Frequently Asked Questions

How can IGP reduce international benefits costs?

IGP allows multinational companies to take advantage of their worldwide size and reduce their employee benefits costs through economies of scale and the pooling of risks. Through international pooling or Second Stage Accounting, which spreads the insurance risks over the company's worldwide employee group, International Dividends can be generated to reduce costs.

Why should I consider participating in IGP?

If you are a corporate benefits or risk manager who has analyzed the benefit plans in force for the employees of your foreign operations, you know that the cost of providing these plans is steadily increasing. Inflation, administrative expenses, and technological advances in medical care have increased the cost of insurance coverages with no sign of abatement.

The International Group Program was created to address the issue of cost and to help world headquarters' staff better coordinate overseas employee benefits expenditures by keeping you well-informed.

Are there minimum size requirements to participate in IGP?

Any group insurance and/or pension contract is eligible for IGP, assuming minimum local underwriting guidelines for a group contract have been satisfied, and there is sufficient growth potential to warrant the establishment of an international account.

How can IGP help monitor my international benefits expenditures?

IGP helps you achieve greater control over the cost of your international benefits by keeping you better informed. Annual International Experience Reports are provided in a unified format that lets you see how your employee benefits dollars are being spent in each country.

How can IGP keep my headquarters and local management updated on employee benefits trends?

IGP makes available current information on international employee benefits matters, both globally and locally, and offers a variety of resources and materials to assist with plan design.

• IGP Country Profiles are prepared annually by our Network Partners and provide a synopsis of the social security and customary private employee benefits practice in their respective countries. These profiles are made available as a resource to IGP clients to assist with the design of benefit plans.
• IGP's Network News, published throughout the year, keeps you up-to-date on benefits trends, new products and legislative changes affecting employee benefits throughout the world.
• IGP Seminars, held in the United States, Europe and Asia, offer an excellent opportunity to hear from local experts about plan design and funding issues. Participants are given ample opportunities to raise questions with the IGP Network Partners and to share solutions with other attendees. One-day mini-seminars focusing on local benefits in a particular country or region are also offered.
• IGP's Training Workshops and Lunch n' Learn sessions provide information on the advantages of multinational pooling and issues related to managing international employee benefits.

IGP makes these materials and resources available to keep you and your subsidiaries informed of the benefits needed in different countries.

How can I be sure international pooling really works?

Today, IGP is helping approximately 800 multinational companies and over 5,000 of their subsidiaries achieve significant savings on their employee benefits plans each year.

How can I be certain my local employees will be comfortable working with IGP?

IGP has selected each of its Network Partners based on its reputation for providing local customers with the highest quality service at competitive costs. Each IGP Network Partner is a leading underwriter in its local insurance market and offers your subsidiary management and employees the full services of a major national insurance company including sales, actuarial, legal, and administrative support.

All the advantages of dealing with a leading national insurer are preserved:

• All coverages are provided through policies that are issued by a well-known insurance company.
• Premiums are paid in local currency.
• Premiums are charged at customary local rates and are not, in any way, adversely affected by the policy's participation in IGP.
• Local dividends, if any, are calculated independent of the level of international claims.

What types of benefits does IGP cover?

The IGP Network Partners underwrite a full range of employee benefits normally provided in each country through group insurance and pension contracts. These include life insurance, widow's and orphans' pensions, disability pensions, and medical and retirement plans.

In countries where your local operations are large, the IGP Network Partners also provide administrative-services-only life and medical plans and investment-only pension contracts.

IGP can also provide a broad range of coverages for third-country nationals (TCNs) and expatriates. These coverages may include life, accidental death and dismemberment, short- and long-term disability, permanent and total disability, as well as comprehensive medical insurance. Pension plans are also available.

IGP's TCN plan is available in a number of currencies with various optional features to meet the specific needs of multinational companies.