERICABaptist health Int. Center of Miami Yohandra Fuentes – Finance Manager 8940 North Kendall Drive [email protected] Suite 601-E www.baptisthealth.net/international Miami Tel: +1 786 596 2373 Fl 33176 Fax: +1 786 596 5979

USA

Jackson Memorial hospital Int. Shai gold – Vice President Jackson Medical Towers [email protected] East Tower, Suite 829 www.jmhi.org 1500 NW 12th Avenue 24 hr: +1 786 367 4914 Miami, FL 33136-9998 Tel: +1 305 355 5544

USA Fax: +1 305 355 5545

13. MEDICAL ESCORT ON COMMERCIAL AIRLINES

AFRICAAMREF Flying Doctor Service Dr Bettina Vadera – Medical Director Wilson Airport [email protected] Langata Road www.amref.org PO Box 18617 Tel: +254 20 600 090

Nairobi Fax: +254 20 344 170 KENYA

8. CLAIMS SUBROgATION

Medsave USA Jeffrey Baker – President 1400 Old Country Road [email protected] Suite 109 www.medsaveusa.com Westbury Tel: +1 516 622 1784

NY 11590 Fax: +1 516 294 6761

9. CRITICAL CARE PATIENT TRANSPORTEUROPE

Lufthansa german Airlines Lufthansa Medical Desk FRA XJ [email protected] Frankfurt Airport Tel: +49 1805 838 038

D-60546 Fax: +49 561 9933 117 gERMANY

10. FUNERAL DIRECTORSBONgO International Funeral Services Marek Cichewicz – Intl Manager ul. Skrzetuskiego 34A [email protected] 02-726 www.bongo.com.pl Warsaw Tel: +48 22 831 00 36 POLAND Fax: +48 22 635 21 93

Funeral home AURIgA Ltd. helen Pradova – Chief of Intnl Dept B. Nmcové Street 1052/1 [email protected] 412 01 [email protected] Litomerice www.funeral-assistance.cz CZECh REPUBLIC Tel: +420 724 257 899

Fax: +420 416 735 800

Funeralcare International Roger Waddington 221 Upper Richmond Road [email protected] Putney www.co-operativefuneralcare.co.uk

London Tel: +44 20 8788 5303 SW15 6SQ Fax: +44 20 8788 2525 UK

global Networks Funeral Assistance Cristina Almudi – Managing Director 23 Blindmans Lane [email protected] Cheshunt www.gnfa.info Hertfordshire Tel: +44 1992 640 066 EN8 9DR Fax: +44 1992 785 030

UK

KCh Repatriation Specialists Robert Rowntree – Managing Director 83 Westbourne Grove [email protected] Bayswater www. kchrepatriation.com London W2 4UL Tel: +44 20 7313 6920

UK Fax: +44 20 7313 6999

MK Funeral & Transportation Services Minas Kaloumenos – General Manager 95, Ioanninon Street [email protected] 10444 Tel: +30 210 5154600 Athens Fax: +30 210 5131660

gREECE

Rowland Brothers International Melanie Walkling – Manager Int. Dept 299-305 Whitehorse Road [email protected] West Croydon www.rowlandbrothersinternational.co.uk Surrey Tel: +44 20 8684 2324

CR0 2HR Fax: +44 20 8684 8000 UK

Servilusa Vanda Castro – Manager Int Dept Agencias Funerarias SA [email protected] International Dept. www.servilusa.pt Rua do Entreposto Industrial Tel: +35 121 470 6300

8-2 Esq, 2610-135 Amadora Fax: +35 121 470 6499 PORTUgAL

�1SERVICEDIRECTORYcall +�� (0) 11� �25 5151 To make an alteration to a listing email: [email protected]


IF YOU WANT TO BE INCLUDED IN ThE LISTINg OR YOU hAVE ANY ENqUIRES PLEASE CALL OUR

SALES DEPARTMENT ON: +44 (0)1179 25 51 51

AUSTRALASIACareFlight International Sue Robshaw – Co-ordinator Westmead Hospital Campus [email protected] PO Box 159 www.careflight.org

Westmead Tel: +61 1300 655 855 NSW 2145 Fax:+61 2 4751 2995 AUSTRALIA

Medical Wings Dr Sommart Somsiri – Medical Director 222 Room 3259 [email protected]

