ITIC Global 2026 | Drivers and limitations of travel and health insurance policy benefits

The ITIJ team have been reporting from ITIC Global in Istanbul this week (1–5 November 2026), sharing the discussions that take place at the conference. Read all reports.

Zigor Díez Gamboa, Director of Business Development, MAWDY

Díez Gamboa began the second session of ITIC Global 2026 by examining the challenges facing the travel insurance sector as providers seek to deliver appropriate protection without making policies unaffordable. He outlined three interconnected priorities: affordability, regulation, and adequate coverage, noting that improving one can create pressure on the others.

Looking at Latin America and Southern Europe, Díez Gamboa highlighted growing travel demand alongside increasing price sensitivity. Inflation and economic uncertainty have made customers more conscious of costs, while digital comparison platforms encourage price-led decisions. This can shift attention away from coverage quality, potentially leaving travellers inadequately protected.

Rising healthcare costs add further complexity. Díez Gamboa cited projected medical cost inflation for 2026 of 11.9% in Latin America and 8.2% in Europe. More expensive treatments and longer hospital stays increase claims costs, while travellers increasingly expect round-the-clock assistance and access to quality healthcare networks worldwide.

He also distinguished regulatory compliance from adequate protection. Minimum coverage requirements support consumer confidence but do not necessarily guarantee that policies cover the full costs of serious medical incidents. Using Schengen visa requirements and African markets as examples, he highlighted how some customers purchase insurance primarily to meet visa requirements, rather than secure meaningful protection. Low insurance penetration across Africa also suggests significant market potential, raising questions about whether minimum coverage requirements reflect today’s healthcare costs.

Addressing customer experience, Díez Gamboa explained that MAWDY provides multi-channel assistance across African markets, where customers may have purchased insurance through local providers and may not contact the assistance company directly. While US$30,000 may cover routine or minor medical care, more serious incidents can quickly exceed policy limits. Educating customers remains difficult when price is their primary concern, raising wider questions about low-cost policies and similar challenges in international private medical insurance (IPMI).

Ultimately, Díez Gamboa emphasised that meaningful protection extends beyond financial coverage to include appropriate healthcare, expert assistance, and reassurance. The sector must balance affordability, regulation, and effective protection, measuring success through the outcomes delivered to travellers rather than compliance alone.

Dr Juan Carlos Velázquez, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, VIP Universal Medical Insurance Group (VUMI)

Dr Velázquez explored the gap between meeting insurance requirements and providing meaningful medical protection for people travelling, living or working abroad. He stated that minimum coverage limits serve an important purpose but should not be mistaken for a guarantee that a policy will meet an individual’s needs in a serious medical situation.

A central theme was the distinction between travel insurance and IPMI. Travel insurance is primarily designed to cover emergencies during a trip, including initial treatment and repatriation, whereas IPMI is intended to support people who live or move between countries and require ongoing healthcare. Treating the two as interchangeable can leave individuals exposed to costs associated with maternity care, chronic conditions or prolonged treatment.

Dr Velázquez also highlighted the impact of medical inflation on the adequacy of insurance benefits. Healthcare costs are rising due to factors including increased utilisation, staff shortages, new medical technologies, and specialist medicines. As a result, coverage limits that appear substantial today may not stretch as far in the future. Advances in treatment can also introduce significant costs, reinforcing the need to consider the scope of benefits alongside the headline limit. Narrow benefits, exclusions or a weak network can undermine even the highest limit.

The presentation considered how protection requirements differ between individuals and employers. Personal circumstances, age, family needs, medical history, destination, and length of stay all influence the level of cover required. For employers, inadequate insurance can also affect employee wellbeing, productivity, talent retention, and the success of international assignments.

Dr Velázquez warned against purchasing insurance solely to satisfy visa, residence or work permit requirements. Although minimum standards help protect individuals and healthcare systems, focusing only on obtaining a certificate can distract from exclusions, provider access, and the practical terms of a policy.

Looking ahead, he advocated a shift towards more portable, regularly reviewed, and personalised coverage, supported by active care management, and collaboration between insurers, healthcare providers, assistance companies, and regulators.

His central message was that insurance should be assessed by its ability to provide appropriate care when it matters most, rather than by regulatory compliance or financial limits alone.

Dr Mustafa Mert Metin, Chief of Staff and Global Business Development Director, Koç Healthcare

Dr Metin examined the distinction between the cover travellers believe they have purchased and the protection their policies may actually provide, exploring the challenges this creates for hospitals, insurers, assistance companies, and patients when serious medical treatment is needed overseas.

Drawing on the experience of Koç Healthcare and its international patient programme, Dr Metin considered how policy limits could translate into very different outcomes, even when the same procedure is involved. Using the example of a €30,000 benefit limit for aortic aneurysm repair, he illustrated how the amount available may cover only part of the treatment cost, meet it just sufficiently, or provide a margin – depending on the actual bill. The example highlighted why the headline figure alone tells patients little about the level of protection they can expect in a particular healthcare setting.

The presentation then turned to the hospital perspective, highlighting the difficulties that arise when guarantees of payment (GOPs) arrive late, cover limits are unclear, or communication between hospitals, insurers, and assistance providers breaks down. These gaps can leave clinicians making difficult decisions while financial arrangements remain unresolved and can result in patients or hospitals carrying unpaid costs. International patient teams may also spend considerable time chasing insurers and assistance companies across time zones, adding further pressure to an already complex situation.

Two case studies illustrated how the financial risk could fall on either the provider or the patient, particularly where contractual agreements or clear payment guarantees are absent. Dr Metin also explored the ethical and clinical implications, including the danger of transfers or repatriation being driven by exhausted policy limits rather than medical readiness. He stressed that emergency treatment still must be provided, meaning costs do not disappear when cover runs out – they simply move elsewhere.

Looking ahead, he called for clearer communication of policy limits, more effective coordination between medical and financial teams, earlier engagement with hospitals, and better-defined standards for payment guarantees. Regulators, insurers, assistance companies, and providers all have a role to play, from clearer policy summaries at the point of sale to more transparent hospital estimates and agreed processes for common medical emergencies.

Ultimately, the message was not that policies simply need to become more expensive, but that patients should understand what their cover buys them. The aim, Dr Metin argued, should be fewer surprises for everyone involved.