Rising healthcare costs, changing expatriate profiles, the growth of international remote working and differences between national healthcare systems… The International Private Medical Insurance (IPMI) market is undergoing several transformations. To continue providing policyholders with timely access to high-quality healthcare while keeping premiums affordable, insurers and service providers must now go far beyond simply reimbursing medical expenses. APRIL International currently supports several hundred thousand policyholders through a global network of more than 2 million healthcare professionals, 30,000 partner brokers and 350 dedicated employees representing 26 different nationalities.
Helen Jude, Head of Global Medical Network at APRIL International, discusses the emerging challenges facing international healthcare and explains how APRIL International is taking concrete action to manage costs while enhancing the policyholder experience.
Beyond financial coverage, what do policyholders expect today?
Expectations have changed considerably. Today’s expatriates are no longer simply looking for health insurance coverage: they expect genuine support throughout their healthcare journey. Finding a trusted doctor quickly, understanding how the local healthcare system works, avoiding upfront medical payments or accessing a remote consultation from the other side of the world have all become essential requirements.
We have therefore developed a service-led approach designed to simplify every stage of the healthcare journey. Our Easy Claim app enables policyholders to manage reimbursements easily, access all our services and communicate with our teams wherever they are. We have also been pioneers with Easy Pay Card, a digital payment card that allows policyholders to avoid paying upfront for treatment at many of our partner healthcare facilities. This provides real peace of mind, particularly when facing significant medical expenses abroad.
We also offer teleconsultation services through Teladoc, psychological support and remote physiotherapy sessions with our partner Axomove. Our ambition is to support policyholders throughout their healthcare journey, not just when they need to make a claim.
Why has cost containment become such a major challenge for international health insurance?
Medical inflation is currently the biggest challenge facing our industry. Across most regions of the world, healthcare costs are rising significantly faster than general inflation. This is particularly true in Asia, a region that remains highly popular with expatriates. There are several factors behind this trend, including increasingly innovative treatments, ageing populations, the growing prevalence of chronic diseases, greater use of private healthcare facilities and the expansion of medical tourism.
Beyond inflation itself, international healthcare is inherently complex. Healthcare systems vary considerably from one country to another, as do medical practices, pricing structures and reimbursement arrangements. The same procedure can cost several times more depending on the healthcare facility chosen.
We therefore have a dual responsibility: ensuring our policyholders have access to the best possible care while maintaining the long-term financial sustainability of our insurance solutions. This is precisely what cost containment is about: taking proactive action to prevent unnecessary expenditure without ever compromising the quality of care our customers receive.
In practical terms, what does your cost containment strategy involve?
People often assume that our role begins when a medical bill arrives. In reality, it starts much earlier. When a policyholder requires hospitalisation or significant medical treatment, our medical teams become involved at an early stage to assess the situation. We review whether the proposed care pathway is the most appropriate, may recommend a second medical opinion, guide the patient towards a more suitable healthcare facility or negotiate directly with healthcare providers.
Our objective is never to restrict access to care. It is to ensure that every policyholder receives the right treatment, in the right place, at a fair cost.
This approach is underpinned by several complementary strengths: our 60 in-house medical experts, a worldwide network of more than 2 million healthcare professionals, access to over 53,000 doctors through 24/7 teleconsultation services, and our in-depth knowledge of local healthcare systems.
This expertise enables us to support policyholders through sometimes highly complex medical situations, while reducing their out-of-pocket expenses and helping to keep premium increases under control over the long term.
What are APRIL International’s key strengths in addressing these challenges?
Our strength lies in the combination of medical expertise, an international network and a strong capacity for innovation.
We currently support policyholders in 180 countries. This global reach enables us to understand local healthcare environments, identify the most appropriate medical facilities, monitor developments in medical practices and build long-term relationships with our healthcare partners.
We are also investing significantly in digitalisation to streamline healthcare journeys and make interactions between our policyholders, our teams and healthcare professionals easier and more efficient.
You recently enhanced your MyHealth International offering. How does it address the changing needs of expatriates?
International mobility profiles are evolving rapidly. Alongside traditional expatriates, we are now seeing growing numbers of digital nomads, entrepreneurs, internationally mobile young professionals and families whose lives increasingly span several countries.
We have therefore completely redesigned MyHealth International to offer a simpler, more flexible solution that better reflects this diversity of needs.
The new range now offers four levels of cover, from essential healthcare needs through to premium worldwide protection. It also includes more preventive healthcare services, enhanced assistance and increasingly personalised support.
Our ambition remains unchanged: to enable everyone to embrace international mobility with complete peace of mind, through solutions that combine high-quality healthcare, innovation, ease of use and sustainable cost management.
