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- Avoid NHS waiting lists
- Tailored private medical treatment
- Optional critical illness cover
If you’ve decided to move overseas for work and plan on staying for a while, you might want to consider your healthcare options. As you’ll likely need to pay for any medical treatment, unlike with the UK’s free NHS, international health insurance could offer you the peace of mind that you won’t be left out of pocket if you require medical assistance. We’ve compiled a guide on the benefits of international health insurance and how it works.
International health insurance is aimed at expats living or working abroad for an extended length of time. In some cases, a policy might also be extended to any family members that are living with you overseas.
While policies will vary wildly, a policy typically covers both routine and emergency comprehensive medical treatment, with the added flexibility of offering the policyholder the choice of doctor and healthcare facility. In some instances, it could even offer medical treatment anywhere in the world where the insurer operates or repatriation back to the UK to receive treatment if what you require isn’t locally available.
The cover that is included in an international health insurance policy will vary depending on several factors including the level of cover you choose and the insurer willing to cover you. Typically, international health insurance policies might include:
As well as standard cover, most insurers will offer a number of optional extra protections to enhance a policy. These might include:
It’s important to shop around for the best policy for your needs. You might also want to check to see if there are any restrictions or any annual or lifetime policy limits.
The cost of an international health insurance policy will vary depending on a number of factors. These include:
Whether you need international health insurance or not really depends on your own circumstances. You may find that your own employer will actually cover healthcare as part of your salary package but be sure to check to avoid doubling up on your healthcare cover and spending money that you don’t need to.
If you find that the salary package from your employer doesn’t include healthcare, you really need to weigh up the options of whether you can afford to pay for routine and emergency medical treatment for you and your family and the possible repatriation costs. Medical treatment overseas can be extremely expensive so an international health insurance policy may offer you the peace of mind that you and your family will be cared for without having to worry whether you can afford it or not.
There are many benefits to international health insurance, such as:
Finding the best international health insurance policy will very much depend on your own circumstances as what might work for you might not work for someone else.
International health insurance will differ depending on the type of policy you choose, the level of cover offered and the provider that is offering it.
It’s worth remembering to do some research to compare policies in order to find the cover that matches your specific requirements.
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