Managing Health Insurance Costs Without Compromising Faculty Well-Being
In April 2025, the FOBISIA Business Conference in Bangkok brought together professionals from international schools across Asia, featuring workshops specifically designed for leaders in Business, Operations and Human Resources.
One World Cover’s Customer Experience Director, Michael Pennington, and Customer Experience Manager, Rehan Farook, had the pleasure of attending the conference. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with school business managers, CFOs, and HR directors from across the region, exchanging ideas and discussing the evolving challenges of managing employee benefits in an international school environment.
As part of the conference agenda, Michael delivered a presentation titled “The Faculty Benefits Dilemma: Cut Costs or Keep Your Best Teachers?” – a session aimed at helping schools rethink how they manage rising health insurance costs without compromising on faculty wellbeing or retention.
Why This Topic Matters More Than Ever
At every conference, one theme stands out: rising costs and tighter budgets. For international schools, employee benefits often represent a significant portion of the operating budget, with health insurance typically being the largest part of the benefits package cost.
Yet health insurance isn’t just a number on a spreadsheet – it’s an emotional topic that impacts the board, leadership teams, faculty, and their families. As Michael emphasized, when staff look at your health benefits, they’re not simply asking “what’s covered?” They’re asking:
“Do I feel supported here? Do I want to stay here?”
With healthcare costs – and therefore insurance premiums – continuing to rise sharply, schools must rethink how they structure and manage their health insurance programs. Schools can no longer afford to simply absorb rising costs or slash benefits indiscriminately.
The Rising Cost of Healthcare
During the session, Michael shared updated data showing that medical trend in Asia is projected to reach 12.1% in 2025, up from 10.3% in 2024. In every major market across Asia, healthcare inflation is outpacing general inflation and salary growth.
Key drivers of these increases include:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Cancer
- Chronic conditions like diabetes
- Obesity
- Mental health disorders
- Musculoskeletal issues
While some of these factors – like cancer incidence – are difficult to prevent, others can be managed more proactively through better wellness programs, preventive screenings, and chronic disease management.
Unfortunately, many schools still miss opportunities to leverage the value-added services embedded in their insurance plans. Services like health coaching, second medical opinions, and digital health consultations can significantly improve health outcomes and reduce claims costs over time.
READ MORE >> Download One World Cover’s 2025 Medical Trend Report
The Hidden Cost of Staff Turnover
One of the key risks that schools often overlook when cutting benefits is the cost of staff turnover.
Michael shared research showing that replacing a teacher can cost anywhere between 50% to 200% of their annual salary when factoring in recruitment fees, onboarding costs, relocation expenses, and the disruption to student learning outcomes.
Worryingly, the 2024 MetLife Expat Employee Benefit Trends Study found that globally-mobile employees who feel cared for are:
- 36% more loyal
- 40% more productive
- Twice as likely to feel happy at work
- 1.8x more likely to feel committed to their school’s mission
Mental health is a particular flashpoint. According to the same report, 88% of globally-mobile employees want better mental health resources – a demand that’s even stronger among younger teachers. Within the international schools sector, data from TieCare suggests that mental health claims have tripled over the past five years.
Failing to meet these expectations isn’t just a risk to wellbeing – it’s a risk to school culture, recruitment pipelines, and financial sustainability.
Smarter Strategies for Sustainable Benefits
Rather than cutting deeply into core coverage, Michael emphasized that schools should focus on cutting smarter, not deeper.
That means:
- Protecting core benefits like cancer care, maternity, mental health, and preventive care
- Restructuring outpatient benefits intelligently (modest co-pays or limits, for example)
- Maximizing deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums without unduly impacting faculty
- Better promoting existing wellness and virtual care services already bundled into plans
For some schools, the real challenge isn’t just about trimming costs — it’s about building better coverage. Many British-curriculum schools in Asia, for example, have historically provided more basic in-patient-only coverage. As Michael pointed out, without adequate outpatient or mental health coverage, it’s increasingly difficult to attract and retain quality educators in today’s competitive global market.
Ultimately, every school needs a clear, long-term health insurance strategy – not just reactive changes driven by annual renewal cycles.
Building Sustainable Faculty Benefits for the Future
One World Cover was proud to be part of the 2025 FOBISIA Business Conference. In a time of rising costs, tighter budgets, and increasing staff expectations, the role of a trusted insurance partner has never been more important.
We look forward to continuing to support our international school clients across Asia and beyond in delivering sustainable, high-quality employee benefits programs that protect faculty wellbeing and strengthen long-term recruitment and retention.
If you’d like to discuss your renewal strategy – or learn more about how smarter plan design can help your school – please get in touch with us today.
To learn more please get in touch: [email protected] or click here to contact us.
