Expatriate Health Insurance Blog
Thursday, May 17, 2012
- 18
Mar
2011 -
What to Look for When Buying Expatriate Health Insurance
Filed Under: Blogging
Author: Dan S
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One important factor to consider is how often you will be returning to your former home country. Will you be shuttling back and forth frequently between your old and new countries? Or will you be limiting return trips to holidays or other special occasions? There are different types of plans available for expatriates based on this factor, so getting the right plan is critical to making certain you have the coverage you need.
Next, consider how much coverage you want for your plan. Do you have another plan that is being provided by an employer, so you need less from this plan? Or do you need as much as possible from this plan as it is your sole source of insurance. These are important questions to ask. Keep in mind that the more coverage you purchase, the more your policy will cost. However, do not let that fact inspire you to take a cheap approach to buying coverage, as you may wind up with less than you need.
Finally, other factors you will need to decide that will affect your policy type and cost include your age, your citizenship status, how long you want coverage for and what sort of deductible you are willing to pay. Once again, these factors do influence the cost of your policy, but you should not let them steer you towards buying the cheapest available expatriate health insurance. Doing so could leave you with inadequate coverage, costing you much more down the road than you would have paid initially.
- 10
May
2012 -
What to Consider in Expatriate Health Insurance
Filed Under: Blogging
Author: vibha
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Expatriate health insurance is an insurance policy geared towards people who spend more than just their holidays outside the borders of their country. There are many factors that can influence this type of insurance and here are some of the essential ones:
• Personal Needs and Expectations. People become expatriates for various reasons. Depending on those reasons, the health insurance for expatriate people will be different. There are expat insurance policies for international students, freelancers, soldiers, or for people who are working sent by their employers.
• The Health Insurance System in the New Country. More developed countries allow expats to pay monthly contributions to the healthcare system and thus get coverage for certain health services similar to what a citizen of that country would. But that is not the case in less developed countries.
• Current State of Health. Naturally, the premium for your expat health insurance will be lower if you are healthy and fit. But, if you suffer from pre-existing conditions, your health insurance premium will be higher.
• Insurance Level. Insurance providers do not offer a universal coverage plan for all expatriates. They have different insurance levels and each level means a particular coverage level and also a certain premium amount. Depending on health condition, money situation, and health system, you can choose the most suitable level for your health insurance.
• Material Situation. Again, this is an important element. Expatriate health insurance has a certain level of deductibles. The higher the amount of deductible, the lower the premium will be. If your earnings and overall money situation allows you, you can choose an insurance with higher deductibles.
- 04
May
2012 -
Expatriate Health Insurance and Preexisting Conditions
Filed Under: Blogging
Author: vibha
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Ten years ago, it would have been inconceivable that expatriate health insurance companies would cover pre-existing conditions. Nowadays, people can benefit from insurance coverage in this respect. It is also true that not all insurance providers would take the risk of protecting a policyholder against conditions that he or she is known to suffer from.
Not only did insurance companies not cover preexisting medical conditions, but they did not cover any other medical condition that may have been related to or triggered by it. Therefore, high blood pressure would cause additional exclusions for angina, heart attacks, strokes, or thrombosis, for example. This vicious circle continued even if the condition was kept under control with medication.
When you travel in a foreign country and you make your home there and your workplace, you become an expatriate. But being an expatriate does not make you immune to illness. In fact, on the contrary, the new living circumstances may aggravate your existing conditions or may trigger new attacks. In this case, expatriates need to pay even more attention to how they choose their health insurance and to the inclusions and exclusions of the policy.
Although pre-existing medical conditions will probably determine a higher premium on your expatriate health insurance, it is recommended that people get covered given the physical and emotional stress that they are exposed to when living in a new environment. As an expatriate, you have to keep in mind that your health insurance premiums are not necessarily high due to your pre-existing medical conditions. Other factors influence insurance premiums, including healthcare costs in the new country you are moving to.
- 26
Apr
2012 -
What to Look For In Group Expatriate Health Insurance
Filed Under: Blogging
Author: vibha
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Expatriate health insurance for groups is a more complex type of international health insurance. Such insurance will have to attend the needs of the group without neglecting the separate needs of the individuals. But what are the aspects you should look for in expatriate medical insurance?
• For groups, the most important aspect of international health insurance is the portability of coverage for employees who need to move or travel from one place to another.
• Medical assistance is one of the essentials of international health insurance and that is why a good insurer should grant access to a complete selection of health providers. Additionally, the insured should have the chance to choose their own health providers.
• The coverage should be handled by a global insurance company that has enough resources and extensive claims and administration management. A third party administrator is not recommended.
• A good insurance policy should have several levels of deductibles and competitive premiums.
• The coverage for the group should be extended also in the countries of origin of each individual member.
• Pre-existing conditions should be covered by group expatriate health insurance without exception.
• The policy should be customizable for high risk areas such as terrorism or war zones. Potentially hostile environments should also be included in the coverage.
• If not covered, maternity is a significant risk. That is why the female members of the group should have maternity coverage included in the policy.
• A call center available 24/7 for claims and support should also be included in a good policy. This allows for better communication, administration and availability.