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Health insurance considerations for family office leaders

Discover the most effective global health insurance options for ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) and family offices. This article provides valuable insights and best practices for family office CEOs and COOs seeking comprehensive global health insurance coverage.

Simple Team
·February 16, 2024· 5 min read
Written in partnership withPassportCard
Health & LongevityInsurance
Health insurance considerations, pastel scalloped tiles in overlapping rows.
  • Frequent travel schedules can potentially put family offices in difficult situations when dealing with a health emergency.
  • Being supported by modern global health insurance can be a wise investment, as it ensures comprehensive coverage and support for these needs.
  • When choosing health insurance options, family office leaders should prioritise three areas: connectivity, quality of service and comprehensive coverage.

Family offices are unique when compared to other companies in traditional wealth management, with their purpose being to support family members in all areas relevant and helpful. This includes governance, taxes, estate management, succession planning, and lifestyle services and means a family office needs to solve challenges that arise for families on a daily and weekly as well as longer, more strategic basis. To manage and plan for health and longevity requirements is included, and is not unlike managing a financial asset – if anything it’s the most valuable asset there is.

Family members travel frequently, often with residences spread out across the world, but also flexible travel schedules that can often have them in unplanned destinations last-minute. For the CEO and management of a family office, this can result in complications when it comes to health insurance that is truly global and effective. It, therefore only makes sense that family offices be supported with a modern, efficient, and global solution when it comes to health insurance. Here are three areas that family office leaders should take into account when considering health insurance options

Connectivity

It’s best practice that a top health insurance provider offers total connectivity, and reliably. So, this means contacting live support at any time of day throughout the week and with a rapid response rate that’s in a few seconds or less. It also means providing a digital solution that delivers information in real-time at any moment, as well as the means to engage with health insurance providers through this platform.

This could be through a functional smartphone app and digital portal, as offered by PassportCard, which uses its own real-time patented technology to achieve this as well as aggregated reporting capabilities. Without an evolved and connected solution in place, there is likely to be unnecessary pressure on family office management, who could find themselves being called on for last-minute emergencies and potential issues from time delays.

Quality of service

The second area is providing a concierge-like quality of service. Having total connectivity is only useful if the team the family connects with as a health insurance provider is supremely capable. Top providers will offer this capability through a reachable, well-educated team, not an outsourced call centre or entry-level assistant who isn’t equipped with the required knowledge to solve challenges efficiently.

Benchmark health insurance providers frequently stand out by offering added-value services that surpass standard health insurance coverage. With the innovative PassportCard feature, individuals can avoid out-of-pocket expenses at medical facilities such as doctors’ offices, pharmacies, and hospitals. By contacting PassportCard through the app or a phone call before a medical visit, funds are directly loaded onto their PassportCard for immediate use. This solution eliminates the need for paperwork or reimbursement delays.

Comprehensive coverage

Finally, the third area is to be sure that the provider covers the right bases. This means complexities around compliance, policy modularity and terms of coverage are fully aligned with the family’s needs. PassportCard covers areas like inpatient and outpatient coverage, cancer treatments, transplants, as well as therapy, dental and vision-related needs are all comprehensively covered and there are no delays when it comes to either planned or emergency treatments worldwide.

A family office CEO trying to solve a challenging medical situation for a family member on the far side of the world and in a foreign language is exactly what a truly global health insurance provider should be there to solve. And this sort of capability to comprehensively cover all the bases is only possible with a provider that operates a truly global network of coverage. Again, without that, CEOs and management of the family office are likely to find themselves being called on to solve problems that the insurance provider should handle.

To sum it up

Top service providers in the health insurance industry that service UHNWIs and family offices need to deliver on these three areas. Best practice means offering concierge-like levels of service, comprehensive coverage and smart, accessible technology that is in line with other areas of innovation evident across WealthTech.

The ideal offering will make any health insurance-related challenges that family members face easy to overcome and simultaneously add efficiencies for the family office team, who want to know that structures are in place to handle any unforeseen situations. At the end of the day, the family office is there to support the family itself, and the right specialist providers in every category, including health insurance, will make the difference in achieving this.

About PassportCard

PassportCard provides a range of health insurance options tailored to the needs of UNWIs and family offices. With the innovative PassportCard feature, individuals can avoid out-of-pocket expenses at medical facilities such as doctor’s offices and pharmacies. The company offers immediate reimbursement for medical expenses, eliminating the need for paperwork or reimbursement delays.

In their unwavering commitment to providing top-notch service, PassportCard goes the extra mile by continually enhancing their plans with new benefits. Take, for instance, the PassportCard Flight Delay benefit – an exclusive perk that grants members access to over 1,000 lounges across 650 airports worldwide. This ensures a touch of luxury during flight delays of more than 90 minutes. Added value services aside, a top-quality service again means less pressure on the CEO and management team to solve health insurance-related issues. With PassportCard managing the entire process, the burden of addressing health insurance-related issues is lifted, enabling them to focus on other matters to support the family.

PassportCard is also a market leader in real-time customer care, providing a 24/7 concierge-level service in multiple languages and within 20 seconds – all handled in-house from their Hamburg office. With over 6 million members worldwide, they offer truly global understanding and coverage capabilities that have won them international innovation and service awards.

The company operates with a commitment to fostering an environment that values and respects diverse perspectives, acknowledging the significance of a positive workplace attitude, with genuine respect being a foundation for success.

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