Bangkok Int Airport www.medicalwings.com Viphavadee-Rangsit Rd, Sikan Tel: +662 247 3392 Don Muang, Bangkok 10210 Fax:+662 535 4355 ThAILAND

Mediflight Debra O’Brien – Operations Manager Royal Adelaide Hospital [email protected] North Terrace www.mediflight.com.au

Adelaide Tel: +61 8 8223 6618 SA 5000 Fax: +61 8 8223 6340 AUSTRALIA

EUROPEAeroMed 365 Paul golder – Commercial Director Worth Corner Busn Cntr [email protected]

Turners Hill Road www.aeromed365.com Pound Hill Tel: +44 8707 596 999 Crawley RH10 7SL Fax: +44 8707 559599 UK

EMC Meditrans Servé de Klerk – President Hoevestein 23 [email protected] Postbus 4190 www.emc.nl 4900 CD Tel: +31 162 496 000 Oosterhout Fax: +31 8 42 24 64 86

ThE NEThERLANDS

Voyageur Aeromedical Travel Marc Lucas – General Manager Voyageur Buildings [email protected] 43 Colston Street www.voyageur.co.uk Bristol Tel: +44 (0)117 927 3554 BS1 5AX Fax: +44 (0)117 925 5940

UK

NORTh AMERICAAeromedevac Air Ambulance Jesus Mendez – Provider Relations 681 Kenney Street [email protected] Gillespie Field Airport www.aeromedevac.com El Cajon Tel: US: +1 619 284 7910 CA 92020 Tel: Mexico: 00 1-800-832-5087

USA Fax: +1 619 284-7918

Air Ambulance Worldwide Inc. Mark Jones – President 35246 US Hwy 19 North [email protected] #210 www.airambulanceworldwide.com Palm Harbor Tel: +1 727 781 1198

Florida 34684 Fax: +1 727 786 0897 USA

American Care Air Ambulance Joel Reynolds – General Manager 8775 Aero Drive [email protected] Suite 120 www.americancareairambulance.com San Diego Tel: +1 858 627 0515

CA 92123 Fax:+1 858 627 0534 USA

Life Flight International Inc. Chris Connor – Operations Victoria International Airport [email protected] Viscount Business Center www.lifeflight.ca

103-9800 McDonald Pk Rd Tel: +1 250 655 1630 Sidney, British Columbia Fax: +1 250 656 9394 CANADA

National Air Ambulance george Martinez – Mgr Flight Co-ordination 3495 SW 9th Ave [email protected] Fort Lauderdale www.nationalairambulance.com

FL 33315 Tel: +1 954 359 9900 USA Fax: +1 954 359 9500

MedEscort International Craig Poliner – President 1730 Vultee Street [email protected] Allentown www.medescort.com PA 18103 Toll Free: +1 800 255 7182

Tel (US): 610 791 3111 USA Fax: +1 610 791 9189

13. MEDICAL ESCORT ON COMMER. AIRLINES (CONT) 14. MEDICAL PROVIDERAMREF Flying Doctor Service Dr Bettina Vadera – Medical Director Wilson Airport [email protected] Langata Road www.amref.org PO Box 18617 Tel: +254 20 600 090 Nairobi Fax: +254 20 344 170

KENYA

Atlantic Assist Adriano gouveia – Operations Manager Rua da Alfandega 10-2.D [email protected] PO Box 750 www.atlanticassist.com 9000-056 Funchal Tel: +351 291 214 200

Madeira Fax: +351 291 214 202 PORTUgAL

15. MEDICAL SCREENINgTravel & Medical Insurance Services Lara Suttie – Call Centre Manager 1st Flr Suite, West House [email protected] 46 High Street www.travelandmedical.co.uk Orpington Tel: +44 845 058 8000

Kent BR6 0JQ Fax: +44 845 053 3000 UK

Travel Screen Sandra howell – General Manager The Seedbed Centre [email protected] Vanguard Way www.travelscreen.co.uk Shoeburyness Tel: +44 1702 587 007 Essex SS3 9QY Fax: +44 1702 584 731

