With swine flu, poor medical care in the third world and the complexities of overseas work and life, obtaining a good international medical plan is critical. The first concern for anyone working or living overseas should be who will pay my bills should I become sick or injured. Also, where will I obtain adequate medical treatment abroad or be medically evacuated if medical care if not up to Western standards.
Expat Financial has become a world leader in providing international insurance plans to expatriates around the globe. Expat Financial offers a wide range of insurance plans to expatriates and some local nationals - such as global life insurance, international group insurance, travel insurance, expatriate disability insurance and of course international health insurance through:
http://www.expatfinancial.com
When you are shopping for international health insurance, you should make sure you obtain a policy that will cover where you will seek or potentially seek treatment. Most international medical plans will have two coverage areas - one including and excluding USA and Canada. If you are not a North American citizen, it is expected that you will not elect to include coverage for medical treatment in the United States or Canada, where medical treatment is very good, but also quite expensive. Excluding USA can reduce your premium by almost 40 to 50%.
David Tompkins, President of TFG Global Insurance Solutions Ltd., which owns and operates the Expat Financial web site, remarked that "if you participate in hazardous sports, then you should make sure you obtain an international medical plan which covers these activities. If an expatriate has a pre-existing medical condition, check to see if you can apply for a medical policy that will be able to medical underwrite that condition. Some insurers that we represent can underwrite many pre-existing medical conditions. For those who have been declined, we also offer a policy from Interglobal which can cover you without any medical questions, but pre-existing medical conditions are not covered or potentially covered after a waiting period as a result."
Those in need of international health insurance should also look at obtaining a policy which can cover them for life as many policies will not cover you after age 75 or may limit the policy cover after a certain age. This is especially important for those who wish to retire overseas.
If medical treatment is substandard where a person is living, medical evacuation may become necessary. Most international health insurance policies include medical evacuation coverage or it can be added for a small annual charge. Note that medical evacuation has to be coordinated and approved by your insurance company.
Expat Financial also offers group international benefit plans that include international health insurance coverage for multi-national companies, NGOs, governments and international schools who have expatriate staff posted overseas. A group global medical policy can offer significant savings over an individual policy and also give the employee more relaxed terms and conditions without the need to supply medical evidence to enrol. More information can be obtained via:
http://www.expatfinancial.com/
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