Moving abroad soon and need medical insurance that covers you in different countries?

April Medibroker is a fully independent international medical, health and expat insurance broker offering a free quote and advice service across the Internet.

Our service is available to people of any nationality, anywhere, living or working in another country (expatriates). International health insurance cover is offered for Europe, Worldwide excluding the USA and Worldwide including the USA

April Medibroker works on the basis of a choice of international medical insurance plans, and gives you Best Advice on both benefits and premiums as well as area of cover needed.

Recentley we at April Medibroker were contacted by a client with the following request for information international medical insurance.

Q. I will be moving abroad soon to start up my business and need medical insurance that covers me in different countries. My main concern is making claims on this new insurance - please could you advise how this process works?

Andrew Wilson CEO of April Medibroker replied 

 

All insurers/providers have their own separate claims procedures and their Policy Wordings must be consulted for exact claims advice.

Please note that this information is provided as generic advice only.

 

Although each international health insurance provider has their own claims procedures.

As a rule of thumb there are a number of similar themes that run through most, if not all, plans.

It is important to make sure that policyholders are familiar with their insurers own claims process - if they are not followed correctly claims could be delayed or even refused.

If an international medical insurance policy has an excess or deductible this will be taken into account when the claim is settled (ie the insured person may still have a liability to a portion of the claim as agreed when applying for cover). Similarly, some plans and benefits have a system of insurance or payment whereby the insured is prepared to pay a set percentage of the costs, rather than a set monetary amount applicable either per year or per claim.

Inpatient/Daypatient Claims

This type of claim can be defined as those where there is a requirement for treatment in hospital:

Inpatient Treatment - treatment at a hospital where an insured person is admitted and occupies a bed for one or more nights.

Daypatient Treatment - treatment at a hospital where an insured person is admitted and occupies a bed, but does not remain overnight.

It is a condition of international medical insurance plans that inpatient/daypatient claims are pre-authorised. This means that the insurer/provider should be contacted in advance of treatment and advised as to what treatment is required and at what hospital it will take place. The insurer will then contact the hospital and arrange for any bills to be paid directly by them, thus saving clients from having to pay potentially large treatment costs and then reclaim the money from the insurer.

Worth noting is the fact that some insurers will impose penalties on clients for inpatient/daypatient claims that are not pre-authorised. Whilst the claim may still be settled, it may only be at a percentage of the overall cost (generally this is at about 80%).

There are, of course, circumstances where pre-authorisation is not practically possible - principally in the event of accident and emergency.

We at April Medibroker always recommend to our clients that they keep a copy of their insurance documents or membership card with them and also make sure that friends, family or colleagues also have access to them should the client be unable to contact the insurer.

Outpatient Claims

This type of claim is defined as:

Outpatient Treatment - treatment at a hospital, consulting room, or out-patient clinic where an insured person does not occupy a bed. Under international health insurance plans, this type of treatment does not generally need to be pre-authorised but needs to be paid for by the policyholder and then claimed back from the insurance company.

In order to do this, original itemised invoices and receipts must be obtained from the doctor, therapist etc at the point of treatment/payment. In addition to these documents a claim form needs to be completed by both the insured person and the treating medical practitioner (note that many insurers will not reimburse any charges made by the medical practitioner for completing a claim form). These claims forms are available either from the insurer or can be obtained from the downloads page on this site.

It is, however, always a good idea to contact the insurance company in advance to check that the required treatment is covered under the terms of the policy.

The completed claims form, along with the appropriate original receipts and invoices should then be sent to the claims department of the insurance company as soon as possible (many companies will only accept claims submitted within a certain time from treatment being received - generally six months).

Upon receipt, the claims department will assess your claim and refund eligible payments either by cheque or bank transfer. They may however require further medical reports or information before they will make the payment.

Should treatment be required on an ongoing basis, new claim forms aren't necessarily required for each set of bills and receipts as long as the insurer is advised that they relate to an existing claim. It is however possible that if the treatment continues longer than six months the insurer may require either a new claim form or an up to date medical report (which they may not be willing to pay for).

