Laurent de Veyrac, Business Development Senior Director for Europe talks about Aetna International’s Global Product Positioning

Global Health Insider had an exclusive chat with Laurent de Veyrac, who had spent a decade at Abacare overseeing markets in Asia before joining Aetna International as the Senior Director of Business Development, Europe recently in January. Serving some 200 countries, Aetna International seeks to deliver the five C’s to its members – choice, comfort, care, control and convenience. It does this through technology tools, value-added service and two flexible IPMI products - Aetna Pioneer and Aetna Summit. On the broker front, Aetna pays great detail into meeting local compliance and regulation requirements. It provides local legal and service representatives to support them. For more, read the full Q&A with Mr. de Veyrac below.

Q: Is the role a significant departure from what you have done previously and how are you adjusting to it?  

The primary focus at both Abacare and Aetna International is the welfare and servicing of members and plan sponsors, so to a large degree, the roles are very similar. Europe is a more mature market than Asia, which creates different challenges, but I am working with brokers and plan sponsors with international operations so my outlook is global.

I was a broker for 12 years and have a deep insight into the issues that are important to this channel. Brokers want to feel assured that their customers are in safe hands, not only in terms of their health but also when it comes to issues such as compliance.

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Q: Against the backdrop of ever-changing consumer behaviour and industry competition, how is Aetna International innovating to stay at the forefront? Will we be seeing a shift from traditional products?

Aetna International is a global medical insurer supporting more than 700,000 members worldwide. We combine the local touch of our on-the-ground support and compliance teams with the global strength of our worldwide medical provider network to provide exceptional care to our members wherever they are. We serve members in almost 200 countries around the world and have operations in several key expatriate locations: UK & Europe, Middle East & Africa, Americas, Southeast Asia and China.

At all levels of the organisation, we work to empower our members to live healthier lives. It’s this philosophy that drives everything we do and helps us achieve stand out in a competitive market. Our aim is to help members achieve health and financial security by providing easy access to cost-effective and high-quality health and wellness services.

Central to this vision is wellness, which we view in a broad context. Wellness includes keeping members healthy – through the use of preventative programs - and supporting members in managing their health conditions, such as diabetes. Our wellness-related programs and services will often include health assessments, biometric screenings, onsite health promotions and online wellness programs.

In addition, technology plays an integral part in supporting our members to achieve their health goals. We have invested heavily in website and mobile application development to ensure our members can access the information and medical services they need quickly and easily wherever they are in the world.

Q: What new offerings or developments can we expect from Aetna International in regards to IPMI?

Aetna International has evolved into more than a health insurance company, aligning wellness and robust insurance coverage with a high-personal-touch service capability to set a new benchmark for the international private medical insurance industry in supporting the health of members globally.

We provide members with Choice, Comfort, Care, Control and Convenience; the five C’s at the centre of our member service and care. For members, this means a holistic approach to their health and wellness that involves:

• Integrating all elements of care – preventative care, organising care, delivering care, optimising care – so we are there for our customers when they need us
• Combining clinical/situational response with preventative care and administrative efficiency
• Bringing the majority of our administrative services – such as claims management and reimbursement - in-house to give us a far higher level of control
• A major focus on supporting the member with pre-trip planning advice, 24/7 evacuation management and monitoring, support whilst undergoing treatment, post care support and at all other times through member helplines
• A focus on delivering a holistic approach to health and wellness based around the 5Cs

Our enhanced service model is paired with two new and innovative international private medical insurance products. Aetna Pioneer℠ is aimed at individuals and families with Aetna Summit℠ supporting group clients. The products’ designs focus on members’ health care requirements and combine flexible features with extensive clinical expertise.

Aetna Pioneer and Aetna Summit have been designed in a modular style, following customer input, and offer five base plan levels - Aetna Pioneer/Summit 1750, 2500, 4000 and 5000 - with a higher number denoting a greater overall plan limit and richer cover. Annual benefits range from USD 1.75m to USD 5m. All plans cover inpatient treatment in full, emergency medical evacuation and treatment for cancer as standard and those taking the higher-level plans receiving proportionally greater benefits.

Personal member touch delivered by our Care and Response Excellence (CARE) team throughout the care process is delivered through our new products and service model.  Members can call on the team before travelling to their destination, to access advice on locating medical facilities, arranging the sourcing and supply of drugs and pre-notifying a medical facility should the member need specialist care. The CARE team will also proactively involve themselves with a member’s care, where necessary, to ensure treatment is appropriate and be on-hand to answer questions about the treatment plan and support the member through their convalescence period.

The range of ancillary services is standard across all plans to varying degrees, depending on plan level chosen. These include country risk information and personal protection services provided by Aetna International partner, red24, and an employee assistance programme aimed at supporting emotional health.

Our goal is to continually reinforce and improve the infrastructure and expertise that provides daily health care benefits to our members. This includes compliance and, as an international employer ourselves, we understand the complex and ever-changing global regulatory environment. Our dedicated regional member servicing operations are supported by compliance and legal representatives for each of our localities. We are committed to building smart health care solutions that meet the global healthcare requirements of our customers and their employees as well as the compliance regulations of the countries in which we operate.

Q: What key geographic areas is Aetna International focusing on in the medium term?

As a global organisation, we serve members in almost 200 countries around the world. Our operations can be found in UK & Europe, Middle East & Africa, Americas and Asia. Dedicated teams have the responsibility to grow and develop their geographic region both commercially and for the benefit of our members.

Q: What makes Aetna International the carrier of choice for brokers?

The issue of compliance is of paramount importance to brokers in Europe, no matter which country I’m visiting. Aetna International’s focus on compliance means that we are in a position to offer brokers a global solution that meets local regulatory requirements across North America and many countries throughout the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

Dedicated service centres, personal account manager visits, exclusive online information portals and joint visits to larger group clients are just some of the other ways we support brokers and their businesses.

For the last three years, Aetna International has been voted Best Group IPMI provider by brokers in the Health Insurance Daily Awards, which is a testament to the dedicated and personal approach we take to our distribution partners.