A key partnership for key growth
For many international financial services companies, Africa is currently being seen as a massive opportunity for growth with a young population that offers a potential plethora of clients that will drive revenue growth.
drive revenue growth.
This was the motivation behind US healthcare provider Cigna’s ambitious plan to spread its wings onto our shores.
Key cover
Cigna has partnered with Hollard to grow its presence on the continent because of Hollard’s continental footprint as well as its key business partnerships.
Jason Sadler, President of International Markets at Cigna, said that the expansion into Africa, as well as the partnership with Hollard, is a venture that excited the company.
“Cigna is definitely excited about expanding into Africa. The continent has a large population which is young, has a growing middle class, and has issues when it comes to accessing quality healthcare. We partnered with Hollard because of its presence and its reputation in the market. Brand integrity, for both companies, will be a key driver of this venture,” said Sadler.
Nuts and bolts
Cigna is expanding into the market with an offering of a healthcare product that has six options. All of the options are quantified in US dollars with the lowest option offering cover up to $50 000 a year while the top option offers cover up to $6 million a year.
Gilles Nyssens, Business Development Director Africa Development at Cigna Global Health Benefits, said that a key driver of the popularity of this product will be the fact that there will be continental coverage.
“Coverage will be offered in any country on the African continent. If you have a medical emergency in say, Ghana, you will have access to the top hospitals and medical care in Ghana. We are also offering cover for surrounding countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and others,” said Nyssens.
This sounds like a product that will be popular with companies who have staff that travel extensively on the African continent. Tobe Hope, Head of Hollard Health International, said that this is definitely the case and that initially, the product is being marketed to big corporates who have key skills that travel into Africa.
Product diversity
A significant focus which is becoming popular with health insurers is encouraging a healthy lifestyle as well as dealing with claims.
Again, this will be a key feature of the Cigna offering. Cigna is already present in South Korea which has an aging population and is poised to take over Japan’s mantle of having the worlds oldest population within the next ten years.
“Africa is different. The continent has a young, vibrant, active population. Keeping people healthy in this market will be key if countries in the continent want to grow their economies. This will ensure a social dividend in the long run which shows our intent,” said Sadler.
Hope added that another key driver when it comes to diversity is quality of care. “When a policyholder approaches their healthcare providers with a request for doctors and hospitals across the continent, they are presented with a flamboyant list of doctors in countries. The policyholder is none the wiser as to which service provider will cater for their needs in the best way. Cigna and Hollard have handpicked their service providers through thorough checks,” said Hope.
Product experience
One of the criticisms that are often levelled against international companies expanding into Africa is that they see Africa as a country rather than a continent. Because of this, they expand into Africa with a product or offering that is often unsuited.
Nyssens said that while the Cigna offering is based on an existing product, the company undertook significant engagements with Hollard in order to adapt the product to suit the company’s ideals.
This can be seen in the provision for preventative medication that the product offers. Diseases such as Malaria, Yellow Fever and HIV/Aids are significant challenges in Africa; the Cigna product includes extensive coverage for medication to cover these risk factors.
A lot of the information when designing this product was based on Cigna’s experience, but also Big Data which gave Cigna insight into purchasing trends, claims trends and the health of the policyholder who have purchased the product.
Editor’s Thoughts:
The product is already being marketed through Hollard’s broker network which Hope said was excited about the partnership. Offering quality healthcare in Africa can be an issue, and only time will tell whether the product will make an impact on the continent. Please comment below, interact with us on Twitter at @fanews_online or email me your thoughts [email protected].
