Last week we brought to your attention a rebranding of one of the stronger names in expatriate medical insurance as Goodhealth Worldwide has been swallowed up by the Aetna brand – but this week we have some good news for expatriates seeking health insurance cover abroad as a new player has come to the market and brought a fresh approach to health insurance with them.
Whilst last week we speculated that the Aetna takeover would likely be positive for the Goodhealth Worldwide brand, this week we’re confident that Aviva’s arrival on the international health insurance scheme can only be good news for expats who need more competition in the market to drive down what is undeniably a large cost in an expat’s life.
Aviva – formerly known as Norwich Union – is following the new Bupa model with its modular plans, but it is more price competitive than Bupa and what’s more, for some expats the fact that you can really strip down cover to your basic needs is very good news indeed. As health insurance is a necessary evil expense for international citizens, anything that could herald a price saving is positive.
Bupa are the market leaders when it comes to the provision of health insurance to international citizens – they have a very strong presence in the market, they have a very positive reputation amongst the majority of their policy holders, and it seems they have really made an effort to maintain their dominance with an overhaul of the way they offer health insurance for sale. Bupa have changed to a modular method of selling insurance whereby you only buy what you want and need.
We were convinced that this method of approach would certainly be taken on by many others in the expat insurance market – but we were impressed by the speed at which Aviva has not only developed its own modular method of insuring an expat’s international medical needs, but with the speed at which it has brought its new services to the market.
When Aviva was trading under the name of Norwich Union it did have an expatriate health insurance product base – but it was just not well known internationally. However, with the international push of the new brand and the launch of its new product base in the area of expatriate medical insurance, we’re pretty sure it will have a steady take up.
If you compare like for like as closely as you ever can with insurers, you will see at first glance that Aviva is significantly cheaper than Bupa in many areas. If you’re just looking for a price comparison this will certainly push you Aviva’s way – although we urge anyone considering taking out insurance that you look carefully at a company’s small print and track record in processing claims positively for the insured policyholder. In this respect, Bupa comes out ahead. So, do be careful that you’re comparing products on the ‘right’ criteria before you opt for one insurer over another, remember that there are more names than just these two in the market, and if in doubt seek advice about which policy may be more appropriate for your needs.
Finally, a quick word about the concept of the modular system for those for whom it’s a new concept. Instead of collectively being lumped together and banded according to price, you can now opt in and out of various modules for medical care with the likes of Bupa and Aviva. Therefore, you can buy a base level of cover for the region you’re living in internationally for example, and then add to that what you want in perhaps the way of dental or maternity cover. You may want cover for certain pre-existing conditions or be happy to pay a higher excess for optical, dental, dressings and outpatient care in order to bring your premiums down each month.
The idea behind this method of insuring certainly came from the consumer – it benefits and suits the majority of expatriate policyholders and is a very positive development in the expatriate/international health insurance marketplace – as is the arrival of Aviva onto the scene with competitively priced and structured products.
