James, a building engineer, his wife and four-year-old daughter are to relocate to Dubai for six months followed by Hong Kong for six months. All are healthy. What approach should they take to health insurance? Would one PMI policy cover the year?
Mike Izzard, Premier Choice Group
It would be best advice for James to protect himself and his family with an ex-patriot PMI insurance plan from one of the many UK companies specialising in this area of activity. Assuming he wants full protection for his family, he should consider all aspects within this policy that he automatically takes for granted within the NHS in this country. For example, accident and emergency cover, dental cover, and even drugs and dressings from the pharmacy.
If he were to go to Dubai followed by Hong Kong, depending which insurance was chosen, one policy should cover all. Most of the specialist insurers in this area use different area codes for various parts of the world. As a rule, Europe is one area, the Americas is another leaving most of Asia and Australasia in the other group. However, recent developments have seen some insurers treat the Middle East as a separate entity and so would need to be discussed with James depending on the chosen insurer in accordance with his own demands and needs. He should also consider pre-existing conditions, assuming he has no previous insurance, and this must be considered at all times.
In addition to this, as they are travelling for a period of 12 months, outside the UK, they should also consider specialist travel insurance for their personal property, loss of money, passport. A product could be tailored to their needs as medical cover need not be included as it would automatically be so in the policy described above.
Peter Rousseau, Interglobal
James should choose an International Private Medical insurance (IPMI) plan, as a single policy will provide cover in both Dubai and Hong Kong - whereas domestic PMI plans would not work in both jurisdictions. He should buy a Worldwide plan, excluding cover in the United States - as this will reduce the cost.
Assuming he is based in the UK, James should buy his cover before he leaves for Dubai. Plans bought in the emirate must be purchased through locally licensed insurers and will exclude recourse to the FSA or insurance ombudsman if he subsequently experiences difficulties. PMI cover is not yet compulsory for expats in Dubai and does not need to be locally compliant, but it is anticipated that Dubai will follow its neighbour Abu Dhabi in making cover compulsory in the near future, so James should be alert to the potential of changing regulations.
He needs to decide the level of cover he needs; this ranges from comprehensive five star plans, to more modest cover. If he simply requires good quality inpatient and outpatient care for his family, combined with access to emergency medical evacuation, a mid range plan should suffice. He should, however, check the benefits carefully as these are not standardised. For example most people would want their spouse and dependants to travel with them in the event of a medical evacuation or have access to compassionate travel home in the event of an illness to a close family member - but not all plans offer this breadth of cover.
Tim Slee, Bupa International
As all the family are in good health, and taking the dual location into account we would want James and his family to be able to have one continuous policy, making life easier and hassle-free. Therefore we would recommend Bupa International's Lifeline Gold policy.
Lifeline Gold gives James and his family a comprehensive worldwide level of cover so they can use it in Dubai, Hong Kong and for any visits they may make back to the UK.
The policy will give them access to any of Bupa's 5,500 participating hospitals and clinics worldwide, or any other of their choice; cover for hospitalisation as well as extensive outpatient cover, including family doctor visits and outpatient prescription medication, which is vital for a family with a young child; and access to Bupa's Healthline - a 24-hour telephone service run by doctors and in-house medical teams in Brighton and Copenhagen, who can offer medical advice and guidance about everything from minor injuries to emergency evacuation - offering comfort to a family moving to a new country.
In addition, through our relationship with the Oman Insurance Company, James and his family would have access to a further network of over 350 providers - including hospitals, clinics, dentists and pharmacies - while in the Emirates.
James may like to consider a deductible option as these are an excellent way to make the premium more cost effective without compromising the level of cover.
