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What is international health insurance?
International health insurance is designed to offer you a comprehensive level of cover when you’re going to be living overseas for a prolonged period. Now Health International provides private health insurance packages to individuals and families who are planning to or are already living overseas, whether they're working, studying, or have retired.
Our packages are available for those living in countries around the world and can help you to access medical treatment more efficiently in your new location.
Our plans are valid in locations where you’re legally required to have cover prior to acquiring a visa or moving, while they will also cover you for private healthcare in countries that will provide you with access to public healthcare facilities.
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How does international health insurance work?
Our international health insurance plans are designed to help you cover your medical costs when you’re living away from home overseas, whether you’re working, studying, or have retired to a location abroad.
From your perspective, once you have chosen the best Now Health International healthcare plan for your circumstances, you will simply pay your monthly premium to us and continue to do so until such a time that you need to make a claim on your policy.
How you will use your plan and make a claim will depend both on your location and the healthcare facility that you are using for treatment. In many cases, simply showing the healthcare provider your Now Health International policy documents will be enough to allow you to access treatment. Elsewhere, you may be required to pay upfront before claiming back the cash from us. We recommend that you check our chosen treatment and healthcare is eligible for an insurance payout by contacting us prior to commencing treatment.
Please note that not all private healthcare facilities in all countries will accept patients with health insurance, while others will insist you have it, so ensure you check with each facility before agreeing to undergo any treatment.
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What is the difference between international health insurance and travel insurance?
International health insurance packages are designed for individuals and families who are planning to relocate and live overseas for a prolonged period. As such, a Now Health International private healthcare plan would be suitable for those relocating abroad to work, students planning to study overseas, or expat retirees. Our plans ensure you can access the treatment and healthcare you need when living overseas.
In contrast, travel insurance is tailored towards those on vacations who may need to seek emergency treatment and cover for a journey home should they get ill or have an accident on vacation. It is a short-term solution with travel insurance packages reflecting this.
As a result, anyone looking to relocate abroad should ensure they take out a comprehensive international health insurance package that meets their needs, rather than simply taking out a basic travel insurance policy.
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How much does international health insurance cost and how can I save on premiums?
The cost of your international health insurance package will be dependent on several factors. Primarily, the factors we’ll consider here at Now Health International are your age, the location you’re planning to move to, and the level of cover you need.
Our private healthcare packages are tailored to a range of needs, with both SimpleCare and WorldCare plans that cover as little as emergency healthcare and routine visits to a doctor to as much as all doctor and hospital visits, in-patient and out-patient care, dental and maternity cover.
The best way to make savings on your premiums is to only take out cover for what you need, while also considering that a package might work out cheaper overall. For example, adding dental cover to your Now Health International plan may be cheaper, not to mention more convenient, than having a healthcare plan with us and dental cover elsewhere.
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What other types of insurance do you offer?
We only offer international health insurance.
This allows us to provide specialised, tailored private health packages that closely meet our members’ needs.
It also means our customer service teams are specialists in the field and can answer any questions you may have about your health insurance package.
By offering one product rather than many, all our focus is on ensuring we offer marketing leading international health cover, giving you the flexibility to choose the level of cover you need to match your circumstances and the country you’re going to be living in.
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Will my health insurance plan cover me if I’m already undergoing treatment before I move?
Our health plans do not generally cover you for pre-existing medical conditions. Therefore, if you are already undergoing treatment for a specific condition you will need to make plans to continue your treatment in addition to taking out one of our private health plans.
A pre-existing condition is defined as a disease, injury, or illness you have received treatment, tests or investigations for, been diagnosed with, or been hospitalized for. The definition also includes experiencing symptoms of a condition prior to your plan’s start date, irrespective of whether you have received a diagnosis.
Selected company health plans may cover you for pre-existing conditions. If you’re a Now Health International member on a company health plan, you should confirm with your administrator whether you’re covered. You can also check your certificate of insurance as it will state if pre-existing conditions are covered or not.
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Do I need international health insurance in countries that offer free public healthcare?
If you are planning to relocate and live overseas, you may be moving to a country that provides universal healthcare to all residents, including expats to some extent.
Even if you will be entitled to receive free healthcare, either immediately or after a specific period, in your new location, you may still wish to consider taking out a private health plan.
Having a private healthcare plan may help you to access treatment quicker and avoid crowded healthcare facilities, and you could also find it easier to access treatment from health professionals fluent in English.
Accessing public healthcare facilities in an unfamiliar location where you don’t speak the language can be daunting, and a private health package from Now Health International will help you to avoid this and also allow you to potentially access a higher standard of care.
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Do your international health insurance plans include dental cover?
Our most basic levels of cover on both our SimpleCare and WorldCare plans do not offer dental cover as standard.
However, if you wish to take out a more comprehensive level of private health insurance to cover a wider range of needs, our higher tier insurance includes cover for both routine and complex dental treatment.
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Who needs international health insurance?
Now Health International’s overseas health plans are suitable for individuals and families who are relocating for a wide range of circumstances. Our international health insurance plans can be used by those moving overseas for work, international students, and those seeking to retire overseas.
In some situations, those relocating abroad may be required to have private health insurance, either as a condition of acquiring a visa or be legally obligated to do so to live in a specific location.
Even in countries where universal healthcare is available to the public, many expats choose to take out private health insurance both to supplement their entitlement to universal healthcare and also as a means of accessing treatment quicker, and potentially of a higher standard.
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What features should I look for when choosing an international health insurance plan?
The specific international health insurance plan you need will be dependent on many factors, including your circumstances, access to universal healthcare facilities and treatment in your new location, and the cost.
Your primary objective when choosing an international healthcare plan should be to find the policy that works best for you while proving practical and affordable at the same time.
Our most basic levels of cover in our SimpleCare and WorldCare plans will cover emergency care and in-patient and day-patient care only. Additional levels of cover add features such as out-patient care, dental cover, and maternity care, while also increasing the total value of claims you’ll be able to make against your policy.
Choose the policy based on the features that you need for the location you’re going to be living in.
