Expat health insurance – how to choose the best policy for your family
Not many things are truly a matter of life and death, but health insurance can be.
But fear not. In this article we list the main things to consider before shelling out for your own expat healthcare insurance, explain the terminology, highlight the pitfalls to watch for, and explain how to make sure you are covered for everything you need.
Read on and you’ll have all the info you need to make a fully informed decision… we promise this won’t hurt a bit!
What is expat health insurance?
Expat health insurance helps you pay for medical treatment if you get sick or injured while living abroad. It’s designed for people who live overseas and need coverage for themselves, as well as their family members. It often includes repatriation back to your home country in emergencies.
What does international health insurance typically cover?
Most expat health insurance policies provide coverage for the following:
- Inpatient care (e.g. hospital stays for medical treatment)
- Outpatient care (e.g. X-rays, doctor’s visits)
- Medical evacuation (if medical treatment is not available locally and you need to travel to another country)
- Emergency dental treatment (such as a broken or cracked tooth)
- Repatriation (in the worst-case scenario that you should die overseas, you are covered for appropriate transportation back to your home country)
Do you even need health insurance?
International health insurance is not cheap, and depending on where you live, public healthcare may be sufficient.
If you’re in a country where the healthcare system is more advanced than back home, you may not need to take out a separate insurance policy. Public health systems in countries such as Canada, Germany and France are generally excellent and can provide a level of care that may be on par with or better than what you’re used to back home.
However, if you’re going to be somewhere with a less developed public health system (or no public healthcare at all), then an expatriate health insurance policy may be essential.
Also note that a pre-condition of some work visas is that you have private healthcare arranged. This is the case in the UAE, and is particularly common for the new remote-working visas that many countries have begun offering since the Covid pandemic.
Does your company offers group cover for employees
If you have an employer, your first port of call is to check what health insurance provisions are available with them. If they offer group health insurance this can be a great option.
Group insurance plans are typically less expensive than individual plans because the company receives a discount from the insurer in exchange for sharing the risk with other employees. And even if you are not a full-time employee you are usually still eligible.
Depending on the plan, it may also include dental care, vision care and prescription medicines alongside medical services such as hospitalisation and outpatient care at no extra cost.
How to compare expat health insurance policies
If you do have to go it alone and arrange health cover yourself there’s no need to worry. The best way to compare policies is to get free quotes from a few different providers.
These are some of the main providers:
Compare the prices and understand what’s included in each policy. In particular, examine these eight items:
1. The cover provided
It’s worth considering what sort of medical treatment you expect to need.
If you’re an expat in your 60s, for example, and living alone in Thailand with a serious heart condition, then it’s likely that you’ll be looking for a policy that covers expensive operations like an angioplasty or a triple bypass surgery. It’s not going to be cheap!
On the other hand, if your family is young and healthy then pediatric care will be more important and emergency cover and evacuation may suffice for your needs.
2) The level of the excess
The excess is the amount you must pay for each individual claim, with the insurance provider covering the rest. The excess varies from policy to policy and can range from as little as 5% all the way up to 100%. It’s a balancing act. The lower the excess, the higher the policy cost.
Imagine you incur a cost of US$500 for a visit to the doctor, some tests, an x-ray, and medicines.
If your excess is 20%, you will pay US$100, and the insurance will cover US$400.
Varying the level of the excess is a good way to adjust the cost to suit your budget.
It’s a personal judgement as to whether you prefer a lower up-front cost with higher charges for each claim, or a higher cost policy but with a lower excess for each claim.
If you feel confident in your health and do not expect to use the policy much, a higher excess may work in your favour. But of course, if we could predict the future there would be no need for an insurance policy at all!
3) Cover for pre-existing conditions
Some policies include cover for pre-existing condition, but it is not universal. Be sure to find out before committing to a particular plan, as being denied coverage for treatment because it is a pre-existing condition can be very costly.
For instance, if your child needs ongoing treatment for something like asthma or diabetes, it is important that these are covered by your policy so that you are not unexpectedly saddled with having to pay for these costs.
4) Waiting periods
After the policy starts there may be a waiting period before you can claim for certain conditions. This is often the case for maternity care, where there can be a waiting period of 9 months. ‘Why 9 months?’, you ask. Well, that is beyond the scope of this article, but have a think!
5) Limits
There are limits to how much you can claim for one incident. For example, sometimes there will be US$1,000,000 limit on treatment for one condition. It sounds a huge amount and certainly covers all the paracetamol you would ever need. But if you were in a coma after a car accident in a country that has expensive healthcare – such as Singapore or UAE – the costs could quickly mount up.
6) Additional extras
If you’re thinking of taking up surfing, scuba-diving or bungee jumping, then it is well worth checking if the activity is covered in your policy. Usually, extreme sports such as these are not covered as standard. Ask yourself whether you want to add extra cover for these types of activities.
7) Exclusions
International insurance often includes cover in your country of residence as well as globally, but the US is usually excluded because its eye-wateringly expensive costs would make the policy prohibitively expensive. If you will be travelling frequently to the US, you may need to pay extra to include US healthcare coverage.
8) Ease of use
It’s often overlooked, but another important factor is how easy it will be for you to actually make a claim or get in contact with your insurer if something goes wrong.
For this, it’s worth checking up on the reputation of your chosen company before signing up for a new policy. A good starting point is Trustpilot, which rates businesses based on customer feedback.
Top tips for finding the right policy
- Get free quotes from a few different companies.
- Choose the right level of cover for your needs
- Ask about any exclusions or limitations, especially for pre-existing conditions.
- Vary the level of the excess to suit your budget.
Once, you’ve chosen a policy, and before you sign, read through the policy document and make sure that you understand all the terms, conditions, and exclusions. This is an important step because if you don’t know about something until you come to claim, it can be very hard to resolve and the insurance may not pay for your treatment.
But if you are happy with everything, sign and relax!
The healthy peace of mind of being properly insured
As an expat, good health insurance can be critical. The best policy will cover you and your family in case of an emergency, provide cover for the health issues you need and activities you undertake, and enable you to live life to the fullest while you are abroad, worry-free.
We hope this article has given you the info you need to make an informed choice. If there was anything missing, do let us know in the comments.
Thnx