Korean Job Discussion Forums

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

Does anyone have any info on extra health insurance? I'm interested in getting supplementary health care, because nation insurance doesn't cover that much, and I like to be protected.

[Kepler]

Korea's national health insurance system is good for routine visits to the doctor. However, if you get into a really bad accident then you may end up paying millions of won out of your own pocket. I just read about an esl teacher in Korea that recently fell while rock climbing. Her medical bills have already reached 20 million won and continue to grow. You can buy insurance from worldnomads.com but I'm not sure if that's only for tourists.

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

I know. My husband was hospitalized a couple months ago, and it was pretty expensive. I'd like for us to both have extra protection. The nomads one looks like it's for tourists. I want something fairly long, term, as we'll be here for at least another couple of years.

[Swampfox10mm]

Samsung and Hyundai offer good policies. You can also get a policy from AIG, for example, which is considered foreigner health insurance. It may be priced more competitively for you, or it may not even be offered to you if you have an F-Visa.

We have Samsung, and it has always covered about everything over and above the national health insurance costs. One family member has Hyundai, and it seems like a better deal for her needs.

The interesting thing about all of this is that if Obamacare actually happens, American teachers may be required to purchase health insurance (other than Korean gov't healthcare) by law. Because Korean national insurance is useless to us overseas, that could mean Obamacare will cost teachers 100,000 to 300,000 per month for a private policy, depending on the policy you get.

[Kepler]

One option:

"Atlas expat medical insurance is great insurance for teachers heading overseas. Whether medical insurance is provided by your employer or not this is a policy worth considering especially when you may qualify for insurance for as low as $0.53 per day... that's right, 53 CENTS per day."
http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com/atlas-expat-medical-insurance

[laynamarya]

I have AIG cancer insurance. It's about 100,000 a month, which is worth the peace of mind for me. My husband also has extra insurance, but I am not sure what company it's through. Our baby insurance is through Hyundai. It's about 50,000 a month, but we get half of it back if we don't use it. Our fire insurance also offers a refund if we don't use it during the contracted period of time.

[hogwonguy1979]

[Savant]

I am on an E-2 and I have additional health insurance provided by Meritz (Meritz Fire and Marine Insurance).

My girlfriend helped me with it as my Korean is not up to the task of understanding insurance policy and coverage documents.

I pay 30,000 a month and am sure it covers things like doctor consultations, various scans and any hospitalization required. Pretty sure, I have coverage for cancer and other life threatening injuries as well as injury caused to another party if I am involved. Good for me as I worry that I will injure someone when riding my bike due to the stupidity of a lot of Koreans.

My girlfriend arranged for a policy advisor from Prudential to come out and we met her in a cafe. The advisor offered me life insurance (Prudential) and private health insurance (Meritz). I was interested in the life insurance but thought it wasn't of full benefit to me until I get married so I opted for the private health insurance.

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

My boss said she'd help me sign up for Samsung tomorrow. She knows that I want to keep the original, National insurance with her, and that this would just be supplemental, paid for with my credit card. She's doing me a favor because it would be easier to have her translating than dealing with the English-only line. She'll be helping me sign my husband up as well. I'll let you know how that goes.

[hogwonguy1979]

[Swampfox10mm]

A few notes:

A good agent can save you money. Rates are determined by things like weight and lifestyle. My weight was a few kgs over at the time, but the agent let it slide, because I was considered "obese" by Samsung standards, yet I was actually nearly thin for a Westerner (at the time).

The body fat ratings for these policies are all screwed-up, and don't take foreign bodies into account... at least Samsung's didn't!

If you drive a motorcycle/scooter, some companies are far better than others. With Samsung, if you register a motorcycle, your benefits are cut in half for the same price. The agent told me that they do checks every 6 months for things like this.

Being a smoker will also cost you a lot.

[Swampfox10mm]

[schwa]

[byrddogs]

My wife and I have AIA insurance here in Shanghai. She is a doctor and insists that we have supplemental coverage. It seems to be a good policy. I'm not sure if it is available there, but worth a look if so.

[Savant]