InterGlobal announces 2013 premium increase at half the rate of medical inflation

Effective cost containment steps underpin commitment to fair pricing

International private medical insurer InterGlobal has announced its annual increase in premiums for its UltraCare range of international private medical insurance (IPMI) plans for 2013. The rise of 5% applies in all territories with the exception of China and Indonesia and is expected to be one of the lowest increases in annual premiums in the market in 2013.

InterGlobal has focused on effective claims cost containment, anti-fraud measures and robust expense control to deliver highly competitive premium levels for 2013:

•Medical provider management and cost containment to protect members from the consequences of provider overcharging and unnecessary treatment, while delivering high levels of personal service. InterGlobal’s in house assistance team InterGlobal Assistance (IGA) delivered member satisfaction levels of 99% in 2012.
•Fraud prevention and deterrence through InterGlobal’s in-house counter-fraud team, protecting members from the consequences of the dishonesty of others. InterGlobal’s Gary Sommerford was awarded ‘Fraud Investigator of the Year’ at the industry-wide Health Insurance Counter Fraud Group (HICFG) awards 2012.
•Internal expense control across all operations, ensuring that InterGlobal is efficient in the costs it incurs in providing services to our members.

Paul Weigall, Group Sales & Marketing Director, InterGlobal says:
“At a time of continued soaring medical insurance costs around the world we have worked hard to deliver on our commitment to fair pricing for members. A modest 5% rise is a small number that means our members will benefit from a great deal in 2013. We believe our plans represent better value than ever in 2013, backed by our award winning levels of personal service.

“We focus on delivering high quality service to our members from our network of 11 local offices around the world. Our approach combines the strength of our global operations with in-depth local knowledge. This means we can inform members about the most appropriate local medical providers, while ensuring that we obtain competitive rates for treatment and manage costs for the benefit of all our members.”

InterGlobal has frozen the premiums for its range of optional plans. The 1January 2013 premium changes in full are as follows:
•0% increase for optional maternity, travel & personal accident plans.
•0% increase for International Students plans.
•0% increase for UltraCare China.
•5% increase for UltraCare all other territories.
•8.5% increase for International Schools plans.
•10% increase for UltraCare Indonesia.