Eleven Tips for Buying Expatriate Health Insurance

If you will be living outside of the U.S. for an extended period of time, be sure that you have the health insurance coverage you need.

Start by finding out if your current health insurance policy will cover you while you live abroad. Many don't, including Medicare. If yours does provide coverage while you are overseas, be sure that you understand the extent of the coverage and any restrictions.

If you will be traveling outside the U.S. for less than six months and your health insurance policy does not provide coverage while you are abroad, you may be able to buy a travel insurance policy that provides adequate short-term coverage. For stays of over six months, you might want to investigate expatriate health insurance.

Here are 11 tips for buying expatriate health insurance.

1. Buy an expatriate health insurance policy before you leave the U.S.

2. Allow plenty of time to research your options and to apply for and obtain a policy.

3. Purchase an expatriate policy from a well established expatriate health insurance underwriter with a good reputation.

4. Choose a policy that includes evacuation coverage that will pay for the cost of transporting you back to the U.S. in the event of severe illness or injury.

5. Be sure that the evacuation coverage in your policy is adequate. You will probably want a substantially higher dollar amount of evacuation coverage if you are staying in central Africa than if you are living in Western Europe.

6. Be prepared to provide detailed information about your health history when applying for an expatriate health insurance policy.

7. Buy an expatriate health insurance policy that is considered "creditable coverage" under the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This could be important if, when you return to the U.S., you join a new group health insurance plan. Without a "creditable-coverage" expatriate health insurance policy, your new plan could exclude coverage for pre-existing conditions for an extended period of time.

8. Be sure that you understand the terms of your expatriate health insurance policy, including both what it covers and what it doesn't so that you can avoid nasty surprises when you use it.

9. If you will be traveling in multiple countries, buy an expatriate health policy that will cover you wherever you are.

10. Tailor your expatriate health insurance policy to your needs. For example, in some countries, 24-hour access to multilingual services may be essential, while in others, like the U.K., you won't need this option.

11. Take all necessary paperwork and documents with you when you leave the U.S., including your expatriate health insurance policy identification cards, detailed coverage information, contact information for your expatriate health insurance provider, and claims forms. Also take detailed information about your health, including chronic conditions and prescriptions.

Sources:

www.shelteroffshore.com, Do I Need Expatriate Insurance?

www.insure.com, Insurance.com - Expatriate health insurance: Don't leave your homeland without it