The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) yesterday released a paper detailing its final recommendations to the issues it has identified in current travel health insurance services.
The recommendations listed in the ‘Travel Health Insurance Products Position Paper’ are hoped to enhance consumer protection and confidence in travel health insurance.
“We have heard the concerns of the public and insurance brokerage community and, with this clear, nationally agreed way forward, we are reinforcing the pre-eminent goal of consumer confidence in their insurance protection when they travel,” CCIR chair Patrick Déry stated. “It is our belief that these measures will go a long way towards meeting consumer expectations wherever Canadians live in the country.”
Although the CCIR believes the country “has a strong and competitive travel health insurance marketplace,” it also thinks that the industry still has room for improvement.
CCIR’s recommendations include:
- The creation of common, standardized definitions and terminology among travel health insurers.
- Improvements to the application, screening and claims process.
- Simplifying and improving disclosure documents.
- Ensuring that there are adequate controls and oversight mechanisms in place throughout the product lifecycle.
- Improved training and information for sales forces.
The regulation group will continue to monitor the enactment of the recommendations to ensure that they are implemented in a timely fashion.
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