Andrew Wilson

CEO April Medibroker

Andrew has over fifteen years experience in the insurance industry and has spent the last eight years specialising in international health insurance for expats, both on an individual and corporate level.

APRIL Medibroker has over ten years experience in providing international health insurance to individuals and companies (both large and small) worldwide. We can offer solutions from all of the top providers and tailor them to your specific needs.

Q. I don't understand why I would need an "expat" health insurance plan when I start my business abroad - why can't I just get the same coverage as the locals?

Many expats move to another country under the assumption that comprehensive healthcare is available to them when they get there - whether a free system such as the UK's NHS or by simply slotting in to a state system.

Even if such systems exist, or local health insurance plans are readily available there are a number of very important factors that need to be taken into account to ensure that you and your family are adequately provided for should the need for medical treatment arise. In many areas of the world (and not just those countries without a developed healthcare infrastructure) International Medical Insurance is not a luxury but a necessity. Some of the most important of these factors are shown below:

Quality of Treatment:-

By giving coverage across a greater geographic area (not just a single location), international plans allow far greater flexibility and choice should you need treatment. This is especially important should the unthinkable happen and you suffer from a major medical condition. An expat insurance plan will allow you to choose when and where to have the relevant procedures - this even extends to the scenario of "elective" treatment, allowing you to travel abroad to centres of excellence (although in most cases you would have to bear the cost of the actual travel expenses).

Strength and Longevity:-

All of the insurers and plan providers that we at April Medibroker use have an enormous level of experience in dealing with all medical situations that have affected expats the world over. They are all underwritten by companies with strong ratings by the likes of Standard and Poors, and customers need not be concerned that they are likely to disappear any time in the future.

Availability of healthcare:-

In many countries expats are ineligible for local health insurance, at least for a period of time (such as the USA and, in many circumstances, France). This leaves the option of an international insurance plan or paying for treatment yourself. Whilst the latter option can appeal to many on a "it'll never happen to me" basis, the reality is that paying for treatment yourself can be a VERY expensive risk to take.

Choice of hospitals and doctors:-

International health insurance plans generally give a free choice of which doctors and hospitals can be used by the policyholders to ensure that the best care is available. Many "local" insurance plans can restrict cover to include only certain hospitals/doctors, and in some countries only those providers in a certain area (such as county, province or state etc). A local plan may not give cover over an entire country, whereas an international plan will not only cover all of that country but also other countries too.

Mobility and Portability:-

There is an ever increasing global trend of "international citizens" who are geographically mobile whether it be through their employment or just their chosen way of life. International medical insurance plans are portable between the vast majority of countries, whereas local/domestic plans in most countries are highly unlikely to be. One of the great benefits of this portability is that cover can be continuous - if claims are made for a medical condition, cover and future treatment can be continued. If you move between different insurers and plans there is always an inherent risk that conditions that have been claimed upon on one plan are unlikely to be covered under a new policy as"pre-existing conditions" .

Additional Benefits:-

In conjunction with a global experience of healthcare, international insurance providers also offer a wider spread of benefits (and with higher financial limits) than most country specific insurers. Multi-lingual assistance services, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week are an integral feature of most policies. Medical evacuation and repatriation are key features of international plans, ensuring that the best and most appropriate treatment is available to policyholders at internationally renowned centres of medical excellence. Benefits such as this are of even greater importance for expats in countries with less developed or lower quality healthcare systems.

I would strongly recommend that anyone considering a new life abroad takes fully independent advice from a broker in order to find the most appropriate solution to their health insurance needs.

At April Medibroker we only advise on plans that have a proven track record of quality and integrity. If local health insurance is the best way for you, we will let you know - in fact we can provide this as well in certain countries.

Andrew Wilson

CEO April Medibroker

April Medibroker is a fully independent international medical, health and expat insurance broker offering a free quote and advice service across the Internet.

Our service is available to people of any nationality, anywhere, living or working in another country

(expatriates). International health insurance cover is offered for Europe, Worldwide excluding the USA and Worldwide including the USA.

