Scandinavian insurance tag-team

Nordea Życie, the Polish life-insurance subsidiary of the Scandinavian Group Nordea, which offers insurance, investment and banking services, has signed an agreement with the Danish company International Health Insurance to provide health and travel insurance in the Polish market. IHI is one of the world's leading healthcare insurance providers, with more than 250,000 individual and corporate clients worldwide.

In the near-term, two healthcare insurance products will be distributed in Poland - global healthcare insurance and travel insurance. The offer includes a number of services previously absent from the Polish market.

"We offer our customers a free choice of medical facilities all over the world," IHI's Sales Director for CEE region Fabrizio Corzo explained. In Poland IHI has signed specific agreements with 12 hospitals, but the company's representatives emphasize their insurance is not restricted to those particular medical centers.

To start with, IHI's offer will be directed towards individual clients, but the company is working with Nordea Życie on an offer for corporate clients.

Miller explains: "Right now we are concentrating on promoting this new product. We are also carrying out training sessions and courses for between a dozen and a few score experts from financial intermediaries cooperating with us." He explained the average premium for its global insurance should cost around zł.400-500 monthly.

"Our offer is directed at the conscious client, not just the rich one," president of Nordea Życie Paweł Miller said, adding that he expects the entrepreneurs to be the most serious target.   

"We believe that IHI will significantly strengthen Nordea's market position in Poland," Miller said. Nordea Życie, which has been present in the Polish market since 1994, will offer IHI's insurance products through its own distribution network as well as via independent banks and insurance agencies.

Nordea and IHI already cooperate closely on the Scandinavian markets. In Denmark for instance, Nordea Bank also distributes IHI products.

The Danish company's representatives see great prospects for the Polish market. "We are looking at the macroeconomic factors. Poland is the biggest market in the region and it is a virgin market for international health insurance companies," Corzo said. The company also views Poland as a possible platform for further expansion in the region.

Michał Pakulniewicz