Expat Health Insurance in Vietnam; The 2024 Guide
written by Quinn Miller
Founder & Managing Partner
Employee Benefits Asia by Tenzing Pacific Services
Note: while Employee Benefits Asia focuses on groups, we also do personal expat health insurance in Vietnam
Table of Contents
Understanding Expat Health Insurance in Vietnam
Having expat health insurance in Vietnam is important to protect yourself from high medical bills. The cost of healthcare is rising in Vietnam and across Asia and medical bills can quickly escalate.
You may get social insurance if you have a full-time contract, work permit & TRC. We do not recommend you rely on that alone though, you can also opt for expat health insurance in Vietnam.
Here’s how they compare:
Features
Social
Private
The Benefits: Expat Health Insurance in Vietnam
When selecting expat health insurance in Vietnam, your premium will be influenced, among other things, by the specific benefits chosen & the limits of those benefits. The available benefits are:
Inpatient
• Room & Board
• Surgeries
• Hospitalization Expenses
• Cancer
• Emergency Outpatient
• & many others
Outpatient
• GP & Specialists
• Tests
• Treatments
• Physio & Chiro
• Mental Wellness
• Medication
Wellness
• Annual Health Checks
• Child wellness
• Male/Female Exams
• Early Detection
• Preventative Tests
Dental
• Check-ups & Cleaning
• Crowns, Inlays & Onlays
• Root Canals
• Major Dental Surgery
Maternity
• Pre-natal Visits
• Routine Delivery
• Required C-sections
• Complications
• Newborn Care
Evacuation
• Medical Evacuation
• Repatriation
• Mortal Remains
Providers
There are many insurance providers to consider in Vietnam, including local, regional & international providers. First let’s look at providers in Vietnam who:
- have an office here
- can pay locally & get a VAT invoice
expat Health Insurers in Vietnam:
we break these down into 3 groups:
- budget friendly- Local health insurers in Vietnam offer budget friendly plans with lower limits, coverage areas & stricter rules
- best value- More international providers have set up in Vietnam, offering a nice blend of ‘what you pay’ vs. ‘what you get’
- highest quality- highest limits, coverage area, direct billing & service levels
Vietnamese Providers:
|
Best Value
|
Highest Quality
|
Budget Friendly
|
|---|---|---|
|
April Essential
|
Allianz Care VN
|
Bao Minh
|
|
Henner
|
April Extensive
|
Bao Viet
|
|
Liberty Healthcare
|
April Elite
|
Liberty Medicare
|
|
Luma Pro
|
-
|
Luma Premier
|
|
Luma Plus
|
-
|
MIC
|
|
-
|
-
|
Pacific Cross
|
|
-
|
-
|
PTI
|
|
-
|
-
|
PVI
|
International Health Insurers in Vietnam:
You can also choose international expat health insurance who take members in Vietnam. However, they do not have an office here.
International providers are good for those who want:
- the highest limits
- the most modern benefits
- to have a global direct billing network
- the ability to keep their policy no matter where they live
International Providers:
|
Best Value
|
Highest Quality
|
Budget Friendly
|
|---|---|---|
|
ACS Asia
|
Allianz Care Global
|
ACS Expat
|
|
April France
|
AXA Global
|
IMG Global
|
|
HCI
|
Bupa Global
|
April Easy Care
|
|
IPH
|
Insured Nomads
|
Expacare
|
|
Morgan Price UK
|
MSH
|
Morgan Price SEA
|
|
Optimum Global
|
Now Health
|
Pacific Cross HK
|
|
VUMI
|
William Russell
|
Luma Int'l
|
Get Quotes Today
Health Insurance vs. Travel Insurance
If you’re living in Vietnam indefinitely, you should get expat health insurance in Vietnam, not travel insurance.
