Overseas Medical Insurance
Why do I need medical insurance overseas?
If you are considering travelling or moving abroad, you may feel it necessary to acquire overseas medical insurance.
The NHS is a residency-based healthcare provider, so you’re only entitled to NHS care if you’re living in the UK. Some countries do have NHS-like healthcare, but you might not be entitled to these until you become a citizen. This can be a long process, sometimes taking years – so you’ll want to make sure you (and any family members moving with you) are covered in the interim.
Although some countries may consider medical insurance a legal requirement for foreigners entering the country, some form of cover is recommended for all expatriates, regardless of their location.
What should my insurance cover?
Generally speaking, medical insurance policies for overseas workers and expatriates will often contain appropriate cover in the following areas:
- Travel vaccinations
- Cover for emergency treatment
- Regular checkups and access to a GP
- Stabilisation and maintenance of new chronic conditions
- Emergency evacuation, repatriation, burial or cremation
- Nursing at home/in patient and day-care treatment
- Organ transplant
- Legal expenses
If you have any existing conditions, such as ones which need regular medications, you want to check this is covered by your policy.
What do I need to look for in overseas insurance?
When searching an insurance quote, it is important to remember that the exact level of cover will vary depending on the insurer. Therefore it is always important to shop around as much as possible in order to find the most suitable policy, something the comparison table below should help you with.
Insurers will usually offer varying levels of cover depending on where policy holders go. If for example they are located within the EU, the customer may be entitled to several benefits or an improved policy. Whereas on other areas of the world, the level of care offered by health organisations may vary a great deal, and it is therefore important ensure that they you are covered by adequate overseas medical insurance.
Depending on the circumstances, insurers may also include a number of extra provisions in order to meet with the demands of customers in particular countries and situations. However it should be remembered that the higher the element of risk, the more customers will be expected to pay for their medical insurance premiums.