Applying For Expat Health Insurance

Learn How You Can Apply for Global Health Insurance Online and Offline

Expat Financial offers a variety of international health insurance plans from a wide array of global insurance providers for expats in much of the world. Most of the global medical plans we offer allow you to obtain a quote and even apply online via the insurance provider’s portal.

There is no extra fee for obtaining a quote via our firm and you get the same rates and direct payment to the insurer. The insurance company pays our firm a small referral and we provide you with independent advocacy and service both before and after you purchase your coverage.

Individual Expatriate Health Insurance Plans

We offer individual expat health insurance coverage from the following providers:

• Cigna International
• Allianz
• Expatriate Group

When Are You Ready to Apply for International Healthcare?

Most global medical plans will allow you to quote and apply for global medical care once you are abroad or 45 days before you go abroad. Almost all insurance providers will let you get a quote for a global medical plan long before you move abroad for informational purposes as you can save the quote online and reactivate it later on. It is not uncommon for people planning to move overseas months or even a few years from now to contact us or complete our quote request form online.

Common Mistakes When Applying for Expat Health Coverage

Understanding international insurance can be quite daunting and mistakes can happen. This is why our team is here to assist future and current nomads and expats in their global insurance journey. Here are some common mistakes in applying for global healthcare:

• Failing to disclose medical history: Always be honest, even if a condition seems minor.

• Choosing the cheapest plan without considering exclusions or limits – everyone falls into the trap of wanting the least expensive policy as the cost of living abroad can be expensive. Getting the best policy that your budget will allow is a great strategy.

• Not understanding one’s requirements and needs – expats should download our global health guide before applying for healthcare. They also get a link if we email them.

• Not checking for geographic exclusions or limited networks

• Ignoring waiting periods or pre-existing condition clauses

• Not reading the fine print – no insurance plan covers everything and everybody. All global health plans have plan terms and conditions that you can read and understand how they might apply to you and your situation.

• Allowing a lapse in coverage, especially during country transitions

• Not providing enough information to the insurer when applying, such as proof of address abroad.

Comparing Global Health Policies

It is not easy to compare global health plans as they all have different coverage levels, deductible options, service levels and fine print. In general, the more you pay, the better the coverage. The higher the deductible, the lower the expat premium.

Most of the above plans will have medical questions once you get into the application and they will examine your health history and come back to you with a decision – approval, decline, exclusion or request additional premiums.

The Expatriate Group health plan has no medical underwriting and coverage is instant, but pre-existing conditions are excluded. Once you get a quote for one of the above plans, you can call or email us to discuss the various plans along with your coverage requirements and budget.

Note that we also offer coverage from other expat medical providers not listed above.

Simply Click and Get Coverage Today

Simply click on one of the suppliers above to obtain a quote online or view the brochure, terms and conditions and premium pages.

You can also contact us to review your international health insurance needs and obtain a custom quote. We work with global citizens and global nomads around much of the world and have extensive experience.

What Happens After You Apply for International Healthcare?

After you apply for expat healthcare, you will often get some notice from the insurer that they have your application and are examining it. This means underwriters are looking at your age, health history and where you are living, but also much more. The expat insurer will then get back to you with their decision, which will be the following:

• Approve as applied for
• Ask more questions
• Approved with exclusions for certain medical conditions
• Approved with a premium loading
• Declined for coverage

Next Step After You Get Insurer Decision

If you are approved and accept the coverage decision from the expat health provider, you can then arrange payment as coverage doesn’t start until payment is received. Most people pay their premiums monthly, but paying annually can often save you 10%!

After Global Health Plan is Established

It is recommended that after your global medical cover is put in place, you do the following:

• Register with the insurer’s portal so you can access and submit claims, update addresses and more.
• Understand claims procedures
• Print your coverage policy, plan terms and your policy ID card with emergency contact numbers and policy number
• Inform the insurer of any payment or country of residence changes

Applying for Group Plans for Expatriate Employers

If your company is needing an expat health plan for its employees, we recommend that you contact us to review your organization’s requirements and send us an expat employee census with name, gender, citizenship, country of residence, occupation and dependent status. A group expat health plan can provide significantly better rates and coverage over an individual plan.

Note that global benefit plans can be applied for and put in place quite quickly as most group expat health policies will fully cover pre-existing conditions as long there are enough employees to spread the risk among both healthy and unhealth individuals.

Expat Financial, which is a division of TFG Global Insurance Solutions Ltd., has become a leading international insurance brokerage for global benefit plans. Contact our firm today to examine your global benefits requirements.