UK

17. TRAVEL AgENTSVoyageur Aeromedical Travel Marc Lucas – General Manager Voyageur Buildings [email protected] 43 Colston Street www.voyageur.co.uk Bristol Tel: +44 (0)117 927 3554 BS1 5AX Fax: +44 (0)117 925 5940

UK

�2 ONTHEMOVE


DIARY DATES10-12 October

Product Management Skills & Techniques

SeminarEmbassy Suites, Buckhead

Atlanta, GA, UShttp://www.dormanconsulting.

com/productmgmt

15-16 OctoberPricing and Rate Making in Plain English Seminar

Atlanta, GA, USwww.dormanconsulting.

com/seminars

16-19 October14th Annual Conference

of the International Association of Insurance

SupervisorsFt Lauderdale, FL, US

21-23 OctoberACLI Annual

Conference 2007Omni Shoreham Hotel

Washington, DC, US

29 October – 1 NovemberSelf Insurance Institute

of America National Conference

Sheraton Hotel and TowersChicago, IL, US

www.siia.org

5-6 November6th Annual BITS

Financial Services Outsourcing Conference

Doral Golf Resort & SpaMiami, FL, US

www.sourcemediaconferences.com

5-7 November17th World Captive Forum

Fairmont Scottsdale, AZ, USwww.worldcaptiveforum.com

5-9 NovemberInternational Travel

Insurance ConferenceHilton Molino Stucky,

Venice, Italy

13-15 NovemberContingency Planning

and Management ExpoGaylord Palms Resort

Orlando, FL, USwww.riskvue.com/calendar.htm

14-16 NovemberCDI-MDM Summit

Hilton New York, NY, USwww.sourcemediaconferences.com

28 NovemberChief Financial Officer’s

DialogueThe Harmonie Club,

New York, NY, US

1-4 December NAIC National Winter

MeetingHilton Americas

Houston, TX, USwww.naic.org

5 DecemberCrisis Management and Crisis Communications

for Your NonprofitWeb Seminar

http://nonprofitrisk.org/training/webinars/webinars.shtml

5-7 December8th Annual SCCIA

ConferenceCharleston Place Hotel

Charleston, SC, USwww.sccia.org

9-12 DecemberSRA Annual Meeting

Marriott Rivercenter, San Antonio, TX, US

www.sra.org/events.php

10 DecemberThe New Rules on

Mergers and Acquisitions: Succeeding after the froth

Westin New York, NY, USwww.sourcemediaconferences.com


This month’s offering arrived only recently from Canada. Kenny Blanchard from GlobalExcel wrote to us when he remembered a claim that I think we can all have a little chuckle at.

This claim occurred probably around eight or nine years ago, when I first started at GlobalExcel.An older gentleman and his wife were travelling across the US in a motorised home, enjoying their holiday, when one day the gentleman wanted to ‘get it on’ with his wife. However, knowing that he had difficulty ‘getting it up’, he decided that it was a good idea to self-administer an injection that would help with his cause. The gentleman waited and waited but nothing appeared to have happened, so he then decided to give himself another injection. I believe it was after his second dose that things started to ‘work’, shall we say, and this was also the beginning of his claim, as ‘it’ then never stopped working.After several hours in some discomfort and pain, the gentleman finally decided to present himself at the ER, where he was subsequently hospitalised … I forget exactly how long he was in for, but it was at least a couple of days. Part of his treatment, however, was to get ‘it’ massaged to help with the pain … I will always remember when somebody said: “Isn’t that counterproductive?!”

This month’s Quirky Claims Winner –––––––––––– GlobalExcel

the key principles.The retail sector of the FSA, which covers all businesses that deal directly with consumers, from high-street banks to insurers, has become a key area for Sants as well as the government, meaning conflict in some form is almost inevitable. The FSA also launched a major review of distribution, which could shake up the financial advice scene. If approved, it would label advisers according to qualifications and remuneration in an effort to promote better standards and improved transparency.Other vital challenges for Sants include the problems of implementing European Union regulation, from the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) to Solvency II. Sants takes over the top job at the FSA after four years of relatively benign markets, with the regulator itself now warning of increased risks earlier this year. In its Financial Risk Outlook, however, the FSA pointed to geo-political uncertainty, increasingly complex financial markets, correlated asset classes and cheap risk, with bond yields low, as reasons for concern that there could be a global economic downturn.

