Sun, 8 November 2009
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Navigating your way through the sea of private health insurance products for expats on the market can be a long and tiring journey in itself.For many expats the choice is made simple. The employer decides the healthcare options as part of a total relocation package.
"For us, it totally depends on employers. They come to us and we present them with the options from about five health insurance providers we work with. The client decides what options to make available to the expat employee," says Jacqueline Biersma of RMS Relocation Management Services in the Netherlands.
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending how you look at it, many other expats going to work in Europe have to do the leg work themselves. OK, if you go looking for yourself, you will find there are a lot of health insurance providers focusing on the expat market.
Making the decision
There does not seem to be much difference between the options of the various providers so how do you make the final choice?
"A lot of our clients are totally confused by the time they come to us for advice," says Leslie Smith, founder and managing director of Medibroker, an independent specialist broker advising expatriates on international medical or healthcare insurance.
"Having read through a mountain of brochures they are none the wiser on the right product for them. We go back to basics. It is not about products or brands. We find out what the client needs," says Smith.
Expats should seek the advice of an independent broker, who is not tied to one provider, before signing up to any plan.
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