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In Part I of “How to select an International Health Insurance plan that is right for me?”, we have described the first three questions that you should ask yourself before deciding which International Health Insurance plan is suitable for you. The three questions are:

1. Am I traveling or relocating?

2. Where will I be traveling to?

3. What are the medical cares that I may need while overseas?

In this Part II of the Paper, we will present two more questions for your consideration and they are described in the following paragraphs.

4. How much am I prepared to fork out for these medical expenses?

The answer to this question will help you to decide which plan to choose in terms of Deductible level, Coinsurance percentage and Overall Maximum Limit.

Deductible is basically what you have to pay first before your insurance plan pays; it is part of your cost sharing. Hence, a deductible of $250 means that you are responsible for the first $250 of eligible claim before your insurance benefit kicks in. All things being equal, the higher the Deductible level, the lower the premium.

Beside Deductible, International Health Insurance plans may also come with Coinsurance as another form of policyholder’s cost sharing. Coinsurance is usually in the form of 80%/20% meaning the insurance plan pays 80% of eligible claim and policyholder pays the other 20%.

Overall Maximum Limit is the maximum dollar amount of benefits the insurance plan will pay out. It can be defined in terms of Per Certificate Period or Per Lifetime. The Overall Maximum Limit for International Health Insurance can vary from USD 1,000,000 to USD 5,000,000 or even higher.

As expected, different levels and combinations of Deductible, Coinsurance and Overall Maximum Limit will give rise to different premium rates.

The detailed explanations of these benefit items are beyond the scope of this paper. For more information, readers are encouraged to refer to the link provided in the resource box.

5. Are there better alternatives to manage the risks?

The real risks we are talking about here are risks of:

Not knowing where to go or who to turn to when you have a medical situation in a foreign country;Exposing yourself or your loved ones to sub-standard medical care that may further exacerbate your pain and suffering and putting your life at risk;Emergency medical situations that may require you to be evacuated to save your life;Emergency situations that develop due to act of war, terrorism or natural disaster.

Unfortunately, the above calamities are real in the world that we all live in today. From the financial point of view, it is not wise for an individual to assume all the above risks. Furthermore, some of these risks are far beyond financial and in the case of an emergency it could mean live or death.

With a comprehensive International Travel Medical Insurance or International Health Insurance plan, the above risks can be mitigated cost effectively. For example, you can get $1,000,000 International Travel Medical Insurance coverage at as low as $1.50 per day and U$5,000,000 International Health Insurance coverage also at the same low cost per day. This is probably less than the cost of a bottle of mineral water!

So, let’s recap. Here are the questions you need to answer first before deciding which International Health Insurance plan is right for you and your family:

1. Am I traveling or relocating?

2. Where will I be traveling to?

3. What are the medical cares that I may need while overseas?

4. How much am I prepared to fork out for these medical expenses?

5. Are there better alternatives to manage the risks?

Go see the world, but don’t leave home without a good International Health Insurance!

Thomas Kua is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (USA) with more than 15 years of experience in health insurance. Tom is the founder of GHI (Global Health Insurance) Specialists, a firm specializes in providing quality International Health Insurance solutions to customers worldwide. For more information on quality International Health Insurance plans please visit: => buyinternationaltravelhealthinsurance.com/ www.BuyInternationalTravelHealthInsurance.com

No Comments » Posted by Matt Cubb /

For many people and businesses insurance is something they would rather not have to purchase.

Most people don’t want Insurance. Most people don’t like insurance.

What you probably do want is protection for your family, your loved ones, your business and the things that are most important to you. The mere mention of Insurance may very well make a vast number of people think of words like:

Rip-off, too expensive, waste of money, doesn’t pay claims, annoying, boring and some much worse!

The truth is though for most people and businesses Insurance is required as it provides them with protection and peace of mind.

With literally thousands of insurance companies, brokers and providers you are faced with a massive choice. So faced with decisions at every turn finding the right cover for you, your Nursery, Pre-School or Kindergarten is sometimes difficult.

