Why Is Global Insurance So Complex?

The CEO's Office? HR? Finance? Export? Sales? Who should manage your global insurance?

For many companies operating in a number of territories, it’s not always obvious who is best-placed to manage global insurance.

In smaller companies, responsibility often sits with the chief executive’s office, particularly if it represents a significant cost. But given the pressures of the job, that often means that administration and procurement is handled by a PA who has many other duties.

In medium sized companies, the role typically falls somewhere between HR and Finance.

Many feel that HR is the obvious place for International Private Medical Insurance (IPMI), but that becomes less clear if you need to cover business reputation, liabilities or equipment cover. HR people may be expert in talent recruitment or employment law; few are really expert in global insurance.

Your Finance department obviously has the ability to make sound procurement decisions, but may not have the detailed understanding of the possibilities and strategies that can ultimately provide best value.

Only larger companies with significant multinational operations can afford to employ global insurance experts. Interestingly, many of these then use independent global insurance brokers to negotiate the best deals, because they appreciate the added value that can be delivered by a market-wide review.

However you organise your global cover, the crucial issue is to give responsibility to a single senior executive with a global overview. That way you can get the best possible standard of cover and take advantage of economies of scale.

IN OUR EXPERIENCE

“When helping clients to renegotiate, reorganise and administer global insurance, we find it is the schemes that have historically been part-run by different departments or are managed from multiple countries where we make the most significant savings.”

Rob Thompson
Director, Bellwood Prestbury.