Insurers are refusing to renew private medical insurance coverage for Russian nationals due to the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine, despite clients having no connections to the Russian establishment or sanctions regime.
The situation has left advisers in a difficult position when seeking to find cover for potentially long-term clients, the Health & Protection IPMI Summit heard.
However, insurers are working well to help people displaced from Ukraine into other countries amid the Russian invasion, with praise for those organisations adapting cover to help those affected.
Victor Ioannides, managing director of Cyprus-based Nicos Rossos Insurance Brokers, (pictured right) explained in Cyprus there are Russian individuals who have lived there for more than a decade but are finding it very difficult to secure coverage from their insurer of choice.
“I think that’s a challenge for the broker because it’s the broker that has the relationship,” Ioannides said.
“So it’s the broker that has to pick up the ball and tell their client, who they might have known for 10 years and know this person has nothing to do with their government.
“We have to call them up and say, ‘I’m really sorry. This insurer is not willing to renew’. I think this is a challenge and it’s really important that there’s a solution.”
But Edward Watling, senior employee benefits consultant at Mattioli Woods, (pictured centre) added the issues insurers are facing due to the conflict in Ukraine are not just political.
“You can’t physically pay the bills so even if they’re having healthcare in Moscow how can you pay that bill?” he said.
“[Insurers] can’t transfer money there because of the sanctions and the banking system that’s being withdrawn. So it’s not just the political side of it – it’s the logistics side.”
Supporting displaced people
However, Barry Perkins, partner, placement leader MMB International, (pictured left) said insurance was really coming into its own in helping Ukrainians who have been displaced by the conflict and supporting .
“We have a business in Ukraine. We have 30 people there. We have 45 multinationals and employees who need support.
“I think everybody knows there are a lot of refugees that have been displaced even in surrounding countries – Poland, Romania,” Perkins said.
“They need solutions so they had healthcare insurance in Ukraine but it doesn’t work in those surrounding countries, so most of these multinational companies have been able to put onto local plans in Poland and Romania.
“But in a few cases we’ve actually used IPMI plans and companies have seen the value of that and the comprehensive coverage that allows people to not worry if they move across borders.
“So I think it’s a great example of the IPMI industry being really help people and add value.”
