Insurance Coverage Questions to Ask Your Future Expat Employer

Learn What Insurance Questions You Should Ask Your Future Expat Employer

There are a lot of questions that you should ask your future expatriate employer before you take that exciting job posting abroad. You will want to know about housing, education costs, income, taxes, visas, and much more. However, we wanted to discuss five insurance questions you should ask your future expat employer before you embark on your job posting:

1. Will I be part of a group expatriate benefit plan or asked to buy my plan?

Group expatriate benefit plans have the advantage of spreading risk amongst many employees and thus offer lower premiums and risk. But they also give expat employees superior coverage, and often these plans can even cover you and your dependents without any medical questions and also cover pre-existing medical conditions.

However, some expat employers may ask their expat employees to purchase an individual global health plan, which will involve some medical underwriting, and you may or may not be covered depending on your medical history. Expat Financial offers several excellent individual global health policies from large and reputable insurance providers. You can even get a quote and apply online or contact us to discuss your requirements. Expat employers can also contact us to discuss their requirements.

2. Does the group expat health plan cover pre-existing conditions?

As noted above, most group expatriate health plans will cover pre-existing medical conditions. This will often depend on the insurer and how many employees have coverage. We often run into multinationals who have put in place plans that exclude pre-existing conditions – usually by consultants with little or no experience or understanding of global benefit plans. We are often able to resolve this problem and can even source global health plans for organizations without a nine month waiting period for pregnancy.

3. Will my partner and dependent children be covered?

Some expatriate employers will only agree to cover you as the expat employee and will ask you to source global health coverage for your dependent spouse and children. This is not ideal as your dependents may have a pre-existing illness, and of course, there is the cost. It is recommended that future expats request that their dependents also be covered, even if they are remaining in their home country. Expat employees often call us to source individual coverage for a spouse and children living abroad. Yes, it is possible to get an individual expat health plan for your spouse and children living abroad with you if you are covered under a group plan.

4. How much life and disability coverage will I receive?

Going abroad often involves more risk, so it makes sense to check if your global benefit plan will provide some international life, AD&D, and disability insurance. Life and disability insurance is the cornerstone of any financial plan – including when you work abroad. Obtaining life and disability coverage through Expat Financial on a group basis is a great solution, but expats can also get a quote for individual plans we offer online. We even have life insurance needs calculator link and can examine your requirements if you wish. Some experts recommend you have ten times your annual income.

5. Can you provide a detailed summary of the global health insurance coverage?

This is a great question that future and existing expatriate employees should ask of their global mobility or HR manager. A summary of coverage is a great place to check just how comprehensive the coverage you are receiving is. Here are some additional questions on the global healthcare your employer may provide:

1. Can the global health plan cover me when I go back home?
2. Does it include medical evacuation coverage?
3. Is there a deductible, and how much?
4. Does the medical plan cover treatment in the USA?
5. Is there a war or terrorism exclusion?
6. Is there dental insurance and vision insurance?
7. Does the plan offer wellness?
8. Does the plan cover occupationally related claims?
9. Is there an employee assistance program?
10. Does the global health benefit plan offer telehealth?
11. Does the global health plan cover COVID-19?

Final Thoughts for Expat Employees & Global Mobility Managers

There are many more questions that you can ask your future or current expatriate employer’s HR or global mobility manager. It is always advisable to go into an overseas assignment. Working abroad can be an excellent adventure for you and your family, plus rewarding financially and advance your career. Make sure you understand what you will be covered for. If you have to secure an individual plan, we are here for you and your employer.

We should also mention that global mobility managers should examine the questions above of their insurance consultant and examine their plans in detail. We, of course, would be happy to examine your global benefits program and provide an independent assessment and obtain quotes from the market. More often than not, we find gaps that management was not aware of after being assigned as a broker of record. We hope to hear from you soon.