With global medical inflation increasing at an average of around 10% in 2026, it is no surprise that employers want more bang for their buck from their international private medical insurance (IPMI) plans.
But this applies to larger corporates just as much as it does to SMEs who are watching every penny.
This has resulted in increased investment in technology to measure better return on investment on benefits expenditure, including private medical insurance and wellbeing benefits.
But the emergence of new tech start-ups has created its own demand for IPMI, and it is clear that these companies require a different approach to their larger peers.
Rising medical inflation
Forecasts for global medical inflation in 2026 come in at around the 10% mark, with Aon predicting a 9.8% global average increase for employer medical plans this year, while WTW projects roughly 10.3% worldwide.
Given these rising costs, employers want more bang for their buck.
Dave Hilton, UK leader, global mobility solutions at Mercer Marsh Benefits, tells Health & Protection: “From our experience clients now expect more value, data and insights. To meet these needs we are utilising our depth of data to offer robust data-driven benchmarking and help clients make informed decisions relevant to their specific objectives.
“We are also tailoring solutions and services to specific clients and industries to meet the demand for enhanced service delivery.”
Biggest challenge
Andy O’Cain, head of global distribution at Axa Global Healthcare, sees medical inflation as the biggest challenge facing the market.
“Contributory factors such as rising costs across medical facilities, equipment and drugs is a challenge for us all. Insurers, intermediaries and customers all have a role in keeping IPMI sustainable and ensuring it continues to offer genuine value,” O’Cain continues.
But he adds AI has a growing role in shifting the industry from reactive to preventative care.
“Machine learning can approve low-risk claims automatically based on historical patterns, freeing claims teams to focus on complex or higher-risk cases, while AI can also interpret unstructured medical information from claims, mapping free-text notes to standardised clinical codes, including WHO’s ICD, to improve consistency in how conditions are recorded. AI-driven fraud detection analyses claims in real time, reducing unnecessary leakage and helping protect premium stability.
“And by analysing claims and treatment data at scale, insurers can identify emerging health risks earlier, enabling preventative screening, specialist referral or clinical intervention before a condition becomes more serious.”
Moving beyond price
Although it would be wrong to assume that price is the only concern when firms are discussing medical inflation, according to Janette Hiscock, CEO, EMEA at UnitedHealthcare Global.
“Employers are looking for strategic guidance on managing medical inflation, while continuing to support workforce wellbeing, engagement and productivity,” Hiscock explains.
“At the same time, there is growing demand for greater transparency around healthcare costs, actionable data insights, seamless digital experiences and clear evidence that health benefits are delivering measurable value for both employees and the organisation.”
Group beats individual IPMI
Though opting for group benefits can bring its own cost savings, as James Dwyer, head of international benefits at Engage Health Group, points out.
“Group always beats individual on cost, administrative simplicity and of course, medical underwriting, once you’ve got enough lives to pool risk meaningfully,” Dwyer says.
“We’d put the informal threshold around five to 10 lives,” he continues.
“We do have options for certain clients where we can get this pooled solution from below five people but generally five to 10 lives is where we see the benefits for all clients.”
Tipping point
Giovanni di Meo, head of commercial, health and benefits at Allianz Partners, tells Health & Protection that the tipping point comes where a group solution becomes superior the moment an organisation needs governance control, cost predictability and talent strategy alignment.
“Nowadays, this occurs very early in the lifetime of a company,” di Meo says.
“Many of the start-ups we insure truly benefit from pooling employees into a single programme because they can establish from the outset a common framework around healthcare, rather than leaving employees to navigate different individual products in different markets.
“This also creates a more predictable risk structure and can provide broader and more consistent access to coverage. Most importantly, healthcare is one of the moments when employees most need their employer’s benefits programme to work. A group solution can provide access to high quality of care, assistance and co-ordination when an employee or their family member faces a serious medical need.
“Individual IPMI remains the right choice for self-pay expatriates, HNWIs [high net worth individuals], digital nomads or other customers who value personal portability above all else.
“But for any employer carrying genuine duty-of-care responsibilities — and 70% now maintain global minimum standards — the economics of group are straightforward: pooled risk, lower per-capita cost, and a governance that scales with the business.”
More flexible solutions
Regardless of the size of the organisation, employers won’t see any value in IPMI if they never make a claim, and this a concern insurers are alive to.
Kevin Melton, global head of IPMI at IMG, tells Health & Protection: “Insurers are responding by offering more flexible and modular products, alongside greater support and education for brokers and clients.
“For example, IMG regularly works with brokers to deliver member training sessions, helping employees understand their benefits and how to claim.
“At the same time, insurers are investing in digital tools that simplify the member experience, from locating suitable healthcare providers to submitting claims.
“Additional services such as virtual GP consultations and employee assistance programmes (EAPs) are also becoming increasingly important as SMEs seek more accessible healthcare solutions for their workforce.”
Educating employers
Educating employees about their IPMI benefits is more of a challenge for SMEs where they don’t have a dedicated employee benefit specialist, Melton explains.
“As many SMEs lack dedicated employee benefits specialists, advisers are increasingly taking a more consultative and educational role,” he continues.
“This helps ensure employers fully understand the scope of cover and scheme processes.
“We’re also seeing growing demand from family-owned businesses, particularly in markets where they make up a significant proportion of the SME sector.
“In these cases, group SME solutions are increasingly being chosen over individual policies, offering a more consistent approach to healthcare benefits while also enabling family members to be covered under the same arrangement.”
Investment in technology
While making full use of the benefits is one way of driving return on investment, measuring their value to the employer and employees these days tends to march hand-in-hand with increased investment in technology, and IPMI is proving no outlier in this regard.
“We see a growing, and needed, level of investment into technology across the market,” Hilton says.
“Given the demand for higher-quality service to justify spend providers are enhancing member applications, harmonising solutions/features into one portal and beginning to utilise AI to improve efficiency.
“Demands from employers with smaller mobile populations are comparable to larger groups.
“The challenge lies in delivering these where numbers are small – notable requests for tailored benefits and detailed claims reporting.”
Demand from new tech companies
Though the rise of AI has brought forth a new generation of tech companies, and with it another market for IPMI.
John Kaye, VP market development, UnitedHealthcare Global, tells Health & Protection: “We’re seeing consistently strong demand from sectors targeting international growth and expansion such as technology, professional services and advanced manufacturing.
“These industries rely heavily on mobile, highly skilled talent for whom benefits such as IPMI form a crucial element of the overall expatriate package.”
Demand holding up
This all means that IPMI demand is holding up well for global health insurance – even with medical inflation running high.
“Although the market continues to be robust generally, we’ve seen a few large corporates reduce population size, while at the same time noticing a modest surge in SME demand, especially the UK,” Dwyer says.
“With SMEs, we’re finding they genuinely want to do right by staff but lack confidence they’re getting it right before we speak to them.
“With large corporates, the focus is no longer just about classic inpatient and outpatient services, and compliance box-ticking. It’s also about wellbeing and mental health – not just as an important intervention but also as an employee retention tool.”
Medical inflation will continue to be a key challenge
Though looking to the future, Francesca Reddy, director – expat benefits GB health and benefits at WTW, expects medical inflation will continue to be a key challenge.
“We’re also seeing growing demand for more personalised and flexible solutions that reflect changing workforce dynamics,” Reddy says.
“Digital healthcare, AI-enabled services, wellbeing support and compliance will all become increasingly important.
“Ultimately, the organisations and insurers that succeed will be those that can support a much broader range of globally mobile employees while delivering a positive employee experience and sustainable long-term outcomes for employers.”
