Expatriate Health Insurance Needs Identified

A leading international health insurance provider has carried out a most comprehensive survey relating to expatriate health insurance needs around the world and how they differ greatly depending on the region the expatriate resides in and the length of time they are exposed to different climates, cuisine and even medical practices for example.

The purpose of the survey was to identify expat medical requirements on a region by region basis to enable health insurance providers to hone their insurance products accordingly, and also to allow insurance sales agents to help their clients take out the right level of cover to ensure that their likely medical needs are met in the future.  However, the survey results also make interesting reading for expatriates doing their own research into which providers’ products are most likely to protect them fully.

Did you know that the most common procedures that expatriates require when living abroad are a colonoscopy followed closely by a caesarean delivery?  Which is why so many health insurance providers refuse to cover women who become pregnant within one and sometimes even two years of taking out a health insurance policy – after all, if there is a high chance the insurer will have to pay out before they have taken sufficient premiums from a client they will write plenty of exclusion paragraphs into the small print!

Caesarean deliveries have seemingly become more and more common in the UK but in other parts of the world they are the preferred method of baby delivery…and this trend of favouring a particular procedure is seen when it comes to other medical measures as well.  For example, in certain European nations such as Germany where doctors get paid more by the amount of referrals they do and procedures they carry out, there are a higher than average number of CT and MRI scans carried out when compared with other countries around the world suggesting that over diagnosis goes on meaning that an expatriate’s premiums could be higher than average in such nations. 

Other trends relate not to medical practices but to the climate encountered by the expatriate in question – for example in Africa there are more skin lesions removed than in Europe, and in places where abortions are conducted illegally there are higher than average incidences of surgery being required after illegal abortions are carried out.  Expatriates living in Africa are also more likely than others around the world to require the removal of cataracts and their appendix according to the survey by BUPA and those living in the Middle East have a higher than average requirement for a hernia repair operation – don’t ask us why!

The top ten list worldwide, (excluding America of course), is a colonoscopy, caesarean delivery, CT scan, cataract surgery, gastroscopy, hysteroscopy, MRI scan, removal of skin lesion, cardiac catheterization and keyhole surgery of the knee.

So, the general conclusions that can be drawn from the survey are that expatriates should ensure their potential health care needs are fully covered by any expatriate health insurance policy they take out, and that depending on where in the world they are going to be living, the health care provisions available locally as well as the local climate, cuisine and culture of medical practice carried out their expatriate health insurance needs could differ greatly.  For a free assessment of your likely needs you can give Goodhealth a try, they have an exclusive association with American Express for the specific offering of tailored expatriate health insurance policies and you can get more information about their plans and policies online.

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