April Medibroker works on the basis of a choice of international medical insurance plans, and gives you Best Advice on both benefits and premiums as well as area of cover needed.

Telephone: +44 (0) 191 296 6140 or visit medibroker.com for your FREE Quote

Our quotes and advice are without charge..

International Maternity Cover

Having a baby can be one of the most wonderful and rewarding experiences of your life, it can also be one of the most stressful and traumatic times, due to complications, or, being unprepared by not having adequate international health insurance to cover the costs of childbirth, complications and caring for your newborn baby.

Treatment for Pregnancy and Childbirth, whether planned or otherwise, can be extremely expensive and the price of maternity treatment around the world can vary alarmingly, if there are complications with the pregnancy, costs can escalate significantly, this should be prepared for when you are planning on having children, now or in the future as it is not possible to buy international medical insurance to cover the costs of your pregnancy if you are already pregnant.

When choosing the right expatriate health insurance provider to cover maternity, you should consider the following:

• In which country will you be residing while you are pregnant or giving birth? Prices vary from region to region and country to country.

• How long must you be enrolled on an international medical insurance plan before you are eligible for reimbursement of medical costs incurred?

• Is there adequate coverage in case of complications during maternity?

• What quality of cover is available for newborn children?

Regional Variations in Costs.

International Healthcare costs around the world differ significantly, in the Middle East, one expatriate medical insurer has reported recent costs for a normal delivery of between $3,300 US Dollars and $8,000 US Dollars, these charges increase if complications arise and a Caesarean Section is required, costs are then reported between $6,500 US Dollars and $10,000 US Dollars. The same expatriate health insurance company explains that costs for private maternity can rocket in the USA, normal delivery charges are reported between $20,000 US Dollars and $25,000 US Dollars, costs for Caesarean Sections in the United States have recently been reported as rising up to $35,000 US Dollars to $40,000 US Dollars. April Medibroker can help advise you on the best international health insurance plan to suit your needs with realistic maternity claim limits for your part of the World.

Waiting Periods

Due to the potential high cost of private maternity treatment overseas, expatriate medical insurance provider will only offer cover for maternity treatment after you have been enrolled on an international health insurance plan for a continuous period. These periods vary by expat insurance provider and generally hover around the 12 months of continuous cover mark, although some insurers have lower waiting periods, the lowest currently being 8 months. All costs and treatment incurred relating to a pregnancy that occur before the end of the waiting period are excluded from cover, treatment received that occur after a waiting period is completed would be covered up to the costs allowed by that insurer. Please be aware, if you are already pregnant before moving overseas you will not be able to buy international medical insurance to cover the costs of this pregnancy.

Complications of Maternity

Although many babies are born without any major difficulties, there are times when a little more help is required and extra medical treatment is required, expat medical insurance companies are aware of this and generally will offer higher claim limits for maternities that involve complications.

Newborn Children and Cover

Once a new baby arrives expat medical insurance plans will usually cover the costs of a Well- Baby check and immediate care, it is then essential that the newborn child is enrolled on cover as soon as early as possible as claim limits to cover the treatment of newborns can vary considerably. There are some providers who offer special rates or free cover for children when insured with one or more parents, we are able to advise on plans that offer these incentives and we can also help to identify the plans offering the highest level of cover that also include cover for congenital birth defects and fertility treatment.

The sales advisors at April Medibroker have considerable knowledge of the plans available from the Worlds largest providers of International health insurance, not forgetting smaller providers that offer excellent benefits and service. All plans offered by April Medibroker have been fully scrutinised by our staff, and benefits, service, stability and integrity of plans offered are constantly evaluated to make sure that they are suitable to offer our clients and maintain our reputation as the Worlds most respected International Medical Insurance broker.

Steve McCrady 03/06/2010

April Medibroker is a fully independent international medical, health and expat insurance broker offering a free quote and advice service across the Internet.

Our service is available to people of any nationality, anywhere, living or working in another country (expatriates). International health insurance cover is offered for Europe, Worldwide excluding the USA and Worldwide including the USA.

