International Medical Group Releases Mobile App to Assess Travel Risk

(INDIANAPOLIS – June 11, 2015) – International Medical Group^® (IMG^®), a leader in the global medical and travel insurance market for 25 years, has released its Travel Risk Assessment Tool, or TRāT, a mobile travel app designed to assess and manage the risk of international travel.

“Traveling internationally can be very exciting, but there is an unpredictability that comes with travel,” said R. Brian Barwick, IMG President and CEO. “That’s why it became a priority for IMG to create a pre-planning mobile app to improve our members’ overall travel experience. TRāT provides comprehensive information to alleviate some of that anxiety.”

The app prompts users to provide basic information including age, destination, length of visit, frequency of travel to destination, trip purpose, currency familiarity and current travel medical insurance coverage. By answering 15 short, non-intrusive questions, users will receive a personalized Travel Risk Level score and recommended steps to reduce risk.

“TRāT is a complete source of preparedness for international travel, allowing travelers to feel secure and confident with Global Peace of Mind^®” Barwick said.

To calculate risk, the app uses IMG’s proprietary algorithm that incorporates the company’s 25 years of service to more than 2.5 million international travelers. Answers are weighted according to values assigned to potential risk behaviors. Based on the unique Travel Risk Level score assigned to each user, IMG will recommend tools to reduce trip risk including credible online travel document resources, international travel guides, U.S. Department of State services, travel medical insurance options, language translation services and currency conversion tools among others.

Numerous variables affect millions of international travelers each year. Globally, international inbound tourists took 800 million trips in 2013, according to data published by the World Tourism Organization in the 2015 Yearbook of Tourism Statistics.

“Weather and attire are important questions for people planning trips abroad,” said Barwick. “But there are matters more critical that many travelers don’t realize until it is too late. TRāT is the perfect international travel planning companion to help protect and enhance the health and well-being our members.”

TRāT is available for free through Apple iTunes and Google Play. For more information on TRāT, please visit www.tripresource.com