Challenges await Sants continued from p.12

New sales focus at FirstAssistFirstAssist Services, a health and well-being provider based near London, has announced the appointment of Kevin Dewhurst as sales and marketing director, organisational health and well-being. The newly created role marks the strong focus the firm is taking on developing the sales arm of its corporate healthcare division.Kevin joins FirstAssist from AXA PPP, bringing with him a deep understanding of the healthcare market and the needs of the corporate customer. Ian Sparks, managing director of FirstAssist Services, said: “Kevin’s drive and clear vision make him the ideal person to head up the new sales team.”The rest of team comprises six sales people from the health and well-being arena. Sharon Bates and Daren Pemberton both move to FirstAssist from Active Health Partners; David Rennie joins from Croner; Phil Bowden is moving from the firm’s legal division to sales; Phil Knight comes from intermediary experience; and finally, Matthew Armstrong rounds off the team, joining from Peninsula.

Kevin Dewhurst

CEO transition at ZurichZurich Financial Services has announced that Paul van de Geijn, CEO of the Group’s global life business segment, will reach his planned retirement date in 2008, and that Mario Greco will be joining the company to succeed him as CEO, after a period of transition. Paul will remain CEO until early next year, and will continue to launch projects such as the firm’s expanding operations in China. Mario will join Zurich and the executive committee on 1 October.Paul has served as global life’s CEO and as a member of the group executive committee since 2003; during his tenure, he has successfully led the restructuring of the company’s life business by focusing on a multi-niche strategy and generating significant increases in new business value. Mario brings with him extensive experience in the European insurance industry having held the position of CEO of Eurizon Financial Group, and also worked for IMI Group, Ras, and Allianz in the past.

past when tour operators experienced problems, bond providers had worked with the companies in order to ensure the minimum amount of damage was done to consumers, but under the new rules, there would be no such organisation to deal with this situation. Adding that although he understood the government’s concerns about the £20-million deficit in the Air Travel Trust Fund, he said the same outcome could be achieved by placing a very small levy on passengers and amending the bonding system so that policies paid out bigger amounts in the event of a tour operator failure.

and media personalities to accept his award in person – the Campaign has found winners of Golden Bull trophies less keen to attend. Last year Germaine Greer declined the invitation but then used a full page in the Guardian to advise the Plain English Campaign on what it could do with it’s Golden Bull. The winner of the Foot in Mouth trophy for unfortunate slips of the mouth was Naomi Campbell – who seemed to have a full diary that day.Two employees of Legal and General Assurance were awarded Plain English diplomas at the ceremony last year – a sign that one company, at least, is taking a serious look at the importance of Plain English in dealing with the public. So, will some members of our industry be beaming out from the podium having been presented with a prestigious Plain English award? Or will there be corporate cringing around the water coolers on 11 December?

Everyone likes to win an award…maybe!

continued from p.6

Insurers say No!continued from p.12

Robinson replaces Richardson at AXAAXA UK has recently announced that Ian Richardson will retire as group business risk director of AXA UK in December this year, to be replaced by Ian Robinson, who is currently chief operating officer for HSBC Insurance Holdings.Richardson, 62, has held his position at AXA since 2004, with main board responsibility for operational risk, compliance, internal audit, legal and company secretarial matters. He is also a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, as well as being an adviser to the Institute.Robinson, meanwhile, will (subject to regulatory approval) take up the role of group business risk director. He will have responsibility for the oversight of operations, risk management and compliance within the insurance operations of the HSBC group worldwide, including pensions, broking, healthcare, general and life insurance activities. Previously Ian worked in the internal audit function of HSBC and then focused on the insurance aspects of their securities and corporate finance businesses. Prior to working for HSBC, Ian was at Deloitte and Touche, where he specialised in the London Insurance Market business. He has also spent time working for the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the city regulator, to establish the FSA Insurance Risk Review team.