April Medibroker works on the basis of a choice of international medical insurance plans, and gives you Best Advice on both benefits and premiums as well as area of cover needed.

Telephone: +44 (0) 191 296 6140 or visit medibroker.com, for your FREE Quote

Our quotes and advice are without charge.

April Medibroker Announce Independent Insurer Ratings Results June 2010

APRIL Medibroker are proud to have implemented an independent Insurer Ratings program.

Our objective in rating each insurer / plan provider is to maintain high quality service standards throughout the industry via direct accountability.

Results were achieved via the professional opinions of experienced APRIL Medibroker advisors and client services staff, who were asked to evaluate the criteria listed below on a scale of 1 to 5 (Poor to Excellent).

The results were added and insurer / plan providers were ranked according to points scored. Our advisors completed this exercise from their homes, thus resulting in unbiased and impartial rankings.

The APRIL Medibroker rating system has received great acclaim by the healthcare industry and these results will soon be published in various healthcare publications and websites.

April Medibroker Sales Manager Steve Nelson commented;

"As always our Insurer Ratings make interesting reading.

Not a great deal has changed since out last ratings exercise in terms of the plans benefits, perhaps a small tweak here and there.

We feel the major driving force of the June ratings is service, both to us as a broker but more importantly to our clients the policy holders - this has effectively been the main criteria that has dictated the results this time round.

With all our staff contributing to the ratings it does give us a very good all round impression of how each insurer is doing and so provides a very useful guide."

Full Details of the June 2010 review can be found on the AprilMedibroker website

April Medibroker is a fully independent international medical, health and expat insurance broker offering a free quote and advice service across the Internet.

Our service is available to people of any nationality, anywhere, living or working in another country

(expatriates). International health insurance cover is offered for Europe, Worldwide excluding the USA and Worldwide including the USA.

April Medibroker works on the basis of a choice of international medical insurance plans, and gives you Best Advice on both benefits and premiums as well as area of cover needed.

Telephone: +44 (0) 191 296 6140 or visit medibroker.com for your FREE Quote

Our quotes and advice are without charge..

In the past pre-existing medical conditions have been excluded from cover

Until recently it was a fact that most private medical insurance plans would exclude pre-existing conditions from cover.

April Medibroker are now delighted to work together with a handful of insurers who will seek to cover pre-existing conditions and all related conditions, from day one.

Crucially, the exclusion would typically exclude the 'consequences of' the pre-existing condition. This could potentially lead to very wide ranging exclusions for a condition that seemed quite insignificant.

However, in the last 12 months or so, several plan providers have approached underwriting from a different angle. We now have plans that will look at your medical history and your pre-existing medical conditions and will try and include them in cover, albeit with a potential premium loading if they do.

This is a major step forward in underwriting and can lead to better cover for a great number of applicants. For a Free quotation including pre-existing conditions visit medibroker.com.

Pre-existing Medical Conditions

Perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of medical insurance in the last 10 years, is pre-existing medical conditions.

In the past pre-existing medical conditions have been excluded from cover, along with all related conditions. This is true even if the condition was under control with medication. Therefore, for instance, someone suffering from high blood pressure, would find themselves faced with a whole host of exclusions on their policy, such as Angina, Aneurysm, Heart Attacks, Stroke, Thrombosis, Phlebitis etc. The potential cost of someone having to pay their own medical bills following a heart attack is astronomical. In more costly countries even the ambulance alone can be much as $1,500.00, with a heart bypass being as much as $140,000.00.

The only way of getting a pre-existing medical condition covered previously, was through a moratorium plan. This means that an insurer will accept someone immediately, without asking for any medical history but excluding any cover for pre-existing conditions. Then after a period of 2 years, providing no medication has been taken, no medical advice sought and no symptoms suffered in relation to the conditions, they will then become eligible for coverage.

