Employees working overseas can face very different healthcare systems, costs and levels of access to treatment. International Private Medical Insurance can help, but employers need to understand how their cover would respond when somebody requires significant treatment away from home.
International Private Medical Insurance (iPMI) is designed to provide access to private healthcare for employees, and often their families who are living and working outside their home country.
It should not simply be viewed as domestic PMI covering a larger geographical area.
International assignments introduce additional considerations, including where treatment is available, how significant medical bills are settled and what happens if appropriate care cannot be provided locally.
When local treatment isn't enough
One case handled by the Clear Employee Benefits team illustrates the importance of those questions.
An engineering business had around a dozen employees on long-term assignments across four countries.
When its international medical arrangements were designed, particular attention was given to evacuation and repatriation cover and protection for dependants relocating alongside employees.
Around two years later, an employee working in a country with limited specialist medical provision was seriously injured in a road traffic accident.
The local hospital was able to stabilise him but could not perform the surgery he required.
The insurer's assistance team became involved and arranged for the employee to be transferred to a hospital elsewhere in the region where appropriate treatment was available. His wife was also able to travel with him under the arrangements in place.
After surgery and recovery, the employee later returned to the UK for rehabilitation.
The insurance couldn't change what had happened.
What it could do was help remove some of the medical, logistical and financial obstacles between the employee and appropriate treatment.
Why international medical insurance is different
Employees living overseas create questions that a domestic scheme may never need to answer.
Employers should understand:
- which countries are included within the area of cover;
- what happens when appropriate treatment isn't available locally;
- whether evacuation and repatriation are included;
- how dependants are treated;
- how major hospital bills are settled;
- what assistance is available around the clock; and
- whether local insurance or regulatory requirements also apply.
The answers will depend on the insurer, policy and countries involved.
Where can international arrangements go wrong?
The widest possible international plan isn't necessarily the right answer.
However, employers should make deliberate decisions about where cover begins and ends.
Area of cover
A regional arrangement may be appropriate for one workforce but unsuitable for employees who regularly travel beyond it.
Evacuation and repatriation
If specialist treatment isn't available locally, employers should understand what support the policy provides.
Dependants
Where employees relocate with partners or children, the business should consider whether its approach to healthcare reflects the realities of the assignment.
Payment arrangements
Major overseas treatment can involve significant costs. Understanding how an insurer deals with hospitals and payment guarantees can therefore be important.
Local requirements
Healthcare and insurance requirements differ internationally. Employers should establish whether international cover needs to operate alongside local arrangements.
International workforces rarely stand still
Employees move country. New assignments begin. Families relocate. People return home.
International medical arrangements should therefore be reviewed as the workforce changes rather than simply renewed unchanged each year.
If your organisation has employees working overseas and would like to understand whether your current medical arrangements remain appropriate, the Clear Employee Benefits team can help.
Contact ebenquiries@thecleargroup.com.
