International Health FAQs

A pre-existing Medical Condition is any condition for which you have received medical advice, treatment or medication, whether diagnosed or undiagnosed, or have experienced symptoms of, in the 2 year period prior to purchasing this policy.

No. As we do not provide cover for pre-existing medical conditions, we do not need to know about them except in the event of a claim.

Pregnancy and Maternity coverage is included on our Select level of cover, subject to a one year waiting period. Our Primary and Primary+ policies both provide cover for complications of pregnancy.

As we do not medically underwrite, we simply exclude medical problems suffered in the two years before joining us; until you have been medication, treatment, and advice free for that condition for two years after joining us. This would NOT affect claims for new conditions.

No. And nor will you have to complete a medical questionnaire.

Yes, on our Primary+ and Select plans we provide coverage for outpatient treatment and GP care, e.g. visits to your General Practitioner. On the Primary plan outpatient coverage is only included where it is related to a valid pre-hospitalisation and then for 60 days following a valid hospitalisation.

Yes, under Select plan we provide coverage for annual routine medical check-up. The Primary+ plan also provides annual medical check-up coverage after you have been insured with us for a period of 12 months.

You are entitled to be treated in any hospital of your choice though please ensure that you have your treatment pre-authorised beforehand. See our full hospital list (this directory is for information only and is not a ‘network’).

The term ‘Excess’ (sometimes known as a ‘Deductible’) is the amount of any claim that you will be liable to pay the health care facility before the insurance policy takes over, per policy period.

If you choose to carry an excess, this is applied per medical condition per policy period. This means that should you claim for the same condition several in the same policy year, we will only apply the excess once; and costs incurred after that will be paid to the policy maximum.

Once you are accepted for cover, you will be able to renew on the prevailing rates, regardless of your claiming history. Where no claims are made under your policy in a particular contract year, you will be entitled to a no claims discount (Premium Reward), which can reduce your premium by as much as 20%.

You are covered for up to €50,000 of treatment on each trip outside your Area of Cover, for conditions from which you have not previously suffered before travelling, provided that your trip is not longer than 30 days in duration. Accordingly, if you travel regularly to another Area we would ask you to consider increasing your Area of Cover.

You can cancel your policy any time during your 14 day cooling off period and, so long as you haven’t made a claim, we will refund your premium in full. If you cancel your policy mid-term for a valid reason, provided you haven’t claimed, we will refund your premium based on a scale. Please see General Conditions, on Page 10 of the policy wording, for more information.

USA Residents: Whilst we don’t cover people permanently resident in the USA, we are able to cover short term (up to 1 year) policies for people looking to travel to the USA whilst they obtain their green card. Please select an Area 3 option when applying online and use your normal residence as the correspondence address.

Non-USA Residents requiring access to treatment in the USA: If you simply wish to be able to receive any treatment in the USA – but don’t actually reside in the USA – you can select an Area 3 option and you are able to obtain treatment anywhere in the world (including the USA).

We are able to provide expatriate health cover in many countries around the world Some countries do require you to purchase ‘local cover’, such as Saudi Arabia. If in doubt please speak to one of our advisors. For a full list of the countries we cover, please view our Geographical Coverage Schedule.

Full details of our plans are available in our Benefit Schedule. Our services are on a ‘non-advised’ basis and therefore we don’t review the plans for you, as we understand that each expatriate’s circumstances are different and each has a separate requirement from their international healthcare needs.

Yes, Strategic Insurance Services Limited 9trading as Expatriate Healthcare and Expatriate Group) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our FCA Firm Reference Number is 307133.

Strategic Insurance Services Limited are authorised to carry on Regulated Activities in accordance with the permissions granted by the FCA under Part IV of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

You can check this on the FCA’s Register by visiting the FCA’s website www.fsa.gov.uk/register/firmSearchForm.do/ or by contacting the FCA on +44 (0)845 606 1234.

We believe that all our customers, regardless of where the policy was sold, should be entitled to the same regulatory benefits and protections as those purchasing cover in a FCA regulated territory. Accordingly, wherever possible, we shall extend these benefits to all of our customers.

Yes, to obtain a quote and buy cover for between 3 months and 11 months click here – Short Term Healthcare