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Q1 2021
Coming Out of COVID: How to Prepare Your Members for a Return to Travel
Communicating about travel, especially international travel in a COVID environment, presents a unique challenge. You may be wondering when is the right time to start communicating about international travel and how to maximize the communication opportunity while continuing to promote safe practices. As travel itself slowly rebounds, travel planning continues. Now is the time to educate your members about the need for adequate travel medical insurance, when they do eventually return to travel.
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Our research shows that prior to the pandemic,
43% of travelers did not make sure that they had the proper medical coverage for traveling abroad. And 16% of those assumed that their domestic medical plan would cover them. What's more, 65% are now more concerned about getting sick while traveling abroad. This signals an opportunity to educate consumers on how to properly prepare for international travel. |
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Source: GeoBlue research, Benenson Strategy Group, December 2020
As you plan your communications for the rest of the year, consider that consumers are looking for guidance on how to stay safe and protected. And brokers are trying to figure out how to best advise their members with the right level of protection that they need to travel safely. |
| We believe that Q2 is a good time to start messaging about international travel preparedness, since international travel is expected to increase during the spring and summer months as vaccines become more widely available. To assist you, GeoBlue has created a short-term travel content guide that provides you with ready-to-use content for member and broker communications, including articles for e-newsletters, social content and blogs. |
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Additionally, we have updated our multi-trip plan for individual members, GeoBlue Trekker, with additional benefits including coverage for COVID-19 testing and treatment. Download the latest materials. Our single trip plan, GeoBlue Voyager, was also updated in 2020 with COVID-19 testing and treatment benefits.
Recap: The Pulse Live Broker Webinar
Lost in Translation: Evaluating a Global Network with a U.S. Mindset Can Lead to Misinterpretation
We recently hosted a webinar to shed light on how U.S.-centric criteria used to evaluate network strength and effectiveness – number of contracted providers and provider discounts – can provide brokers and employers with a false sense of security when evaluating global networks for globally mobile employees, particularly expats. Our expert panelists, Greg Cain, director of global networks at GeoBlue and Dave Richter, area senior vice president at Gallagher Benefit Services, discussed the importance of access to quality providers and what questions are most important to evaluate global networks.
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Check out these resources
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Global Traveler Companion Spotlight
Before the pandemic hit, Blue Plans across the country championed Global Traveler Companion, the international travel medical insurance offering designed exclusively for Blue Plan members. Plans such as Anthem, Tennessee, Michigan, and Kansas City, made Global Traveler Companion part of their employee benefit package because they wanted to make sure employees and their dependents had the right protection when they traveled outside the U.S. The modest cost (per member per month) made the choice an easy one. Now more than ever, the investment means that these Plans can reduce their risk of international claims because Global Traveler Companion is fully insured by GeoBlue.
In addition to protecting their own employees, Capital BlueCross and Independence Blue Cross saw an opportunity to create a competitive advantage by offering Global Traveler Companion to their clients.
Before COVID, only 32% of U.S. outbound travelers purchased international health insurance. But 93% of international brokers believe that as travel resumes, international travel health insurance becomes even more important. In a post-COVID world, consumers will be buying these products; they should be buying them from us instead of our competition.
Learn more about Global Traveler Companion.
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 Introducing Christine Salmon, Sales Director for Global Traveler Companion
Christine has over 15 years’ sales and product experience in the domestic and international scholastic and corporate insurance markets. Prior to joining GeoBlue in 2019, Christine worked at International SOS and Anthem Blue Cross (California) where she developed robust integrated travel risk management programs based on core insurance benefits, world-class emergency medical and security assistance services, as well as health and wellness programs.
Contact Christine at csalmon@geo-blue.com. |
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Blue Cross Blue Shield Global® is a brand owned by Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. GeoBlue is the trade name of Worldwide Insurance Services, LLC (Worldwide Services Insurance Agency, LLC in California and New York), an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association: made available in cooperation with Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies in select service areas. Coverage is provided under insurance policies underwritten by 4 Ever Life Insurance Company, Oakbrook Terrace, IL, NAIC #80985.
BLPL1878-BLU-3/21
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