IMPORTANCE OF INSURANCE FOR EXPATS

[cbavasi]

There have been several threads on this forum about insurance coverage and adequate coverage... etc. We've been in Asia almost 6 years and myself and (now) 2 children have always had coverage outside of that on offer from my husbands work. Over the years I've toyed with the idea of reducing the coverage to save money... as it is we've opted for Worldwide "excluding USA" as anytime we traveled to the US we bought travel insurance.

About one month ago my son was diagnosed with an Optic Glioma brain tumor... he is 6 years old and this was completely out of the blue. Thankfully our insurance has been fantastic about covering the costs of surgeries, MRIs, biopsies and now chemotherapy here in Singapore. We've had consults in the US with John Hopkins, St. Judes and the Cleveland Eye Clinic - and they agree with the mode of treatment here in Singapore which is a relief as we cannot go back to the US for treatment with our current insurance coverage.

The point of this post is to make sure you and your family are insured. I never in a million years thought we'd face something like this and as I told the insurance company I was most concerned about coverage for the ongoing upper respiratory infections - not a brain tumor.

[QRM]

Couldn't agree more. You never know what is just around the corner.

[mules]

hi,

can anyone recommend insurance at relatively affordable rates.
i am concerned about the gaps in our coverage from both my husband and my employer.

thanks.

[cbavasi]

This is the company we went through (though this topic has been discussed on this forum a lot so there may be other recommendations in other threads):

Barney Beaumont
barney@kwiksure.com
PACIFIC PRIME INSURANCE BROKERS LTD
Hong Kong
Tel: (+852) 3588 2927

Depending on the coverage that you want and how much you are willing to spend they will work up prospective insurers. I was more concerned about the coverage in the event of an accident... and even then the costs varied greatly for the same coverage from company to company.

I think for those who are going back to their home countries at some point it would be a good idea to make sure you are covered in the event something major is discovered and you want to go back. Even last week at the hospital we met a 7 year old expat girl who was just diagnosed with Leukemia without ever previously showing any ill health.

[DennisChan]

Hi cbavasi,

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm sure many out there would have benefited from your simple sharing

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