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PROFILE
ITIJ spoke to Abasse Asgaraly, senior
business development executive with
Zurich World Travel Protection, about
competition in the assistance environment,
technology and telemedicine
What is your background in the travel/
assistance industry?
I started my career with the pioneering
assistance entity Europ Assistance, based
in France. I orchestrated and successfully
developed the first assistance company in
Japan: it was my honour and privilege to
serve the Japanese market, where I lived for
eight years and acquired amazing experience
and knowledge in customer-focused
services. I have also managed a large US-
based assistance company specialising in
corporations and Fortune 500 organisations.
Now, based in Toronto, Canada, I apply my
expertise and experience for World Travel
Protection (WTP).
In a competitive business environment,
innovation is key. How do you go about
ensuring that your business stays ahead
of the curve?
Assistance products and services are usually
driven by large volumes with tiny profit
margins, and the only way to overcome
this serious impediment is to constantly
innovate. For example, in 2004 I launched
the Nomadic Services product, with
assistance services migrating onto mobile
devices and platforms. At WTP, we were the
first to launch Nomadz on the Blackberry
platform, which is still ahead of what is
currently offered in the marketplace. To
offer continuing improvements I then added
Security Assistance, with services available
for political or natural disaster events; and to
enhance our value proposition, we added
ID theft protection services (I say ‘services’
because we truly provide services instead
of an indemnity). In June 2014, I – along
with the WTP marketing team – launched a
product targeting high-net-worth individuals
and families. Innovation and constant review
of changing market needs are the two key
pillars that keep our business ahead of the
competition. Without innovation, I believe we
have no room for profitable growth.
Do you feel that the wider assistance
industry is doing enough to embrace new
technological developments to assist
travellers overseas?
No, I don’t think so. I see an internal
approach, where key organisations in the
assistance industry focus on price-based
competition rather than innovation and the
integration of new technologies, especially
mobile platforms and the Internet. When
you go anywhere in world, even to remote
locations in Africa or Latin America, you see
people communicating and conducting
business with their mobile phones. I was
recently in Madagascar and was amazed
to see the volume of financial transactions
executed through mobile devices. Kenya
is a leader in this this field, with its M-Paysa
solution. The assistance industry is not
keeping pace with the profound changes
being utilised by our primary consumer base.
We need to adopt new ways of reaching our
clients with strategies to retain them in the
long term.
How has WTP’s global security assistance
programme evolved since its introduction?
At WTP, we have seen rapid changes in our
global security assistance products, which
were initially intended to offer evacuation
services in case of major political events
anywhere in the world. Furthermore, at
WTP, we have acquired extremely valuable
expertise by providing medical evacuation
and repatriation assistance and support
in war zones such as Iraq or Afghanistan.
These experiences have taught us to listen
and better understand the needs of our
customers. We now know that our Global
Security Assistance must offer ‘trigger points’
– time-sensitive information, alerts and access
on various platforms including mobile devices,
allowing HR or corporate security personnel
to make informed decisions, preparing their
members before events become catastrophic
and political evacuation or repatriation could
become almost impossible to organise.
We offer our services on various platforms
including the Internet (web-based) and mobile
phones, with the integration of the GPS,
which allows push alerts and time-sensitive
information for the right people at the right
time: yet another example of how mobile
solutions will take prominence in the delivery
We need to adopt new ways of reaching
our clients with strategies to retain them
in the long term
mobile solutions will take prominence in
the delivery of travel safety and security
services and solutions moving forward
Innovation and constant review of
changing market needs are the two key
pillars that keep our business ahead of
the competition
of travel safety and security services and
solutions moving forward.
Political unrest and terrorist activity are
apparent in many parts of the world. How
challenging is it keeping abreast of these
types of events and factor them into your
travel risk management processes?
We see more and more new political unrest,
acts of terrorism and natural disasters. They
are quite challenging to anyone who has
responsibility for the safety and security of
travellers or expatriates. At WTP, we have
implemented protocols and partnerships
with carefully selected organisations and
providers who give constant updates on the
ongoing situations around the world. We also
have the capability of implementing a Crisis
Center with a highly-trained team to address
any type of event. For example, WTP has
access to exclusive health information not
readily available through other media sources,
which allows us to prepare contingency and
emergency response plans more effectively
and efficiently. Furthermore, we have the
capability of bringing together our partners
in the International Assistance Group (IAG),
with 65 global assistance companies around
the world. Some of our IAG partners are the
world’s largest private healthcare providers,
such as in South Africa with Netcare911. We
can mobilise powerful resources because of
our global reach and networks.
