Questions to ask yourself when looking for medical cover

Private medical insurance can give you cover for treatment whether:

You are an expat and want treatment in the country where you are currently living

If you live in your home country, but want more treatment options such as being able to choose your own doctor, hospital or reduced waiting times

You want treatment in another country

Do I need worldwide cover?

You can pick different coverage areas with medical providers but usually most cover for worldwide or worldwide excluding North America. If you don’t come from the US or rarely go there, then it may be worth choosing the worldwide excluding North American option as this would be more cost efficient.

Do I need maternity care to be covered by my medical insurance plan?

Most inpatient medical insurance plans cover the cost of emergency treatment during pregnancy. However, if you are thinking of having a child then you may want to think about adding a maternity rider to your medical insurance plan. These usually give cover up to a maximum limit for routine costs such as pre and post natal checkups, scans and delivery costs.

With maternity riders, there is usually a waiting period of 9-12 months. This means you need to have your medical insurance plan in place for 9-12 months before you have access to this particular cover.

Do I need routine and complex dental care to be covered by my medical insurance plan?

When living at home or abroad, dental care can get very expensive. Usually inpatient medical insurance plans cover you for emergency dental treatment if you are admitted to hospital. However you can add a dental care rider onto your medical plan which will cover the cost of dental treatment from regular checkups, scale and polishes to complex treatments such as crowns, dentures and bridges.

Do I need to declare any pre-existing conditions?

Pre-existing conditions are any medical conditions which you have suffered from prior to taking out insurance. You need to declare all of these conditions on your insurance application, otherwise the medical provider may not pay out when you make a claim.

Some medical providers cover pre-existing conditions, but only if certain criteria have been met. 

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