Whilst this may be fine for older non-current conditions, anything that requires ongoing medications or check-ups will never become eligible for cover. High blood pressure is a very common condition which we see a lot. From a clients point of view their blood pressure is now normal as they take medication to bring it under control. Unfortunately, this is not how insurers view things. Even a cured condition which requires no medication, but maybe requires an annual check up just to make sure everything is still OK, would never become eligible for coverage. Clients need to be aware of this, as they will receive a certificate of insurance, not listing any specific exclusions, so may not realise there are any, until they come to claim by which point it’s too late.

The industry as a whole has always had this same tunnel vision approach. However, who is the safer risk – someone with diagnosed blood pressure who now has this under control with medication or someone with undiagnosed high blood pressure, unaware, but all the time putting more strain on their heart? With the demand from customers growing, the insurers needed to take action.

We have already seen conditions like high blood pressure/cholesterol, diabetes, previous cancers, allergies, asthma etc covered. There may be an additional premium percentage added by the insurers for this. This loading can sometimes be reviewed in the future, with a view to reducing or removing it. There is nothing stopping a customer applying to more than one insurer to see who offers the better terms.

Through experience, we know which insurers may decline cover for certain conditions and would therefore not waste the customers time by applying to them. We are also sometimes able to get percentages reduced in certain circumstances. This is where the help of a broker becomes invaluable. We are here to work with our customers to find the best plan for their needs.

We are not paid by commission, so we have absolutely no benefit of recommending one plan over another. Therefore we can truly work on behalf of our customers.

Erika Glew

International Sales Adviser





April Medibroker is a fully independent international medical, health and expat insurance broker offering a free quote and advice service across the Internet.

Our service is available to people of any nationality, anywhere, living or working in another country (expatriates). International health insurance cover is offered for Europe, Worldwide excluding the USA and Worldwide including the USA.

April Medibroker works on the basis of a choice of international medical insurance plans, and gives you Best Advice on both benefits and premiums as well as area of cover needed.

Telephone: +44 (0) 191 296 6140 or visit medibroker.com, for your FREE Quote

Our quotes and advice are without charge.

Health insurance with a pre-existing condition

Expatriates in France waiting until they are qualified for the state health insurance system have to use private cover in the meantime.

But what if you have a pre-existing condition? Steve Nelson of APRIL Medibroker says all is not lost.

There are two main factors to consider when looking at medical insurance in France for expatriates who do not yet qualify for the state-run system; premiums and pre-existing conditions.

There are a large number of plans that can cover you, from specialist plans specifically designed for residents of France to plans that will cover you worldwide. Most plans will also have various levels of cover from hospitalisation only up to plans including dental and maternity cover as well – finding the level of cover should not be a problem. However, the premiums will vary greatly and a first requirement when purchasing a plan will be affordability. This does not just mean the premium you have to pay but how pre-existing conditions are handled.

Until recently a pre-existing condition and the consequences of that condition would routinely be excluded from cover. You would therefore need to consider the potential costs of any future medical costs that would not be covered. British expats in France probably expect to be able to return to the UK for treatment if necessary but could find that this is not necessarily possible (they may have lost their entitlement to free NHS care).

However, one or two plan providers have begun to realise that people do have pre-existing conditions and that these conditions do not necessarily lead to further major treatment down the line. After all where is the greater risk; a person diagnosed with high blood pressure who takes medication and has the condition controlled and regularly monitored, or the person who has high blood pressure and is blissfully unaware of it? Most plans will exclude the first case but, incredibly, cover the second!

We now have plan providers who offer full medical underwriting and they actively try to include pre-existing conditions where ever possible albeit with a premium loading. However, if they do include the condition then you will have full cover for that condition.

Remember, the cheapest plan could turn out to very expensive if it has exclusions. It could really pay to contact a professional advisor.

Steve Nelson

April Medibroker Sales Manager

April Medibroker is a fully independent international medical, health and expat insurance broker offering a free quote and advice service across the Internet.

Our service is available to people of any nationality, anywhere, living or working in another country (expatriates). International health insurance cover is offered for Europe, Worldwide excluding the USA and Worldwide including the USA.