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Article By: David Tompkins Expat Financial/TFG Global Insurance Solutions Ltd. Date: November 16, 2004 If you are living abroad, one of the most important parts of your financial security is your international health insurance plan. Working overseas can be stressful enough but doing so without an adequate health insurance plan is downright dangerous. Falling ill in some far off land is distressing enough without the worry of who is going to pay your health bills. Such medical bills can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. There may be some medical facilities that are often reluctant to provide treatment without receiving an ironclad promise to be paid or a cash payment. Finally, if you are traveling from your offshore country you happen to fall ill or injure yourself, you will require medical travel insurance or even evacuation if the facilities are inadequate. However, some expatriates are sometimes able to become part of the local government health plan if they satisfy certain residency and immigration requirements. However, such government plans, especially in 2nd and 3rd world countries, are often inadequate and are rife with long waiting lists and often cover only basic medical needs. And if you are transferred to another country or if you want to be treated back home, you wont be able to take the coverage with you. Several multinational and specialty insurance companies have met the offshore health insurance needs of expatriates with international medical coverage plans. Most plans will provide in-patient care, which is a technical term for in-hospital treatment. Such expenses include hospital accommodation, surgeons, anesthetists' & physicians' charges. Also, consultations in radiology, pathology, oncology and radiotherapy are also included. The more enhanced plans also include some outpatient charges such as specialist fees including therapies including acupuncture, osteopathy, physiotherapy, homeopathy and primary consultations and primary care including a certain amount of prescribed drugs. Local road ambulance is usually included in most basic plans. Nursing at home and emergency dentistry are usually options. Basically, these plans are called hospital plans because they usually cover only in-hospital treatment. For those who want a much more comprehensive plan that not only covers outpatient care as described above, but also cover a wide array of outpatient care. Such expenses include: psychiatry, organ transplants, rehabilitation, home nursing, childbirth, home delivery, general practitioners consultations, eye & ear specialists, other specialists such as dietetic guidance, vaccinations, lab tests and analysis, x-rays, Scans, EKGs, hearing aids, physiotherapy, chiropractor, osteopath and a certain amount of prescribed drugs. Such plans are usually just over double the cost of a hospital plan. If one is used to using deluxe plan such as exists in developed countries, you may want to purchase such a comprehensive plan. In terms of coverage, most plans cover your expenses at 100%. Others have the option of have the insured pay 20% of the costs. Most plans have the option to include a $500 or $1,000 US deductible, which also helps lower the premium costs. Zero deductible plans are also available. Almost all international health insurance plans have the option to add emergency travel medical & evacuation coverage for an extra fee. The plans provide for immediate transportation from any location in the world to the nearest centre of medical excellence for in-patient treatment of emergency conditions. The emergency evacuation plans usually cover the cost of reasonable return fares to your own country of residence after recovery. If the expatriate dies, their physical remains can be transported home for no charge. All expatriate health plans have some restrictions and exclusions. Some common health plan exclusions are for pre-existing conditions which were know before being insured. If you have an expatriate plan already and you have suffered a condition that may reoccur, such as back injury or cancer, you should avoid changing your coverage. Other exclusions such as cosmetic treatment, naturally occurring conditions like menopause, sexually transmitted diseases, abuse of alcohol, intentional self-inflicted injuries and the standard war and riot clauses are not covered. But there are some plans which cover you for passive war and terrorism meaning you are injured while being an innocent bystander. Most plans do not cover maternity or childbirth. However, there are a few health plans, which will cover a normal or complicated delivery with a waiting period of 12 months after the policy is put in force. Others will cover maternity if the insured becomes pregnant after becoming insured. One should caution that a complicated pregnancy is very expensive and unwise to self-insure. The obvious determinate of an expatriate's premium is his/her age. Some plans determine their prices by the gender of the applicant. Most plans have premium bands of 5 years with coverage available up to age 100. Another factor in the price can be whether the expatriate wants worldwide coverage excluding or including USA and Canada. Because of the high price of healthcare in the United States or while not insured under a government plan in Canada, the price for expatriate coverage including these two countries can be as much as two to three times the cost. Such a plan is recommended for offshore residents who travel back to the USA or Canada for extended periods that would not be covered in the optional medical evacuation plan. Most US and Canadian expats or expatriates who reside nearby will want to be covered for medical treatment in the United States. Expatriates can obtain information on a variety of plans using the internet, including sites such as www.expatfinancial.com . Expatriates should make sure they fully understand what coverage they are purchasing and read the fine print. Nowadays, we all try to live a relatively healthy lifestyle while avoiding unnecessary risks and hazards with a limited number of vices, but offshore residents know that purchasing international health insurance is a vital part of their financial security. Neglecting such a vital safety net can result in financial ruin.
David G. Tompkins, BA, CLU, runs Expat Financial / TFG Global Insurance Solutions Ltd. an international insurance agency. He can be reached via tompkins@expatfinancial.com or www.expatfinancial.com or 800-232-9415 or 604-351-5278
Expat Financial - offers international health insurance and global life, travel and disability insurance to expatriates, their employers and local nationals around the world.
Article Owned by TFG Global Insurance Solutions All Rites Reserved. Copyright 2004.
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