CIEB's New Product Offers Alternative for Employers During Tough Economic Times

As the global economic crisis continues, businesses everywhere are forced to adjust. As companies reduce their budgets and operating costs, they will need new solutions in order to meet their international business needs. CIEB developed a product to allow employers to reduce costs without halting international assignments. Global Health Advantage^®: Short Term Abroad^SM (GHA STA) allows employers to control costs and provides coverage to employees on assignment for 3 to 24 months, excluding the United States and the home country. Employers with five or more international assignees can offer their globally mobile employees an array of advantages including covered routine care and prescription drugs, clinical case management, including outreach, coordination, and intervention for members with medical, pharmaceutical, or emergency needs, physician-directed access to medical and dental providers around the world, and transportable away-from-home coverage. Coverage provided by Short Term Abroad will pay first in the event that a covered expense is incurred while away from the home country. Domestic coverage is required.

Contact a CIEB sales representative or CIEBmarketing@cigna.com for more information about GHA STA.

Short Term Assignments Abroad Increase Despite Economic Conditions

In an increasingly globalized economy, the demand for short-term assignments abroad is growing exponentially, as revealed by the recent KPMG 2008 Global Assignment Policies and Practices Survey. Out of 430 human resource managers surveyed, more than 80 percent anticipate that the number of short-term assignments will stay the same or grow over the next few years. Thus, despite a weakened economy and growing cost-concerns, businesses have found that the return on globalization ultimately outweighs its cost.

International business travel is especially common within the European Union (EU). More than 20 percent of the surveyed companies use commuter assignments which are facilitated by the accessibility within the EU.

Companies that operate globally often must send employees abroad to effectively compete in the international market in order to acquire knowledge first-hand. Products such as CIEB's Global Health Advantage: Short Term Abroad^SM (GHA STA) provide coverage for traveling employees while controlling costs during crucial visits of 3-24 months. Employees have the freedom to choose any doctor or hospital and employers can avoid changing the employees' benefits upon relocation by obtaining home coverage as well.

CIGNA Envoy: Share Your Experience

We've heard feedback from many of you and many of your clients regarding CIGNA Envoy^SM, CIEB's new web portal designed with members, employers, and providers in mind. CIGNA Envoy is distinct in that it has a single sign in solution that only requires the user to remember one ID and password in order to gain access to online tools, claims history, explanation of benefits, and provider directories. To the extent that our competitors do not have a single step process, CIEB is one step ahead.

Some comments we received include:

'The new site is highly customizable relative to specific clients - logos, special messages, highlighting specific forms/functions, etc.'

'Thank you for the overview of the new CIEB website, CIGNA Envoy. The new website is very impressive.'

Please visit our online tutorial at http://www.cignaexpats.com/envoytour and share your thoughts with us at CIEBMarketing@CIGNA.com.

DISCLAIMER: 'CIGNA' refers to any one of the underwriting companies owned directly or indirectly by CIGNA Corporation and/or its subsidiaries and affiliates. Products and services are provided by these subsidiaries, affiliates and other contracted companies and not by CIGNA Corporation. . 'CIGNA' is a registered service mark. 'CIGNA International,' 'CIGNA International HealthCare Benefits,' and 'CIGNA International Expatriate Benefits' are also service marks.

This is not a contract. This announcement is for informational purposes only. The information provided herein is believed accurate as of the date of publication, and is subject to change. Products and services may not be available in all jurisdictions and are expressly excluded where prohibited by applicable law. For the full details of any product offering, please contact your CIEB Sales or Client Management representative.

CIEB's web-based tools, such as CIGNA Envoy^SM, are available for informational purposes only. They do not constitute medical advice. CIEB's web tools are not intended to be a substitute for proper medical care provided by a physician and not intended as a means for self-diagnosis. CIGNA Envoy is a service mark of CIGNA Corporation.

Any reference to other organizations or companies and/or their products or services, including their Internet sites, is not an endorsement or warranty of the services, information, or products provided by them, nor should a reference to other organizations be construed as their endorsement or warranty of CIEB's products or services. All trademarks (registered and unregistered) and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

Copyright 2009.