Expatriates are finding that the cost of worldwide health insurance is increasing, as health care costs in general are increasing too.
Expats who are especially thought to expect higher costs include those living in the Middle East, China, South America and France.
The cost to remove a thyroid gland in China is around $9,000 but the same operation would cost approximately $1,000 in the United States.
However, some providers are keen to continue forging the best packages for their clients.
Andrew Apps, director at ALC Health, said: “With the cost of health care increasing globally, we are continually keeping a close eye on the scope of cover offered by our programmes to ensure that they meet the exacting needs of our policyholders. As a result we have increased a number of key benefits thereby helping to ensure that our members can be safe in the knowledge that should the unexpected happen and a major medical incident occurs, they have the right cover in place to look after the costs associated with their treatment.”
Another international private medical insurance firm is to launch a number of new international healthcare products for expatriates.
The Hong Kong based company Now Health, who also have offices in the UK and UAE, offer healthcare services to expats around the globe. Dubbed 'WorldCare' the plan is to supply expats with high level health care in a fast and accurate manner.
Now Health CEO Martin Garcia said: “We have set out to deliver a proposition that will be second to none in this, a fast growing and competitive market. Now Health is about providing a very high quality IPMI product and, as our name suggests, fast, accurate service and access to information in real-time through our website. This is coupled with our worldwide infrastructure and expert staff with local market knowledge. We believe that this combination will deliver an unsurpassed overall experience for our customers.”
The Now Health experience will give clients an easy to use online system, high benefit levels and speedy turnaround times for claims.