Watch our video on this topic below:
Pricing Variables
There are many variables that go into an expat health insurance premium, they include:
- Age
- Number of People
- Provider Quality
- Benefits Selected
- Benefit Limits
- Coverage Area
- Deductibles/Co-pays
- Type of Underwriting
- How a provider handles their renewals
- Whether a pre-existing condition is covered or not
- Occupational hazards
- BMI
- Whether they offer outpatient direct billing
- Whether your plan is portable or not
- Whether you can seek treatment outside of Vietnam
A single variable can change which provider and plan we recommend. This is why it’s important to work with a reputable broker like Tenzing Pacfic Services and give them the information required, so we can only put forth the providers and plans that best meet your unique circumstances, preferences & budget.
Pre-Existing Conditions
Pre-existing conditions can be considered for coverage IF they are declared and accepted by the provider during the application phase.
Any price you see from us, another broker or a provider is their standard rates for a healthy person of the age group for the plan selected. If you have any pre-existing conditions, we recomend Full Medical Underwriting (FMU) to see if they can be covered or not, so you know that before you take out a policy.
After you declare any conditions to the insurer, your application goes through the underwriting process to assess your risk vs. the standard rates. From there, an insurer will
- Accept you at standard rates
- Accept you with a premium loading, ex. +30%
- Accept you with policy exclusions for that condition
- Reject your application completely
As a broker who has dealt with thousands of applications over the last 10 years, we know which providers are more likely to accept certain conditions. If we cannot help you get covered for the condition you have, we’ll let you know ASAP. Find out here.
Be aware: Some conditions will never be covered under private expat health insurance in Vietnam, which is why it’s important to take out a policy when you are healthy!
What we Recommend
What expat health insurance in Vietnam do we recommend? It varies from person-to-person based on their circumstances. But what we recommend is at minimum:
- Get an inpatient/emergency plan with a decent provider to cover major medical expenses that would cause serious financial stress or ruin
- Adding outpatient or any other benefit is a cherry on top if it’s within your budget
- If it’s not, then you can manage your out-of-pocket expenses simply by being selective of which hospitals and clinics you go to
- Never drop down to a cheap local provider just to add outpatient benefits. Learn why in our related video.
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fill in our short digital questionnaire
What Usually Happens
What usually happens is some has an idea in their mind of what an ideal plan looks like, what budget they have & what key features they like. You might have to make one or multiple concessions:
- Pay more than you anticipated
- Not have a benefit that you originally wanted
- Not have a key feature that you wanted like outpatient direct billing
- Be with a claims headache inducing provider that carries a lot of downside risk
Premium Guideline
Premiums vary by provider & the pricing variables that were aforementioned. However, here’s a rough guideline of what you can expect to pay annually for a ‘Best Value’ provider, with no deductibles, by age group:
|
Age
|
Inpatient
|
+ Some Outpatient
|
+ Full Outpatient
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
25
|
$667 - $868
|
1.5x of IP
|
2x of IP
|
|
30
|
$755 - $981
|
1.5x of IP
|
2x of IP
|
|
35
|
$872 - $1,134
|
1.5x of IP
|
2x of IP
|
|
40
|
$997 - $1,297
|
1.5x of IP
|
2x of IP
|
|
45
|
$1,149 - $1,493
|
1.5x of IP
|
2x of IP
|
|
50
|
$1,324 - $1,721
|
1.5x of IP
|
2x of IP
|
|
55
|
$1,583 - $2,058
|
1.5x of IP
|
2x of IP
|
|
60
|
$1,904 - $2,475
|
1.5x of IP
|
2x of IP
|
|
65
|
$2,398 - $3,120
|
1.5x of IP
|
2x of IP
|
|
70
|
$3,032 - $4,022
|
1.5x of IP
|
2x of IP
|
Things of Note:
- Adding outpatient usually is about 2X the expense of inpatient only
- When you add outpatient, you want to get your money’s worth. Insurers know that and charge a premium for it, especially if they offer outpatient direct billing
- The incremental premium jumps start to get higher after you turn ~50 years old
- Adding unlimited outpatient, is more than adding outpatient with a cap on it, which is usually between $3,000-$5,000/year
How to Save Money on your Premiums
Expat health insurance in Vietnam can be cheap or very expensive or somewhere inbetween. If you want a higher quality provider, but if the premiums are bit too much for your allocated budget, then we suggest:
Installments
• Pay monthly
• Pay quarterly
• Pay semi-annually
Reduce Benefits
• Focus on Inpatient
• Skip Outpatient
• Save 50% by doing so
Reduce Area
• Asia focused cover
• Ditch worldwide
• Save 25-30% by doing so
Direct Billing
• Pay & Claim for Outpatient
• Small hassle? Yes
• Save money by doing so
• Claims paid in <7 days
Deductible
• Pay $X out-of-pocket 1st
• Insurance kicks in after
• ex. $1K USD deductible
• Get 20% OFF
Co-pay
• Agree to pay X%
• Example 20% of OP expenses
• Save money by doing so
Signing Up for Expat Health Insurance in Vietnam
The sign-up process can take anywhere from 24 hours to more than 1 week, depending on if there are pre-existing conditions that you seek coverage for & the provider and their internal processes. The steps are:
- Get Quotes
- Get recommended a provider & plan from a health insurance expert (no added costs)
- Make an informed decision
- Submit Application Form
- Underwriting
- Insurance Offer (not binding)
- Invoice Issuance and/or payment link
- Payment
- Issue policy documents & certificate of insurance
We recommend budgeting two weeks before your desired start date.
