Job Discussion Forums

[Generasian X]

Anyone out there ever used/are using a private insurance company?

Every heard of
1)Global Healthcare Ltd.
2)Banner Financial Services
3)AIU
4)AFLAC Japan

???

Thanks!

[easyasabc]

[melirae]

I did some searching and found that there are two websites for what seems to be the same company. This site listed below seems to be specifically for foreigners in Asia, but is the same company in the link posted above.

http://www.globalhealth.jp/

Can anyone comment on making claims through this insurance or share any experiences about how good/bad the coverage actually is? How quickly are claims taken care of?

Any other recommendations on insurance, as I did not take the NOVA insurance and I need to set up my coverage before departing.

[PAULH]

[Timuli]

As PAULH correctly pointed out, Banners are financial consultants. A friend went through them and got Global Healthcare. He had several problems with Banners.

Im on the Global Health Gold plan. Been on it for over 2 years. Had 3 operations (each requiring between 2 and 3 weeks hospital stay) and a 13 stitch head wound (That wall hit me when I was minding my own business and fell off me bike!). They covered everything in full. Was very happy with their service. For the 3 ops they dealt with the hospital directly, and made follow up calls to see if everything was OK. Still have another op coming up in August to have a pin removed. Fortunately its covered 100%.

Problem with them (and most private non japanese medical aids) is that for most stuff you have to pay upfront and then claim back later, unless you can get the hospital/doctor to agree to work with GHC directly. Many are hesitant cause its a foreign often unkown company. So it helps if you have money saved for a rainy day.

If you have paid upfront and then claim back, they are pretty fast to re imburse you. (Mine happened within the same week of sending the forms to New Zealand).

For whats available in Japan, GHC seems to give most bang for the buck.

Having said that first look at your own needs in medical cover. I get a lot of sports injuries so this one was best suited for the needs.

[JimDunlop2]

Global sucks! SUCKS! SUCKS! SUCKS! Ok..... Do I sound bitter yet?

No, seriously. These are the most inept bunch of morons I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with. I can't believe they are still in business with the sh ! te they call customer service.

The only thing they got going for them is that they are by far the cheapest company around! I am technically with them, as is my wife... But that will soon change. I am cancelling completely, and my wife needs to be on some kind of plan.. (Long, complicated story)..... But since January..... and many, many, MANY phone calls and e-mails later, they STILL haven't gotten their crap together enough to bill me for the plan, nor to send me a welcome package/brochures, etc....

I've also heard of people not getting paid in a timely manner by them. Seriously, if you have ANY other options, please exercise them. I wouldn't touch these jokers with a 10 foot pole! They are a complete joke and waste of time! Run far, far away!

[fion]

I'm pretty happy with the state healthcare option. It's difficult to anticipate how much it will cost (depends on your income and, I think, your location) but in my case I seem to be paying LESS money in premiums than I did with Global in my previous job, although my income has increased. It also covers you for a lot more things: routine health checks, pre-existing conditions, dentistry etc.
JimDunlop, it might be worth looking into this if your wife has long-term healthcare needs. Ask at your city hall.

[Mike L.]

I'm an ex JET and thus still drafted into the state NHS.

If Golbal is no good I wouldn't say they've, NHS, got it together either! I haven't gotten a bill in 6 months and will probably have to chase them down for it..

All for their cerappy 70/30 coverage!

Gotta love these edo era stamp books too! I've always wanted to ask why they don't have magnetized photohealth cards?

The moral of the sotry here is don't get sick or get into and accident!

[ScottM]

It's an old thread, but just in case some folks are searching for Health Insurance information, I'm going to add my 2 cents.

My experience with Global Health Insurance was similar to JimDunlop2's. Fortunately, I cancelled coverage before anything had been finalised and was able to get (almost all of) my money back. They took a month to reply to my application and were completely disorganised once they did contact me. I got three different quotes about the price of the coverage. Two of the quotes came after I'd agreed to sign up, both of these were greater than the original quote. It was clear that I was dealing with two different areas within Global and that neither was in contact with the other. The person I dealt with at the last was very polite and professional, but unwilling to admit any screw-up on Global's part, in spite of eMail and bank records indicating exactly what had happened.

I figured that I was likely to get the same service when making a claim and went with Legends, even though the coverage was even thinner.

In fairness, I know of at least one other person (who I directed to Global before my own experienc) who got next day service and had coverage within 4 days. However, I wouldn't be confident that coverage from Global would continue to exhibit such prompt and painless service.