Policy changes in line with traveller profiles

SOUTH African travellers
are becoming more
aware of the risks
associated with travel to other
countries as well as what they
are covered for under their
travel insurance policies, says
Anrieth Symon, head of travel
insurance at Bryte.
Case data for SA shows
that, since 2012, there has
been a significant downward
trend in outpatient visits
and medical evacuations
statistics, agrees Anneline
Booyse-Mofokeng,
security director: Africa for
International SOS. “This can
be attributed to prevention
strategies, pre-travel advice
and protocols that put our
clients in a better position
to respond to any medical or
security situation.”
Uriah Jansen, md of Oojah
Travel Protection, which
administers Hollard Travel
Insurance, says while local
claims data does help in the
understanding of specific
trends, the insurer also
looks to international market
movements and legislation
when designing products.
“In terms of legislation,
Treating Customers Fairly
(TCF) is a strong focus for
us. This framework governs
the way a financial services
provider conducts daily
dealings with clients, ensuring
they are treated fairly during
all stages of the product
lifecycle and advice process.”
Based on this, she says
Hollard Travel Insurance was
the first to include ‘cancel
for any reason’ benefit in this
market. “We also include preexisting medical conditions
cover as well as amateur
sport/winter sport cover in all
our packages.”
According to Simmy Micheli,
Travel Insurance Consultants
(TIC) manager – sales and
marketing, more than 50%
of the business travel TIC
insures now goes into Africa.
“Insurers therefore need to
keep track of which diseases
are prevalent in which areas,
and build strategies into their
cover to protect travellers who
are unfortunate enough to
become ill while abroad.”
Simmy says while gastric
ailments are most common
in these destinations, the
mosquito-borne diseases
continue to present a
worrying risk.
“Some hospitals are
equipped to deal with tropical
illness and diseases, but not
all hospitals offer the same
standards, particularly in the
rural areas.”
Malaria is still the disease
presenting the largest risk
to South African travellers,
she says, and TIC provides
unconditional cover for
tropical diseases, whether
the traveller has taken
antimalarial medication or not.
Another pertinent issue
that has contributed to policy
changes across the industry
in the past few years relates
to manual-labour-related
injuries, says Simmy. “We
export a lot of skill into Africa
and Southeast Asia yet travel
insurance policies have a
general exclusion for manuallabour-related injuries.”
According to TIC’s definition,
manual labour is defined
as unskilled, semi-skilled
and/or skilled physical
labour involving working with
your hands as well as the
operation of mechanical,
non-mechanical or electrical
machinery, equipment and
tools.
“Previously, anyone who
wanted the cover would call
us and we would assess and
endorse the policy to delete
the exclusion and collect
a higher premium. When
we were handling 20 to 30
queries per day, we realised
this was a unique need. We
then pioneered the Business
Industrial product tailored
specifically to include manuallabour-related injuries.”
Today, she says, most of
the insurers in SA have a
similar offer.