Nell namedPhilip Nell has been named as head of UK retail property funds at Morley, the UK-based asset management arm of Aviva plc. This new role combines responsibility at fund manager level for both the Norwich Property Trust (NPT) and Norwich Property Investment Fund. Neil Davies, director of marketing of investments at Norwich Union, said: “We firmly believe commercial property continues to be an attractive asset class for investors within a diversified portfolio and we are committed to providing the best possibly return for customers. I’m confident [in] Philip’s expertise and familiarity with our business.”Philip added that he was very much looking forward to managing the Trust, which, with assets at over £4 billion, is one of the largest property funds in the UK. “There are a number of opportunities which my new appointment brings, particularly the prospect of creating a common approach to managing both the Norwich Property Trust and Norwich Property Investment Fund.”

Thiam’s conversionAviva plc has announced that Tidjane Thiam, group executive director of Aviva Europe, has decided to resign from the company. Tidjane joined the firm in 2002 as group strategy and development director and became responsible for Aviva’s European operations in 2006. Prior to joining Aviva, Tidjane was a partner with McKinsey & Company in France, and minister of planning and development of Côte d’Ivoire.Meanwhile, Prudential has announced that Tidjane is to join its team as group finance director, as successor to Philip Broadley. Tidjane is also expected to join the company’s board in April 2008 as an executive director. In order to ensure the smoothest possible handover, Philip will remain on the board until May 2008, when the annual general meeting is held, and continue to be responsible for the 2007 financial statements.Mark Tucker, chief executive of the Prudential group, said he was ‘truly delighted’ to have Tidjane on his team: “Tidjane’s diverse background and experience mean that he is well suited to help lead Prudential to the next stage of its development. He is widely respected in the industry and has a great reputation for optimising performance and value.” He went on to say that Philip will be sorely missed, and to wish him all the best for the future.

that, it will also need a lot of money, according to the former general counsel of the exchange, Peter Bickford. The previous exchange failed in part due to a lack of investment, he said, and added: “It would have to be better funded … Syndicates would need hundreds of millions of dollars.” Mr Dinallo has said he is not promising results, but he ‘can’t imagine a better opportunity for New York to attract capital to the insurance and reinsurance markets’.

Dinallo ponders exchange revival

continued from p.13

�3ONTHEMOVE


New CEO for Aviva SpainAviva has announced that Gerardo Aróstegui has decided to step down after 23 years as the head of the company’s business in Spain. Gerardo, 58, will step down by the end of the year and will be succeeded by David Angulo, who is currently insurance division director at Abbey, part of Grupo Santander. David has previously held positions in senior management with Aegon, and was manager of Bankinter’s corporate banking division prior to that. David will join Aviva on 1 October, and will become CEO of Aviva Spain at the beginning of 2008.Speaking about his decision to step down, Gerardo said it had been thoroughly and consciously thought through and was based upon his ‘firm belief that after 23 years as Aviva Spain’s CEO, the time has come for a generational change’. He added that Aviva Spain is currently in a market-leading position, it is the perfect point for a young and eager person to succeed him, and ‘David is undoubtedly the right man for that role’.

Non-exec directors chosenPrudential plc has announced the appointments of Sir Win Bischoff and Ann Godbehere as non-executive directors to the board. Sir Win has been chairman of Citigroup Europe since 2000 and was previously group chief executive and then chairman of Schroders plc. Ann has worked in the insurance sector since 1976, most recently as group chief financial officer of Swiss Re.

The Claimers illustrated by Chris Duggan, original concept by Ian Cameron © Voyageur Publishing & Events Ltd

Toronto coveredInRoomMD, a travel healthcare concierge service catering to the most popular North American destinations, has named Thomas Burko, MD, as regional medical director for its Toronto, Ontario healthcare network. Dr Burko will oversee the delivery of quality healthcare services for InRoomMD participants visiting the area. He is also the founder, CEO and medical director for MedVisit Doctors Housecall Service.Company president Andrew Jacobson said that Toronto was a natural choice for the firm ‘because of its popular appeal as an international business and leisure destination and because it has the medical resources available to deliver our highest quality of care standard’. Dr Burko added that the firm had managed to tap into the needs of travellers and their insurance providers by giving them an alternative healthcare resource: “Travellers to Toronto will benefit from the option of quality in-room medical care and Toronto physicians will enjoy a practice model that allows them to engage in rewarding patient relationships while maintaining an income.”

