Allianz Care and Engage Health Group have partnered to form a dedicated international private medical insurance (IPMI) pool for UK-headquartered technology firms and start-ups with global workforces.
The insurer and advice firm believe the pool for the sector is the first of its kind and that it will reduce premiums for businesses.
It is designed to help start-ups lower their premiums by pooling them together with other start-ups and technology businesses which typically have a lower risk profile compared to other sectors.
There are no limitations on the size of company which is eligible; it can be from one employee and can access medical history disregarded (MHD) terms from this one employee size scheme.
Fast growing companies such as Maze and Saltpay have been trialling the scheme.
The scheme is also open for advisers who do not specialise in international benefits to refer their clients with international employees.
They would then be paid an introducer commission share for any business placed in the pool.
‘Inflated premiums by riskier pools’
Engage Health Group international director Ian Abbott (pictured right) said: “UK tech companies are increasingly employing overseas workers and are faced with the challenge of providing equal health support to all employees, wherever they are in the world.
“Yet, the cost of global health insurance is often inflated because their premium is calculated against the claims history of a riskier pool of businesses.
“The aim of the scheme is to ensure that tech companies get a fairer premium.
“By doing so, we can help businesses better look after their international employees whether they are expats or local nationals, and ensure they have access to private health insurance wherever they are in the world.”
Paddy Lawlor, head of sales and distribution for UK & Ireland at Allianz Partners (pictured left) noted tech starts-ups are often at a real disadvantage compared to well-established companies in their ability to provide top level employee benefits to their employees.
“We agreed that if we could build a comprehensive product and combine a pool of many tech start-ups we could offer an employee benefit package at an affordable premium to allow these companies to attract and retain key staff to help them grow,” he said.
“Since the inception of the Engage Health partnership we have seen rapid growth. It has massively surpassed our initial predictions.
“We are already looking at adding additional lines of insurance to the offering as it keeps developing. The exciting part is that we are only getting started.”