Getting back to international business with HDI

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HDI Global is providing robust, uniform insurance solutions to multinationals as Australian firms venture overseas amid a surge in business opportunities abroad

There are many reasons why a company would seek an international solution to coordinate its insurance

As an industrial lines insurer, HDI Global SE (HDI) pioneers value-driven insurance solutions globally to meet the needs of corporate and mid-market customers. The HDI Global network spans 175 countries, offering its multinational customers compliant coverage worldwide. HDI Global SE is a company in the Industrial Lines Division of the Talanx Group, a leading insurer for several decades. Standard & Poor’s has given the Talanx Primary Group a financial strength rating of A+/stable (strong). Talanx AG is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in the MDAX.

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Number of border crossings by Australian residents

May 2019

“There’s a duty of care to provide the same cover across all of your employees, wherever they’re based”

Philip Chandler, HDI Global

coverage around the world, and business travel is a product regularly discussed. Philip Chandler, accident and health underwriting manager for northern region at HDI, explains one of the motivations that drive client demand for these global policies. “There’s a duty of care to provide the same cover across all of your employees, wherever they’re based … if there were to be an incident or a claim in another territory where they did have reduced or less coverage than for other employees elsewhere, it could become a reputational issue,” he says. This dovetails with a growing sensitivity around treating employees equally. A few years ago, policies might have been issued piecemeal, mainly to meet local business requirements, but HDI is effectively able to iron these out. “We issue a global policy, and we can handle each of those local territories through [the International Programme division],” Chandler says. The rise of remote working, either temporary or permanent, is adding urgency to the need for an equitable and understandable standard across multinationals that want to provide the same benefits in Ulaanbaatar that they do in Melbourne, for example.

As service delivery manager in HDI Global’s International Programmes (IP) division, Rinnah Roque is helping deliver that vision in a uniform way as the fetters of COVID-19 are swept away in a tsunami of corporate travel, international conferences and events, short-term foreign assignments and remote working from anywhere. “[The] International Programme actually provides that ability for the company to be able to extend such benefits to any employee domiciled anywhere in the world,” Roque says. “Not all countries allow a [foreign] insurance company to

cover risks for business travel; there are some that would require a company to have a local policy in place.” In countries like China or Indonesia, for example, a violation of local law by a foreign insurer can result in heavy fines and penalties for both the insurer and the policyholder. “My responsibility as the IP service delivery manager is to assist clients operating in that country to meet these requirements,” Roque says. The end result is the issuance of a global policy that satisfies the need for central control of risks by the Australian parent but also meets the need for local compliance in any given country. It does this through a series of policy patches that effectively align the underlying benefits and obligations in the employment relationship regardless of locale. The master policy out of Australia acts as a backstop in case an event or benefit limit is not covered by a local policy. “It will then be covered by the master policy, but the indemnity will be afforded to the parent company if at the time of a relevant loss, the parent has the ownership interest to the foreign company and has the obligation to settle the relevant loss,” Roque says. HDI in Australia regularly puts global programs in place that include at least one local policy for countries such as the US, Canada, the UK and China. HDI Global’s capability to issue local policies, including for business travel, covers close to 175 countries, ranging from Mongolia to Kazakhstan, Indonesia and Malaysia, for example.

“Not all countries allow a [foreign] insurance company to cover risks for business travel; there are some that would require a company to have a local policy in place”

Rinnah Roque, HDI Global

Travel, including business travel, has taken off following the easing of COVID and related restrictions. Short-term border crossings by Australian residents have essentially doubled over the last 12 months and are tracking at only 10–20% below pre-COVID levels. In line with the surging demand, premiums have also risen quickly on the back of the increase in exposure faced by insurer. Inflation related to claims is also adding to the burden. Air ambulance and associated costs have risen significantly compared to pre-pandemic, and travel claims handlers are having to work harder to find alternative routes home due to the lack of available seats on flights. “Airlines have been struggling to increase their capacity, both in terms of airline routes, the actual physical aeroplanes and employees,” Chandler says. This has contributed to increasing claims costs related to rebooking flights and covering lost deposits.

“There’s reduced availability of hospital beds, [and] finding medical staff to go on an emergency assistance trip, for example, to repatriate someone can be a challenge,” he adds. A few years ago, bringing a medical case back from Papua New Guinea could have cost between $60,000 and $70,000, but now the same situation might cost around $100,000. HDI works with brokers to help explain the rising premiums to clients and is helped by the fact that it’s a universal phenomenon across all travel insurance providers. “[Brokers] are in the same position as us where they have to communicate these increases, so we really try and work with them … [including] engaging directly with the clients and our brokers to give them a lot of in-depth reasons as to why the premiums and the rates are increasing,” Chandler says.

Global connections. International Business.

Levelling the playing field for employees

A resurgent demand for travel

Published 11 Sept 2023

May 2022

May 2023

long-term

short-term

500,000

1,000,000

Australian resident departures

9,500

866,280

14,760

360,610

9,890

707,440

500,000

1,000,000

May 2019

May 2022

May 2023

20,860

932,410

22,050

830,750

17,610

420,110

Australian resident returns

Source: ABS

HDI Global worldwide cover

Source: HDI Global

Global network across 175 countries

Approx. 5,000 International Programmes comprising 23,000 policies

International Programmes for Accident & Health, Property, Liability, Marine and Engineering

AS INTERNATIONAL business travel returns to normal with new post-pandemic permutations, finding a way to make local fit with global aspirations is becoming increasingly important. Multinational companies are seeking to provide the same insurance benefits to employees no matter where in the world they happen to be working.

Aligning international insurance programs

“HDI are competitive with capacity and have a lot of local experience with local placement around the world. Plus we have a global network of expertise internally in terms of underwriting capability.” This capacity, along with responsiveness and a can-do attitude towards challenging cases, clearly appeals to the market. “We try to support brokers by being responsive on difficult risks, and that’s often the reason that we might pick up an account,” Chandler says. “HDI being the global company that it is has the ability to do a lot of different policy structures, occupations, geographic locations, or benefit limits that might be higher than others. If a broker comes to us with a submission, most of the time we are able to say, ‘yes, we can do something’.” Chandler expects this flexibility to remain a key factor as insurance markets continue to evolve post-COVID. “Employees and people are working in different dynamics, in different ways,” he says. “[We shouldn’t] just turn around and say no because it doesn’t fit in a traditional off-the-shelf format.” If the last three years hold any lessons at all for companies with people on the frontlines of globalisation, perhaps it’s that meeting related insurance challenges requires always being ready for change. “Flexibility is certainly very relevant – it’s coming up with solutions to try and find out how we can accommodate those changes,” Chandler says. To learn more, check out the HDInsight LIVE ‘Responsive International Programmes’ webinar on Thursday 16 November, 12 pm–1 pm (AEST).

The advantages of a global presence

Despite the pressures in the market, the sheer scale of HDI as part of the Talanx Group, which has a global network across 175 countries, means that it can offer a highly competitive travel insurance product in places ranging from its global headquarters in Germany to as far afield as Latin America. HDI’s size also translates into tangible differences such as being able to offer high limits for accident and health cover, as well as the ability to set up large and complex international programs without impacting overall premiums for its clients. HDI also has a broad appetite for a range of occupations. “We can apply our business travel products to professional sports people, or mining employees for example. Across the world, we’ve got policies in places like Kazakhstan and Mongolia. We’ve got FIFO [fly-in, fly-out] workers – we can tackle some of the harder-to-place risks,” Chandler says.

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