If you are like me you despise paying more than you need to for international health insurance. Expat Underground offers you the best international health insurance plans.
The most common fear people have of their insurance company is that when the time comes to cough up they will think of any excuse to weasel out of their responsibility.
As a general rule serious companies know that this tactic may pay dividends in the short term but in the long run it is definitely bad mojo.
When looking for a company to protect your financial interests in the case of international medical emergencies, it is wise to sum up the things you need.
For example if you are unlikely to be spending time in one particular geographical area during your time abroad, then you should not be paying extra for worldwide cover. Does your policy cover you worldwide? Are there better options for your geographical area?
The policies in the table above show the main selling points of an international health insurance plan.
Maximum cover
Start with the maximum cover, some policies offer an annual maximum and others a lifetime maximum cover.
When it comes to maximum cover, it is highly unlikely that you will ever be put in a situation that will require annual maximums that these companies suggest, they know this and generally use it as a marketing gimmick you should not pay extra for such an unnecessary extra.
Inpatient cover
Inpatient cover, if your international health insurance plan doesn’t cover you for hospitalisation then it is not worthwhile having. That is why you will see that all of the listed plans have a big yes in this column. All plans also offer you full cover up the plan maximum.
Outpatient cover
Outpatient cover, paying for this is generally not good for you. You will end up paying way more in premiums than what your outpatient expenses will be. This is a design feature of such plans that cover you for prescription medication, outpatient visits and so on. After all my years in the international health insurance business, I consider this a pitfall. If you are paying for your own insurance be sure that you absolutely need outpatient cover before you agree to pay the extra. If you have pre-existing medical condition that will require a lot of outpatient visits or care then the chances are the company will exclude this from any new policies or they will charge such a high premium that you might as well just pay out of pocket.
Area of cover
Worldwide cover, paying for worldwide means that you will be covered no matter where you go. Some policies will have separate limits for countries where medical treatment is expensive. If you choose a worldwide area of cover be certain that you will be paying a premium for it.
The best of the policies listed in our chart does not have worldwide cover, however offers you 15 days per year out of area emergency cover. This may well suit your needs and there would be no reason to pay a higher premium.
Deductible
Deductible, this is your out of pocket prior to the policy covering your expenses. So if the cost of a procedure was $10,000 and your deductible was $1,000 then the company would pay $9,000 and you would pay $1,000.
Adjusting your deductible is a way to tweak your premiums. A lower deductible will attract a higher premium, a higher deductible a lower premium. Other words for deductible are excess, out of pocket.
Some policies have a per claim deductible and others an annual deductible. Generally speaking I recommend the annual deductible, if you have an annual deductible it is wise to make claims every time you pay for medical treatments that are covered by your policy as they will accumulate over the year and it will reduce the out of pocket for you in the unlikely case of an international medical emergency.
Premium
Premium, for most people this is as simple as, the lower the better. If your company is reputable and has been in the international health insurance business for a long time, all things being even this is most important factor.
The premiums in the table above are for a 50 year old, age is a factor. The older you get the higher your premium will be as you are statistically more likely to require medical attention. Most companies limit the upper age at which they will take on new customers and many of them limit the max age of cover.
Companies in the order of rating.
First place (A)
International Medical Group, Worldwide Excluding the USA, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan, This policy takes first place for premiums by a whopping $665 per year less than then next best priced policy (34% cheaper). This policy provides emergency medical evacuation, choice of hospitals, $2.5 million in lifetime cover, annualised deductions, limited outpatient cover, 15 days emergency out of area cover and many many more features. Take a look at some of the features here!
This premium of $,1264 per year is for a 50 year old, if you would like to get a personalised quotation you can get one here. Expat Underground highly recommends this product for anybody that is unlikely to be spending large amounts of time in any of the excluded areas of cover. Should you require extra cover for these areas we can organise short term cover on a needs be basis.
Second place (G)
International Medical Group, Worldwide. This policy takes second place for premiums and is better than the next closest plan by $138 per year. This policy provides emergency medical evacuation, choice of hospitals, $2.5 million in lifetime cover, annualised deductions, limited outpatient cover, 180 days per year full cover in the USA and many many more features. Take a look at some of the features here! This premium of $,1929 per year is for a 50 year old, if you would like to get a personalised quotation you can get one here.
Third place (E)
Now Health, excluding the USA. this policy comes in at third place because of the premium that is $138 less than the next nearest competitor. Max cover is annulaised at $1 million. The premium of $2,067 is for a 50 year old.
Fourth place (B)
Allianze, excluding the USA. This policy comes in at fourth place because the premium is $152 less than the next premium. Max cover is $1 million. The premium of $2,205 is for a 50 year old.
Fifth place (F)
Vumi, excluding the USA. This policy comes in at fifth place because the premium is $1,411 less than the next premium. Max cover is $1 million. The premium of $2,357 is for a 50 year old.
Sixth place (C)
Cigna, Worldwide. Of all the policies this is by far the policy with the highest advertising budget. This factor alone would make me shy away from this product a good product should sell itself. Max cover of $1 million per year. Cigna has tried to promote this product in a slightly different way to the competitors. For example where the competitors brand their tiers of benefits from Bronze upwards, Cigna doesn’t offer a Bronze they start from Silver. Although their Silver product is in many way inferior to the Bronze products of competitors.
Also they don’t use the same scale for deductibles making it difficult to compare it directly one for one. But if you know anything about this business it is obvious that a $1,500 deductible should get you a lower premium not a higher one. Expat Underground do not recommend this product.
Seventh place (D)
Bupa, Worldwide. This policy comes in very last for some obvious reasons. Although the company is reputable and established worldwide, this premium is an astounding $2,178 more than the best priced Worldwide cover product on the list.
The max cover is $2.9 million and the deductible slightly lower at $850 but you could literally buy insurance for two people with the second placed policy and for whole family if you were to choose the first placed policy.
Need help?
I hope you found this information useful, if you would like some assistance understanding the ins and outs of your policy compared to the policies that Expat Underground promote, please feel free to contact us.
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