Choosing the Right Expat Health Insurance in Vietnam
Selecting the right expat health insurance in Vietnam involves understanding your specific needs, preferences, budget & circumstances.
At Employee Benefits Asia, a brand by Tenzing Pacific Services, we provide a comparison of only the most suitable providers & plans for you in an easy-to-read table with the same language so it’s an apples-to-apples comparison.
We employe a full in-house customer service team who works on behalf of you, to help you during the year with coordinating any direct billing, claims, reimbursements & anything else that arises. There are $0 added costs to use us or any broker.
If you’ve found this article valuable, we’d love to guide you through your options for expat health insurance in Vietnam!
Get Started
Our Process
In order to get quotes for expat health insurance in Vietnam, please get in touch with me to get started.
- Get in touch via questionnaire or discovery chat
- Receive quotes digitally
- Have a quick follow-up call or digital meeting to answer your questions, fully explain things & make adjustments based on your feedback.
- Make an informed decision for you, your family or business
Book a Discovery Chat
FAQs
That depends on the provider, some providers cut off at age 64, 65 or 70. For some provider there is no age cut off. We will only quote you providers you are eligible for.
No, expat health insurance in Vietnam does not require you to get a health check unless something you declare on the application form warrants one. Some providers require a health check for applicants over a certain age.
Typically, we recommend budgeting 1-2 weeks to sign up, that will depend on the provider, type of underwriting and whether there are pre-existing conditions to declare or not.
You can pay via debit or credit card, local bank transfer or international bank transfer. If you have a payment requirement, please tell us during the initial consultation or digital questionnaire.
There could be additional fees to cover high BMI, job hazards, pre-existing conditions, credit card fees & payment installment fees.
No, it is the same cost to use a professional broker like EB Asia by Tenzing Pacific Service as it is to go direct. Some providers only distribute their products via brokers and some providers have direct sales teams. Either way, there are never any additional fees to use EB Asia by Tenzing Pacific Services.
EB Asia by Tenzing Pacific Services is an established insurance broker in Vietnam since 2013. We have contracts wtih over 50 local, regional & international providers.
We help our clients by providing them transparent advice, a comparison of quotes from recommended providers and plans based on your unique needs and budget. We support our clients during your policy year with direct billing, claims, reimbursements and more.
EB Asia is a dedicated brand of Tenzing Pacific Services, designed to focus on employee benefits, groups and personal insurance for business leaders & their families.
That is possible and the rules will depend on the provider. You may be entitled to a prorated refund of the unused days if you have not made a claim.
Tenzing Pacific Services has over 130 perfect 5-star Google Reviews at the time of writing this. This is because we go above & beyond for our clients at all times. In a developing marketing for the insurance industry, we are extremely proud of this.
Yes- we have employees in Ho Chi Minh City, Danang/Hoi An, Bangkok & Pattaya. We can also leverage a quick digital meeting if that’s easier or you do not live in one of those cities.