More international health insurers are moving into Asia with many seeing Singapore as a gateway to the region.
We recently published an article regarding future opportunities in the Far East for health insurance providers. It seems Aetna International, a global health benefits company, is realizing the potential of this market and has been granted a licence to sell health insurance in Singapore.
The company is now marketing policies for groups and individuals in the small state. Aetna will introduce its flagship International Healthcare Plan (IHP) to the Singapore market. IHP provides comprehensive health benefits aimed primarily at customers who travel extensively or live outside of their country of origin.
In addition, a new Aetna benefits product, Aetna Healthy Aessentials, will make its debut in Singapore ahead of a planned worldwide roll-out. The new health plan is targeted to customers who require regional coverage, and fills a market gap between existing local plans and high-end global plans like IHP.
Singapore is the perfect regional hub from which to develop further business opportunities in Southeast Asia, Mark Goldberg, Aetna International’s managing director for South East Asia noted.
Many local insurance companies are struggling to provide services to bridge the gap between the region’s super-wealthy and the poorer sections of the population. This is creating an opportunity for large global providers to team up with local insurers to provide solutions, especially to clients of a high net worth.
Several insurance giants have already made strides into the region. AXA has acquired HSBC’s general insurance business in both Hong Kong and Singapore and hopes to be able to develop further in this area. AIA has already proved its strong hold in Singapore with continued growth in the new business sector.