Thomas Sauer, the Chief Executive Officer of daily health insurance group, brings 35 years of deep engagement in international business to the forefront of the healthcare insurance industry. His career, marked by a relentless passion for creating perfect solutions and working across international markets, took a pivotal turn after 23 years in a leading role with a prominent international insurance company. In 2019, driven by a dedicated desire to take a bold step forward and backed by decades of trust from his investors, Sauer founded his own company.
The inspiration for this venture stemmed from the endless support of his dedicated team. Sauer firmly believes in the power of moving forward together to achieve shared goals. His leadership style, though now transitioning from navigating within a management hierarchy to being the final decision-maker, remains deeply rooted in a commitment to teamwork. For Sauer, building something together is not just a strategy but a fundamental philosophy that continues to shape the future of daily health insurance group in the dynamic global marketplace.
Let’s delve into the interview details below!
How do you ensure that your offerings remain flexible and adaptable to the diverse needs of your clients across different cultures and regulatory environments?
It is indeed crucial in today’s global economy, where organizations increasingly operate within their own ecosystems. As a startup or a new company, the only way to survive is if you specialize in a certain area.
For us, it is international private medical insurance, travel and life insurance. We aim to be nimble and flexible, offering adaptable products for large clients.
However, the regulatory burden is constantly growing. We had to build departments dedicated just to working on legal and admitted setups in various regions worldwide, to be able to stay up to date and compliant.
Intercultural competence is a cornerstone of our company. Currently, we have employees of 16 different nationalities speaking 17 languages and we learn about regulatory changes worldwide every day. This adaptability is our most important daily challenge.
What do you see as the most significant challenges and opportunities for international health insurance providers in the coming years?
We must find a balance between utilizing AI and maintaining personal touch with clients. When someone is ill and needs help, they do not want to talk to a computer for comfort and support. They need human touch.
Therefore, we need to streamline our processes to be cost effective while providing the best service available. This challenge is also an opportunity: clients have higher expectations as the world becomes more interconnected.
To meet these expectations, we must understand our clients’ needs and remain flexible enough to adapt our policies and coverage to their changing circumstances, whether they are students, workers or digital nomads.
How do you maintain the quality and responsiveness of your services across different time zones and geographical locations?
We work with various partners around the globe: we have intermediation and/or outsourcing agreements with 20+ insurers and assistant partners worldwide. This way we ensure timely localized excellence, in every corner of the world. We manage the underwriting, enrollment, telemedicine and claims processes, all supported by IT infrastructure.
Can you share some of the innovative approaches or technologies that daily health has implemented or is planning to introduce to enhance its services?
In addition to offering worldwide coverage to our clients, we focus on supporting all stakeholders along the way. For example, we are planning to develop a B2B2C portal which would support international brokers in offering comprehensive fringe benefits to their clients.
We work with local partners in nearly all regions of the world to provide the best service for our insured clients. A serious challenge in this process is collecting data from different sources, in various formats and languages and consolidating it in one computer system. This requires a strong IT infrastructure.
Additionally, we have launched our telemedicine application, My Daily Telehealth, currently available in six languages. The real innovation here lies in the localized approach: prescriptions are issued according to the regulations specific to each country, whether delivered directly to a pharmacy in the US or as a private prescription to the client, as is the case in some other countries.
As one of Austria’s most influential healthcare leaders, what do you believe sets the Austrian healthcare system apart on a global scale, and how does daily health contribute to or complement this system?
As an international provider, we observe that medical systems vary worldwide. Austria has an excellent healthcare system. However, many Austrians still seek or wish to have private medical supplemental coverage.
While Austria’s private medical system offers a lifelong solution, it may not be the best option for those who only plan to travel abroad for a few years when they are young. In these cases, we offer solutions in partnership with local insurers in Austria.
We also offer Austrian clients the option to receive treatments outside of Austria, at prices applicable in the host country. This is crucial for those who study, travel or work abroad for extended periods and are no longer covered by their home country insurance.
How does daily health address social and environmental concerns in its operations and services?
We are deeply committed to addressing these concerns, especially since the big majority of our employees have children. We ensure fair wages and equal opportunities for everyone working here.
Furthermore, we encourage all employees to pursue professional growth through courses and seminars of their choice sponsored by the company. It is important for me to stress that daily health is an inclusive workplace, where all employees feel valued and respected. For example, reflecting our diverse team of 16 nationalities, employees can take time off for their national holidays.
Additionally, for years we have been financially supporting local organizations that work with children, contributing to the well-being of our community.
Looking ahead, what advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs and leaders in the healthcare insurance sector, particularly those looking to make an impact on a global scale?
In our industry, we are selling trust and the assurance that our clients will feel secure. Providing the best service is crucial, especially in life-threatening situations and matters of health.
You must be service-oriented and enjoy working with people. It is also essential to understand regulations that protect our industry from unscrupulous practices.
Travel the world, understand different mentalities and recognize that health insurance varies significantly from country to country. Find your niche, focus on it and place the client at the top of your priorities. Combine this with a well-organized middle and back office that understand how to operate in the international arena. By doing so, you will build a resilient and adaptable business capable of thriving in the global marketplace.
About dhig GmbH
daily health is an international full-service insurance specialist, offering tailor-made employee benefit solutions for the globally mobile community. We specialize in international medical, life, travel and student insurance for groups and individuals.
As a Managing General Underwriter, we partner with Gen Re to handle underwriting and we manage the entire policy cycle.
We are offering the best of both worlds: Agility and personalized approach of a boutique provider + financial strength and expertise of a larger partner.
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