David Angulo

Orator namedZurich Financial Services Group has announced the appointment of Christian Orator to the position of global chief claims officer. He will succeed Jane Tutoki, who has been appointed chief claims officer for Zurich North American Commercial. In his new position, Christian will be responsible for leading a global network of claims professionals and driving continuous improvement in the Group’s claims capabilities and customer service. He will report to John Amore, CEO of general insurance, and will be located in Zurich.Christian currently heads special initiatives within the office of the group chief administrative office. He has extensive experience in the strategic planning, underwriting and claims fields, having held numerous executive and

operations roles in Austria, the US, Germany and at corporate centre since joining Zurich in 1989.In related news, Hanno Mijer has been appointed to the position of head of business development for Global Life. In this newly created role, Hanno will support Global Life’s growth strategy by focusing on new and existing strategic alliance, possible mergers and acquisitions, new partnerships and cross-border opportunities. He will report to Paul van de Geijn, chief executive officer for Global Life Insurance, and will be located in Zurich. Hanno joins Zurich from consulting firm Watson Wyatt in the UK, where he worked for seven years and was a member of the global management team of its insurance and financial services unit.

Groupama expansionGroupama has expanded its Partnership Business Development team with the appointments of Richard Saunders and Kingsley Oji as account managers. The appointments will serve to expand an already highly experienced team that handles the group’s business activities with major brokers, affinity groups, corporate partners and consumer brands. Richard has extensive experience in developing and managing corporate partnerships. His career in the insurance industry spans over 20 years, with key roles at Hill House Hammond, Jardine Lloyd Thompson, HSBC and Allianz.Kingsley, an associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute, joins Groupama following a similar role at Alexander Forbes Professions. Prior to that, he worked for Marsh, completing a secondment in Sydney.Allison Andrews, head of business development partnership, said: “These appointments significantly strengthen Groupama Insurance’s growing account management team. [They] will both be building strong, individual relationships and maintaining close contact with our intermediaries.”

Aon Consulting hires across AsiaAon Consulting Worldwide, the global human capital consulting organisation of Aon Corporation, has announced the expansion of its Asia Pacific team with the addition of five new people across the region. Klaus Liu is now the Greater China managing director with responsibilities for the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Klaus comes to Aon from Hewitt Associates where as a member of its global leadership team he was responsible for the firm’s business across greater China. In his new role, Klaus is responsible for leading and managing all aspects of Aon Consulting’s business in Greater China.Boon Chong Na is now director for Southeast Asia, based in Singapore. Boon brings with him more than 25 years of experience in leading consulting organisations. His areas of expertise include corporate governance, organisation transformation and post merger integration. Boon will be responsible for delivering consulting services and solutions for clients in Singapore and other Southeast Asian nations. Dhritiman Chakrabarti is now director of Total Rewards Consulting, based in Singapore. Tony Kong is vice-president of Global Applications, having moved from Mercer. In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing the introduction of technology and the management of projects to implement new systems and solutions around the world.Rick Payne is a principal consultant with Aon Consulting based in San Francisco. Rick founded and built the Asian business of Corporate Resources Group, which was sold to Mercer in 1998. He specialises in talent management, organisational design and compensation.

Duperreault selected as chairmanThe Board of Directors of the International Insurance Society (IIS) has announced the election of Brian Duperreault as the new chairman. Brian is director and former chairman, president and CEO of ACE ltd., Bermuda. He succeeds Karl Wittmann, retired member of the board of management from Munich Re. “We are very excited to welcome Brian as our chairman and we are confident that he will provide excellent leadership for the society,” said Patrick Kenny, IIS president and CEO. “With his exceptional background in the industry, as well as a thorough understanding of the IIS and its mission, he will be able to guide us as we move ahead.”Brian joined ACE Limited as chairman, president and CEO in 1994 with a mandate to diversify the company from a Bermuda speciality carrier into a premier global insurance organisation. Following a clearly articulated strategy of growth through acquisition and diversification, Brian oversaw the emergence of the ACE Group as one of very few global property casualty insurers and reinsurers.

Kingsley Oji of groupama

Richard Saunders of groupama

Top to bottom; Klaus Liu, Boon Chong Na, Dhritiman Chakrabarti, Tony Kong and Rick Payne.

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