Читать книгу Global Residence & Citizenship Handbook - Christian H. Kälin - Страница 36

In the event of a temporary stay abroad with no change of residence, basic state insurance usually assures at least minimum cover in emergencies. In addition, almost all local health insurers offer the option of comprehensive cover for sickness and accident via private supplementary policies, even for temporary stays abroad. Before moving abroad however, it is useful to check out the insurance options in detail, from free choice of doctor and hospital to medication cover. Previous health policies normally terminate with a move abroad, and continuing insurance cover must be assured during the actual process of moving.

Comprehensive cover with a free choice of doctor and hospital worldwide is strongly recommended in most cases. This is because even in many developed countries the public healthcare system satisfies only minimum requirements and it is essential to seek out private hospitals to ensure competent medical treatment. And there is no alternative to comprehensive insurance cover for anyone thinking of moving to, say, the US or the Caribbean, or Eastern Europe, or to a developing country. Many countries have good local private health insurers, and some of them also offer international cover and a free choice of doctor and hospital. Although such a local insurer usually represents the least expensive solution, it is rarely the best one. It should be stressed that practically all insurers with a local or national scope of activity in the relevant country will only accept policyholders who are actually resident in the country. Anyone who leaves the country again will normally lose his insurance cover, which can become an insoluble problem with increasing age. It is also difficult to obtain a truly international and unrestricted free choice of doctor and hospital in many places. So the ideal insurance policy will be independent of residence and duration of stay and will also guarantee fully comprehensive cover as far as possible. Most local insurers offer only unsatisfactory solutions if at all, and very few offer private health insurance which can be concluded or retained even when the policyholder lives abroad. So it is vital to check these important aspects, and in most cases it is worthwhile consulting an independent insurance advisor specializing in international health insurance.