What to Look for When Researching Health Insurance

When you move abroad one of the issues you may well come up against relatively early on is the fact that you’re likely to need health insurance cover.  In the UK we’re covered by the NHS, we can call on it as and when we need it as long as we’re legal residents of Great Britain and have been for 6 months or more.  However, every country in the world has different rules and few have the equivalent of the NHS.

If you’re fortunate enough to be moving in retirement to a country such as France that has a reciprocal agreement with the UK for free health care there are still issues and forms that you need to know about – and if you’re moving elsewhere or at a different stage in your life then you may very well discover that you need private health insurance.

As Brits, very few of us, our peers or our families have private health care cover, so in this report we’re going to show you what to look for when researching health insurance before you go and live abroad.  All providers offer different incentives to lure you in, but which are essentials and which are just worthless add-ons designed to make you sign up?

There are so many aspects to consider when you think about insuring your health – for a start, if you’re moving overseas with your family in tow you will need to have cover in place for them too.  You cannot rely on having access to free care on the NHS if you’re no longer resident in the UK, so if you’re abroad you need appropriate cover.  In some countries such as Germany for example, you can buy local insurance to cover you in Germany.  Or in Spain for instance you can get access to the national health care system if you’re a tax paying resident in the country.  However, in other popular expatriate hotspots such as Dubai, you’re going to need to consider having private medical insurance.

In this day and age when all money matters come back time and again to the global recession and how we all need to save money, the thought of having to fork out a fortune each month on an insurance you may never need doesn’t sit too well.  But, in our opinion you need to look at it another way…without your good health, no wealth really matters.  You need to stay healthy to enjoy life and work, to have fun abroad and to be able to care about and for those around you who matter most.  This means that you cannot afford to put a price on your health.  To that end, you need insurance!

Here are the 10 things you need to look out for when researching health insurance if you’re going to live abroad.

1)  You need your insurer to be accessible to you

– therefore a call centre that picks up the phone only on a Monday to Friday between 9 and 5 GMT is no good for someone who falls ill on a Saturday night when they live in a totally different timezone too!  So find out whether your insurance company really offers you an international support service or not.

2)  You need an insurer who will support you

- if you do need to make use of your insurance because you’re ill, it would be nice to be with a company who can help you find a doctor in the nation you’re in.  Some insurance companies have affiliations or at least connections with healthcare providers and hospitals globally.  This is an advantage to you if you don’t want to have to research where you can get care from, and you just want access to that care.

3)  An insurer who picks up the bill direct is a good thing!

- If your insurer will pay directly for any care or treatment you have, so much the better.  Of course, in an emergency situation where a problem is urgently yet quickly resolved, this may not always be possible.  But if you can call in and inform your insurer about treatment you will be having in advance, where that insurer can then work with the accounts department of the hospital directly so much the better.  Otherwise you’ll be out of pocket and chasing reimbursement.

4)  Pre existing conditions…

- if you have any pre-existing conditions, most insurers automatically have exclusions written in that will preclude you from receiving payment for care required.  However, depending on the nature of the condition, how long you have had it, when you last received treatment for it, the prognosis and a number of other concerns, there are some insurers who will offer you an exclusion waiver.  It really does pay to shop around if you have a pre-existing condition therefore.

5)  Evacuation, repatriation and all that stuff!

- If you’re going to work overseas in a less than hospitable location or you’re moving to work abroad somewhere where medical facilities are rudimentary, you’re going to need to research the availability of evacuation and repatriation services from an insurer.  If needs be you need to be removed from a dangerous or deteriorating situation, what’s more, if you’re seriously ill in a country where you cannot gain access to care and treatment, being safe in the knowledge you can be rescued by your insurer will be essential.

6)  Can you add on to your insurance?

- We all have different priorities and issues in life that affect us or are important to us – so to have an insurer which offers different types o policies or different additional levels of treatment or care/cover is an advantage.  For example, if you could add on dental or maternity, that might be important to you.

7)  US Cover.

- Getting health insurance that covers you if you need to go to America can prove very expensive indeed – so, if you’re never likely to go to America, make sure cover is not automatically included in your quote as it could ramp up your premium.  At the same time, if you are moving to live in America or you will be working or visiting the nation sometimes, see who offers the most competitive level of cover for America – rates can differ dramatically when it comes to US cover.

8)  Think about your deductibles.

- A ‘deductible’ in international health insurance terms is the contribution you make towards your care or treatment.  In other insurance terms you might dub it your excess.  There are fixed deductibles that you need to read the small print to learn about, and there are likely to be voluntary ones that you can subscribe to in order to reduce your monthly or annual premium.

9)  Who backs and underwrites the insurer?

- Because the protection of your health is at stake here, you need to know who is backing and underwriting a given insurance providers offerings?  You need a big, global name with a strong balance sheet behind you!

10)  Make sure your company is scalable and will be with you for the long-term.

- If you want to add on layers of cover in the years to come, such as preventative screening and holistic services, home care as well as respite care, make sure that the company you are thinking about choosing is one that will step up to meet your needs over your lifetime.  It gets harder and more expensive to get health insurance the older you are, therefore if you start out with one company when you’re younger you want to ensure you’re not going to be dropped by them or you’re not going to have to go in search of a new provider when you’re older.

In conclusion, there are many things to think about when looking for international health insurance, so you need to think about the aspects of cover that are important for you and your family, as well as those that are appropriate for your situation today, tomorrow and for the long-term.