You also developed a Canadian
telemedicine network for a large Canadian
organisation – what would you say are
the primary benefits of a system such as
this with regards to cost containment and
patient care?
I came to Canada because TeleMedisys, a Bell
Canada company, asked me to develop and
implement a telemedicine network to provide
remote patient monitoring. We started with a
roster of over 2,000 cardiac patients, integrating
new technology with our patients in mind
who relied on us in the event of any cardiac
emergency. I believe in telemedicine and
think it is not well known or understood. With
today’s technology in image compression, large
bandwidth, high-speed Internet connections,
and miniaturisation of patient monitoring
devices, telemedicine is playing and will play
a larger role in the delivery of medical and
healthcare services, especially in remote areas
and under-developed countries.
Telemedicine provides a cost-effective
approach to the delivery of healthcare. In
Canada, in 2014, we have to arrange costly
medical evacuations in our northern territories
because we do not have enough primary care
facilities locally. I have seen patients evacuated
for a simple otitis because of the lack of a
medical facility, with costs ranging from around
$2,000 to $3,000. With a good telemedicine
deployment, we could better assess, manage
and provide care when and where needed
without engaging extra and costly resources.
Fraud remains a major concern for the
insurance and assistance industry. How do
you tackle this issue?
Fraud in medicine or healthcare is not new
and is not specific to the assistance or
insurance industry. It happens when you
have, for example, a concentration of tourists
going to certain locations for sun, sand or
sea. In the past, I have witnessed fraudulent
medical claims in many areas of the world,
but we see it now in many more countries.
However, WTP and our colleagues have
acquired excellent working knowledge
of fraudulent behaviours. We exchange
information cross-functionally and know
which geographic areas or healthcare
providers need to be under strict scrutiny. We
also apply new technology that allows us to
detect abnormal charges or invoices.
The industry has undoubtedly seen some
major changes over the course of your
career. Which would you regard as the
most important shift/development?
The travel assistance industry started in
the early 1960s as a solution to evacuate
or repatriate people whenever they had
a major medical issue anywhere in the
world. Assistance was synonymous with
evacuation. If you read early contracts and
documents, all messages were concentrated
on the evacuation only. We know that
medical evacuations and repatriations are
important elements of any travel assistance/
insurance policy, but we have seen a major
shift towards what I qualify as ‘assistance
comfort’, where services are available at
home, while you drive, when you use your
technology or your mobile device.
I see further shifts going in two major
directions: the integration of mobile
technologies in the delivery of assistance
services, and a focus on daily life challenges
with new benefits making our daily life a little
bit easier.
What does a typical day – if there is such
a thing – in your role as senior business
development executive entail?
In my role as the leader of business
development at WTP, I need to be an
excellent networker and listener. I believe
that business is conducted through the
interaction of people: this is something
that is in my blood, and originates from
my background. I was born into a family of
traders and my father was my best teacher.
So, to answer your question, I spend a
great deal of my time connecting with our
clients, customers and prospects. I invest
time in understanding and interacting with
our clients and our end-users. They are
the ones who give us the most meaningful
assessments and validation if we meet
or exceed their expectations. In a highly
competitive environment, listening to and
understanding our clients and our customers
is the only way to survive and to grow.
What would you consider to be your
proudest achievement – both personally
and professionally?
I am very proud of what I have achieved
personally. Being born in Madagascar,
where access to good education was
not easy, I owe it all to my father. He gave
me two passions: one to read, and the
second to never take a customer for
granted. Professionally, I am very proud
of my achievements in Japan. I went to
Japan when I did not speak Japanese, and
successfully developed assistance services
for the Japanese marketplace. When I left
Tokyo, over 98 per cent of my clients were
some of the largest Japanese organisations
such as Tokio Marine, Nippon Life, Nippon
Shinpan Credit Card, and the Japanese
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. My Japanese
experience taught me the true value of
customer service. n
Serious
about
business