Posted By 
By David Tompkins
Special to the Financial Independence Hub
More and more Canadians are either moving overseas or are contemplating life abroad. It may be a dream for many to work or retire overseas. Many others may travel for an extended period or become a digital nomad, which is someone who can live and work anywhere they have digital access to work back home.
There are a lot of preparations to make before you move abroad for both yourself and your family members: schools, housing, tickets, visas, taxes, selling your house, moving expenses and much more. It can all get very daunting.
One of the most important preparations for your life abroad is to secure your family from large medical expenses: meaning obtaining a global health insurance plan.
Don’t rely on Canadian medical coverage if you are a Canadian Expat
Most Canadians are fully covered by their provincial medical plans such as OHIP in Ontario or MSP in British Columbia. They may even have individual or employer-based extended medical and dental coverage. However, those plans do not cover someone living abroad as an expat. Canadian travel insurance plans will only cover emergency claims and can only cover you as long as you keep your provincial medical coverage in place. As you may know, provincial medical coverage has limited or no coverage beyond Canada. Most Canadian expats will eventually lose their provincial medical plan once they are no longer a Canadian resident, so it makes sense to purchase an international health insurance plan.
What is Global Medical Insurance?
Well, the easiest way to think about it that it is the same as US healthcare, but it covers you globally. Or put another way, an expat health plan will probably cover everything your provincial plan covers (hospital, out-patient, doctors’ visits, scans) and the extended medical plans as well (medication, physio, travel, medical appliances). If you are going abroad as a Canadian expat, you will need global health coverage.
What about relying on Destination Country coverage?
Depending on where you are relocating, that may work. Your employer may provide coverage or you can get a local plan. However, there are often many disadvantages to such local plans:
- You are only covered locally
- Local medical care may be limited or sub-standard
- The local insurer may be unreliable
- Local insurance may not be available to expats
- Expats are portable, local plans are not
- You won’t have any coverage outside your destination country, but most expats want to be able to be treated when back home or regionally.
- Any many more.
If you are an expat, you most likely need an expat health plan.
What do Expat Health Plans cover?
Generally, the plans will cover you with a base-Hospital-only plan with three levels of care from basic to comprehensive. You can also add out-patient care from doctors and medical clinics outside a hospital setting. Wellness care and even dental/vision can be added as well. If you live in a country with questionable medical care, it makes sense to also obtain an evacuation rider. Most global health plans will provide you with global coverage excluding the USA. Most American expats or those wanting to have access to US treatment will request global healthcare including the USA. This includes expats living in the USA.
How much does it cost?
As always, it depends on your age, the benefits and coverage levels, where you live, your citizenship and a few other factors. The larger the deductible, the lower premium as well. You can get a quote via Expat Financial for several global health plans and even apply online. The insurer will then report back their decision as coverage depends on your medical health. You may be covered automatically, declined or have coverage issued with an exclusion. You can contact an expat specialist like our firm and discuss your options as the rates are the same regardless and we are your advocate both before and after you get coverage.
Bottom line on Global Healthcare
In the end, you get what you pay for. Many Canadians are not used to the costs of private healthcare as most of their expenses are paid by universal healthcare in Canada. Uninsured medical costs while living abroad can ruin your finances and having good medical insurance can help you preserve you and your dependents’ health as well. A good global health insurance company will deliver excellent service and support, including providing access to their global medical network overseas. If you are moving abroad for retirement, make sure you have a plan that can cover you for life.
I hope we have provided some valuable introductory information for future and present Canadian expats, but the above tips also relate to the expat clientele from other countries as well. Global healthcare can be confusing and there are many options to consider. So go ahead, live abroad if you can: it’s a big world out there!
David Tompkins is President of TFG Global Insurance Solutions Ltd., which owns and operates Expat Financial, a leading source for individual expatriates and multinationals who require global health insurance, expat life and disability coverage and global travel insurance. David has written, spoken and been interviewed extensively about global insurance, special risk coverage and expatriate insurance. David has been interviewed by the Globe & Mail and NY Times.
