International Private Medical Insurance (IPMI)

Scope of Cover

IPMI policies are designed as full-cost health insurance: for the duration of a stay abroad they replace the health insurance of the home country rather than – as travel health insurance does – merely covering emergency treatment during a trip. The core is in-patient treatment including day-case care, surgery, cancer therapy and accommodation; modules for out-patient treatment, prescription drugs, dental, vision and maternity benefits, preventive care and medical evacuation and repatriation are built on top. Market practice is to select a geographical area of cover (“Worldwide” or “Worldwide excluding USA”), an annual overall limit, a deductible and a benefit tier (e.g. Silver/Gold/Platinum). The wordings of Bupa Global, Cigna Global, Allianz Care and AXA Global Healthcare follow this modular principle but differ considerably in limits, waiting periods and definitions.

Critical Parameters

First, eligibility: many wordings require expatriate status and restrict treatment in the country of nationality (e.g. to 180 days per policy year). Second, underwriting – full medical underwriting, moratorium or, for corporate groups, medical history disregarded – which determines whether pre-existing and chronic conditions are covered. Third, the area of cover and network management (direct billing, pre-authorisation), which govern access to treatment in high-cost countries. Fourth, premium development: IPMI rates follow medical inflation, which WTW and Mercer Marsh Benefits project at double-digit levels globally for 2026. Sanctions clauses and exclusions for countries under travel advisories further restrict the area of cover.

Interfaces

In the corporate segment, IPMI is purchased as part of an assignment package alongside business travel accident, group personal accident and life cover. It does not automatically replace the social security system: within the EU/EFTA, Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 determines which national legislation applies to posted workers; in Switzerland, exemption from compulsory KVG insurance under Art. 2 para. 5 KVV is available only where equivalent cover is demonstrated. Aligning the IPMI solution with the social security position is therefore a precondition of any assignment programme.

Comparison and delineation

IPMI is a full-cost alternative to both home-country health insurance, which it replaces for the duration of an assignment, and to short-term travel health insurance, which it supersedes once a stay exceeds travel health’s maximum duration or amounts to a genuine relocation of residence. It is regularly complemented by business travel accident insurance, which adds accident capital and evacuation benefits for the shorter, discrete business trips that occur alongside a longer-term assignment, and the two are typically purchased together as part of the same assignment package.