Job Discussion Forums

[johnlocke2014]

Hey everyone, brand spanking new to the forum.
Have been reading posts and hearing all your stories for a few months and recently registered to become part of the Dave's ESL family
Myself and my fiancé will be moving to Shenzhen in a few weeks to become teachers, our school is not paying for insurance but to be honest I would probably prefer getting it myself as the one they would pay for would probably be crap.
I have been googling away checking different companies and thought I should ask here also as I'm sure there may be some peeps here who paid their own insurance without the school.
Anyways, I would need worldwide cover as we plan on doing some travelling during the year (mainly Asia and we won't be in the states at all)
Would appreciate any suggestions for decent companies that won't cost a fortune.
Cheers

[teenoso]

You mean health insurance , right? not accident or general travel insurance. ... an annual travel insurance policy is not going to cover you for when you are working in China, and the policies usually have limits on the time spent away from home (90 days in any year, or some such).

I have never had my own insurance here , mainly because hospital costs and meds are very cheap for day to day illnesses, and usually the employer chips in for 50% or more of the hospital/prescription fees.

But, if you need major surgery or develop a life-threatening illness, then China is not the place to be, so health insurance might be useful for repatriation purposes, or to fly to HK, Singapore or another country with better quality care.

There have been other threads (but none very recent) on the forum about insurance , where posters have recommended some companies.

[choudoufu]

picc is the standard policy offered by most schools.

http://www.picchealth.com/tabid/496/InfoID/431/frtid/369/Default.aspx

it's somewhat limited, and won't cover you outside of china, but what
can you expect for 1260 rmb/year? some schools will simply give you
the standard 1260 allowance and let you purchase your own policy.
i believe it's mandatory to have insurance to legally work in china.

look at expat health coverage. the ex-us policies will be much
cheaper, but most should offer limited coverage in the states.
expect 30 days cover while travelling.

check out bupa, a1a, hci and 7corners.
you can find annual coverage for under $750/year if you go with
higher deductibles.

[johnlocke2014]

Cheers for the tips guys

[expatteacher1]

The insurance offered by schools generally isn't comprehensive enough.

I have an expat scheme with AXA-PPP (reputable firm based in the US, UK and France) which includes global travel cover too. It is quite expensive at 900rmb a month. You can tailor the package to bring the price down though, depending on what level of cover you want in certain situations.

[johnlocke2014]

[jk.photog]

Hi! Check out www.brokerfish.com.

You input your country of residence, area of cover, and your age, to get a quote. Then, you can adjust the price and coverage to see which companies have policies that will work for you.

It's quite easy to compare coverage on their website. I found a policy that is worldwide, excluding the USA, for $65 USD per month from Seven Corners. It covers everything (routine visits, check-ups, medication, hospital, in-patient, out-patient, medical evacuation & repatriation, etc.) except Home Nursing Care and Accompanying Companion Expenses. I think the deductable was $500 per year. There were policies that cost less, but had less coverage or higher deductables. Compare, and decide which is best for you.

Even though I think $65 USD is a decent price, I still haven't purchased a policy for myself. My employer here in China supplies me with "accident only" coverage. I went to the hospital and was diagnosed with bronchitis, strep throat, and a sinus infection (all at once! My welcome to China.) The total cost, including a huge shopping bag of medications and return visits for breathing treatments, was only 180RMB. SUPER CHEAP!! I'm afraid I would never reach the deductable, unless something MAJOR happens. However, medical evacuation and repatriation of mortal remains keeps me thinking that I should get a policy "just in case".

Good luck in your search!

[choudoufu]

remember that picc insurance is valid only on the mainland.
i'm pretty sure no cover for hong kong, macao and taiwan province.
and of course no coverage in foreign countries.

and the big ticket item...........repatriation in case of medical emergency
can run 50 grand a ticket. if no longer an emergency, repatriation of
remains can run 20 grand.

[NoBillyNO]

yeah, that PICC office is a two member office....it is still offered.....

[theoriginalprankster]

[astrayalien]

Be careful with PICC insurance. If you need treatment, you must pay first then claim from PICC later using the receipt. Only some hospitals are allowable, so if you get run over by a bus be sure to go to the correct hospital.

We had two foreigners almost die because of this situation. They were left to wait, in one case for seven days, until someone lent them the money for treatment.