The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to an unprecedented influx of international companies and organizations engaged in everything from aid work and investment initiatives to reforms and reconstruction. With hostilities ongoing in parts of the country and transport links disrupted by wartime conditions, providing comprehensive personal insurance coverage for staff and contractors operating in Ukraine has proved a major challenge.
International insurance brokerage WTW has been providing personal accident and emergency medical expense coverage in Ukraine since the start of the invasion in February 2022. During 2024, WTW worked with partners at OneAdvent to prepare a specific facility tailored to meet the rapidly evolving insurance needs of organizations and companies active in Ukraine, with the goal of providing comprehensive coverage for employees and associates. This process included months of consultations with potential clients and organizations such as the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, the Multi-Agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine, and the International Chamber of Commerce.
The resulting insurance product offers higher personal accident benefits than are generally available of up to USD 750,000 per person, with coverage extending to all regions of Ukraine except active war zones. WTW is working with OneAdvent to provide Lloyd’s security, and is partnering with Akkadian, a globally established assistance company with a base in Kyiv. WTW’s Chris Baker and Vyacheslav Andriyko spoke to Business Ukraine magazine about their tailored personal accident and emergency medical assistance insurance coverage and the potential role it can play in support of international and Ukrainian companies operating in wartime conditions.
When did the idea first begin to take shape to launch personal accident and emergency medical assistance insurance coverage in wartime Ukraine?
Chris Baker: The WTW Crisis Management team have been arranging insurance in territories affected by war for many years. As soon as the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, the country experienced a typical influx of organizations wanting to help with Ukraine’s response to this situation, and also organizations who already had staff based in Ukraine. Clients were finding that their existing insurance providers were no longer willing to offer cover in Ukraine. It was quickly evident that there was a need for a specialist broker and specialist markets to meet client requirements in this rapidly evolving situation. WTW has been arranging insurance since the beginning of the war, and has developed this particular arrangement in response to the increasing need for comprehensive and easy to access insurance.
How challenging was it to develop all the details of this insurance coverage?
Chris Baker: WTW has a history of working with markets to provide insurance during times of war. The WTW Crisis Management team have established relationships with key specialist markets, supported by assistance companies that we constantly appraise for their suitability for the cover purchased. We were able to use these relationships to quickly identify those most suitable to provide insurance and support in Ukraine.
Who is this insurance coverage primarily targeted at?
Chris Baker: The facility suits any organization contemplating visiting Ukraine, in addition to locally based organizations. Cover can be offered to all staff, their contractors or visitors, or any personnel that the policyholder has a contractual obligation or duty of care to insure. The policy can include Ukrainian nationals. All types of organization can be included, from those helping to install operational machinery at the front line, to financial organizations visiting Kyiv or western Ukraine. Organizations we have worked with include those active in a wide range of sectors such as military IT, demining operations, humanitarian work, power generation, banking, legal services, construction, and waste management.
Vyacheslav Andriyko: It is important to clarify that coverage can be bought inside Ukraine or directly from WTW in other countries, where it will be issued directly by the WTW office with transactions in US dollars or euros. The WTW Ukraine office is able to offer similar coverage, reinsured by OneAdvent, via selected Ukrainian insurance companies. If purchased in Ukraine, the insured party may be a Ukrainian company, payment will be in hryvnia, and the policy will be issued in Ukraine.
Ukraine is a very large country with strikingly different security conditions from region to region. How have you sought to address this in your insurance coverage?
Chris Baker: Insurance is available across Ukraine. Our coverage is based on extensive knowledge and understanding of the evolving picture throughout Ukraine, with the assistance company constantly evaluating their medical evacuation procedures against Ukraine’s functioning medical infrastructure. This ensures the best possible response should an incident occur. The cost of the insurance varies depending on the particular region the organization or individual members are visiting or are located in. Rates are based on a series of geographical divisions within Ukraine including western oblasts (covering approximately 100km from the western border), central Ukraine including Kyiv, and southern Ukraine (excluding areas within 100km of the front line or occupied territories. Additional zoning is applied for areas between 100km and 45km from the front line or occupied territories, distances from 44km to 8km, and locations within 7km of the front line or occupied territories. The profession of the insured persons may also affect the cost of coverage. Ratings and regional divides are continually monitored to reflect the current outlook in Ukraine.
How have the wartime conditions in Ukraine shaped the medical assistance services you are able to offer?
Chris Baker: WTW’s Crisis Management team and their partners are experienced in providing medical assistance to customers in areas where medical services are severely compromised. In Ukraine, the usual network of medical facilities has been heavily impacted by the war. Some facilities are simply unavailable, some are prioritizing the care and transportation of military personal, and the no-fly zone has put added pressure on the overland transportation network. Our colleagues at Akkadian, from their base in Kyiv, have a medically qualified team who are able to co-ordinate an appropriate medical response using their knowledge of the services available at any one time, along with their own resources, which include trained staff, vehicles, and operational medical equipment. They use their experience to ensure that the best and most appropriate care plan is established for the individual needs of the patient. Each case is monitored until satisfactorily concluded. Ultimately, many patients are evacuated to a neighboring country (frequently Poland), and then to their home country, as medically appropriate. The costs of these transfers are included within the insurance coverage, up to the policy limit.
Vyacheslav Andriyko: WTW Ukraine has been providing medical and accident insurance to international and Ukrainian companies since it was established in 2005. We know the market very well. We work with the best insurers, our staff includes qualified doctors, and we have detailed knowledge of the country’s service infrastructure. All of these factors make our proposition particularly strong and viable. The war has had a negative impact on the range of medical assistance services available, but it is also true to say that the situation is rapidly improving. Both private and public medical services have shown resilience and demonstrated an ability to work under what is a consistently challenging and stressful environment.
Based on your research, how large is the potential market for this kind insurance coverage in today’s Ukraine?
Chris Baker: There will be an evolving demographic of organizations seeking this insurance, reflecting the different phases of recovery in Ukraine. It is expected that this process will take several years, so the overall scope of this initiative is difficult to estimate. There is much speculation over the future evolution of the war, particularly following the election of Donald Trump, but also due the increasing and erratic threats being made from Russia. These factors will have a major influence on the continued need for this specialist product.
Do you have any further plans to expand the insurance coverage you provide in Ukraine?
Chris Baker: One of the advantages of the product is its simplicity. Exclusions are minimal, so for a personal accident and emergency medical expense product, there is actually relatively limited scope to expand. However, once there is an extended period of stability in Ukraine, we may consider adding further benefits to the insurance such as property and cancellation, which are typically not part of policies effective in wartime.
Vyacheslav Andriyko: I would like to add that WTW is delivering yet another practical solution to the Ukrainian market which is very much needed by the business community. This new personal insurance product adds to our cargo war-on-land insurance facility, which is already launched and reinsured on the Lloyd’s market, covering any moving goods and products overland within the borders of Ukraine against conventional and war perils. We are also proud to announce that WTW is set to launch another practical solution in early 2025: property insurance against war perils for small and medium-sized companies. This new coverage against war risks should help secure development and investment for the rebuilding of the country. WTW is very proud to provide innovative professional support to the business community in Ukraine.