If you or your family gets ill or is injured, who will pay for it? Do you have $50,000 or $100,000 aside for such emergencies? It could cost $25,000 just to pay for a medical evacuation of an injured family member to your home country. And what if the care was life long? What if a family member developed Crone's disease or diabetes, etc.? Now you need tens of thousands of dollars – possibly every year.
International private health insurance is not only for expatriates
Even if you have no intention of moving abroad, you would do well to choose a private international health insurance policy in lieu of a local private health insurance. The public health service of many countries is inadequate, in many cases offering only basic services with no free choice of doctors worldwide. Comprehensive cover is strongly recommended in such cases and can often be better assured by an international health plan than by local health insurance, which normally have many restrictions that are not worth paying for.
International insurance cover – independent of country of residence
In many countries, mandatory as well as private insurance cover is restricted to local residents. This is normally lost when they move abroad. They are left with a choice of finding another local insurer in their new country of residence or of turning to an international health insurer. While good local health insurance is available in many countries, it can be difficult to find a policy that permits a truly unrestricted choice of doctors and hospitals worldwide. An international health insurance policy that provides such cover irrespective of the period of stay in the respective country naturally tends to be more expensive than local insurance.
Experience shows that the sometimes slightly higher cost of an international health insurance policy is more than balanced by its many advantages.
Wherever your life may take you, whatever you may do, only with good health insurance cover can you ensure that all your expenses are paid in the event of illness and an accident – anytime, anywhere.
When is the best time to get a private international health insurance?
Anyone over the age of 60 or who has health problems may find it difficult to find new health insurance cover. So it is already advisable to think about an international insurance policy at an early age before the first signs of age-related health problems begin to appear.
Often people’s great motivating factors to seek health insurance are about as follows: I am pregnant. I have an ulcer. I need to go to the doctor. I can’t pay for my prescription medication.
The worst time to try to get insurance is when you are sick or need to see the doctor. Indeed, it may be too late then, or extremely difficult to obtain cover, and most certainly you will not be able to obtain cover for the particular sickness you have at that time.
The best time to take out health insurance is when you are healthy. Usually young people do not think that they need insurance. They will say, “I never get sick.” If you are certain one hundred percent that you will never get sick, then you do not need health insurance. But who knows the future? Someone will say, “I am 52 and have never been sick and have never had insurance.” You have been very fortunate. However, you may get ill or have an accident tomorrow. And the odds of you having major medical problems increase with age; and over the age of 50 the odds increase dramatically. Regardless of your age, if you are now healthy, this is the best time for you to get insurance. If you develop a medical condition, it is going to be very difficult to apply for insurance or good insurance with a pre-existing medical condition.
Why you need international health cover
More than 70% of Americans surveyed said their greatest concern when traveling is suffering a medical emergency (e.g., broken bones, heart attack, other sudden or serious injury or illness), according to a nationwide survey sponsored by the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies. The survey of 1,585 people, conducted by Impulse Research of Los Angeles, found that the concern regarding a medical emergency (73.5%) is more than double the fear of being mugged (30.7%), three times the fear of being injured in a terrorist attack (23.4%) and 10 times the fear of being sexually assaulted (7.6%) or being abducted (7.2%).
More than half of the respondents (55.3%) are most concerned about incurring a serious injury while traveling. Nearly one-third (32.5%) are worried about serious illness, and 12.2% fear a heart attack or stroke. Nearly 13% have required hospitalization while traveling, and more than 15% of survey participants have had to cut a trip short for a medical reason.
An overwhelming 92.4% of those surveyed said that if they experienced a medical emergency while traveling overseas, they would want the option of transferring to a U.S. or other advanced medical facility.
International private health insurance gives you
- Access to the world’s best doctors, hospitals and health care facilities
- Comprehensive cover, reliability and value for your money
- Premium payment in a variety of different currencies
- Direct payment between insurer and hospital for treatments received
- Emergency evacuation, medical family office facilities and 24 hour, multilingual accident intervention teams that can literally save your live
- Above all... true peace of mind