Allianz Worldwide Care Maritime Healthcare Plan
This plan is designed to meet the requirements for onshore healthcare cover for shipping companies’ employees’ set out under the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC). Although created by the International Labour Organisation in 2001, the MLC had to be ratified by at least 30 member states and this was not achieved until August 2012, with the Convention officially coming into effect a year later. It is already in effect in countries such as Cyprus, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden and comes into effect in the UK, France, Germany and Belgium in 2014.
The MLC requires shipping companies to provide comprehensive rights and protection to the world’s 1.2 million seafarers, including the provision of a minimum level of healthcare cover.
Allianz Worldwide Care’s plan provides the following maximum annual benefits:
• Core plan maximum annual benefit of £415,000 (or equivalents in Euros, US Dollars or Swiss Francs).
• Full refund for most inpatient and daypatient treatments (organ transplants limited to £8,300 and psychiatry and physiotherapy to £4,150 a year).
• Parental accommodation with child under 18.
• Outpatient surgery is fully covered, as is kidney dialysis.
• Nursing at home up to £2,075.
• Rehabilitation treatment up to £1,660.
• Local ambulance up to £415.
• Emergency treatment outside area of cover up to £8,300.
• Medical evacuation and repatriation of mortal remains.
• Full refund for scans and complications of pregnancy and childbirth.
• Inpatient cash benefit of £125 a night for up to 25 nights.
• Emergency outpatient benefit of £625.
• Full refund for palliative care and long term care (max 90 days).
• Accidental death benefit of £8.300.
There is a choice of four deductibles (nil; £83, £165; £415, and £830). Customers can choose to add outpatient benefits up to £2,075 a year and this includes cover for alternative therapies, physiotherapy, health checks and vaccinations. A dental plan can also be added at extra cost, as can a repatriation plan A range of geographic options are available.
Comment: This may look to be rather a niche area, but there are over a million seafarers worldwide so any intermediary with a shipping company as a client could find this an attractive market to target. Usefully, AWC sets out in its benefit schedule which benefits are mandatory and which are voluntary, so employers and employees can see how much further their cover is or can be compared to what is legally required.
Perhaps too, plans such as this are an indicator to expats and their employers of the minimum levels of cover that all expats should have.
Plus points: iPMI designed to meet the needs of seafarers and the requirements of the MLC; The global seafarers market is 1.2 million people; Choice of core and add-on covers; Even the core plan provides more than minimum cover; A good indicator to those in other industries what minimum cover should be provided to expats.
Not so plus points: Specialised market that may not appeal; to all intermediaries; Employers looking to pay the absolute minimum are getting some non-mandatory benefits in the package (although, arguably, these are both valuable and cost little to add).
Website: http://www.allianzworldwidecare.co.uk.
Rating (max 10): Innovation: 7. Overall: 8. Gold
Tags: Allianz Worldwide Care; iPMI