5 Pro Tips about Expat Health Insurance
About me:
I’m a professional insurance broker with over 11 years experience & 25,000 hours’ experience helping expats in Asia with their health insurance needs. Here are 5 pro tips that I have for anyone who’s looking for expat health insurance.
1) Get Health Insurance When your Healthy
Pre-existing conditions are the #1 cause of claims issues, don’t wait until start searching for health insurance until something happens. That’s like asking for car insurance after you’ve been in a wreck.
2) Focus on Inpatient Benefits First
The primary purpose of any plan is to make sure big-ticket items don’t cause serious financial harm or ruin to you or your family. Eg. make sure you have a good plan to fully cover serious accidents, medical conditions, surgeries, extended stays in the hospital.
Anything else like outpatient, dental, etc. is the cherry on top if your budget allows, but add-on benefits shouldn’t drive a decision & you should not drop down to a risky cheap provider just to be able to afford having them a part of your policy.
If need be, you can easily manage your out-of-pocket expenses for minor doctor visits.
3) Be Prepared to Make 1-2 Concessions
There’s usually a gap between what’s ideal & what you feel comfortable spending. Almost everyone will have to make some form of concession:
- not have a benefit, coverage area, key feature
- pay a bit more than they anticipated
- have a pre-existing condition excluded
A broker will help align you, as close as possible, to what’s ideal. However, a concession or two may need to be made.
4) Ask Questions
Ask plenty of questions. Some good initial questions:
- How does X provider handle their renewals?
- How are pre-existing conditions handled?
- What are the bad things about each option?
- Which plan do you recommend for me?
- Does it cost more to use you? (no it doesn’t for reference)
5) Be Open with your Broker
The more your broker knows, the better they can help. Whether that’s about:
- Pre-existing conditions
- Not understanding how something works
- If the price is higher than your budget allows
I make my living & support my family by helping my clients. Part of that is being 100% transparent to them so their expectations are in-line with reality, preventing future problems for us both.
That information sharing works both ways though. Don’t be embarrassed or shy, there are no stupid questions. Everything is 100% confidential. You won’t hurt my feelings.