This article will therefore give you some free advice that insurance providers rarely share with their customers. These few steps should help you in your quest to find the cover that is best for you at the right premium and with the best service.

Secret Number 1

The first secret to making sure you get the right cover at the right premium is perhaps the one that most people will find hardest to believe but it really works.

Are you sitting comfortably??? Here it is:

When you find yourself ringing around for quotes (and for anyone looking for Nursery Insurance I would recommend buying face to face or on the phone rather than online) the chances are you will be asked “What’s your current premium?” or “What’s the best price you’ve had?”

The single biggest mistake people make when asked this question is to not tell the person asking the question. That’s right, when you are asked the best price you’ve had TELL THEM.

Most people assume that by telling an insurance provider your premium you are at a disadvantage. The truth is the opposite is true. Let me explain:

If you tell a good insurance provider your premium they should pretty much know straight away whether the premium is too high, too low or about right. Armed with this information they could give you an immediate indication if they can get a lower premium. If they know they can’t they can tell you and save you time.

Another reason you should tell the person if they ask your premium is because the vast majority of insurance companies won’t give you the best price unless they have something to beat. Let me say that again, if you don’t give your broker or company a price to beat, the chances are you won’t get the best premium. However, if you do tell them, they can use this information when dealing with the insurance company which ultimately can save you money.

One final tip on this matter is, don’t be tempted to make up a price. For example, Mrs Blogs is looking for Nursery Insurance and she has a best price of £2500.00. She thinks it’s too much money so when asked the magic question of “What’s the best price you’ve had so far?” she decides to go in low at £1800.00. By doing this most companies will know the price seems low and many won’t even provide a quote. Whereas had Mrs Blogs been up front and said £2500.00 there’s every chance she could have saved some money.

Therefore Secret Number 1 is be totally honest when looking for insurance as it’s the best way to make sure you get the best premium. Give it a go…it really works.

Secret Number 2

Secret number 2 is common sense but so many Nurseries fail to make sure it happens because they are focusing on the price. The second way to ensure you get the right cover is therefore to use an insurance provider who has an understanding of your requirements.

You can establish this by listening to what questions they ask, how they ask them and how they react to what you are saying. If they enter into a conversation about your Nursery it’s likely to be because the more information they have about your circumstances, the better cover, the better premium and the better service they can provide you.

If the conversation is very scripted and they either don’t understand what you’re looking for or don’t ask the type of questions you would expect there is every chance it’s because they don’t have a real understanding of your business. If this is the case you risk not getting the right cover and ultimately not being correctly insured.

Secret Number 3

Secret number 3 is ask questions. So many people ring around looking for Nursery insurance, Pre-School Insurance or Kindergarten Insurance and spend the entire conversation answering questions. Secret 3 is therefore ask questions to find out if they provide not only the right cover and premiums but also the right level of customer service. Types of question you might want to ask are:

In the event of a claim what will they do to help you and to ensure your claim is settled as quickly and as favourably as possible?
Do they just give you a telephone number and leave you to it or do they offer help when you most need it?
Are they experienced? How long have they been trading? If it’s a Broker, which Insurance companies do they use?
Again, if they are Brokers are they independent? That is, do they have access to numerous policies and insurance companies or are they tied into just one?

By getting answers to these questions you can then a make a decision on whether you would like to deal with them (and whether you trust them to act on your behalf.)

Secret Number 4

The fourth and final secret to making sure you get the best from your insurance provider is another which may not seem right as Insurance is one of the most price sensitive purchases a Nursery, Pre-School or Kindergarten will make.

With this in mind many Nurseries, Pre-Schools and Kindergartens make the decision on where to place their insurance on price alone. I would advise anyone looking for Nursery insurance, Pre-School Insurance, Kindergarten Insurance or indeed any kind of Business Insurance is NOT TO ASSUME THAT CHEAPEST IS BEST.

Whilst getting a low premium is one of the most important things to look for, a really cheap premium without a combination of other factors is probably cheap for a reason. Things you may want as well as a low premium are:

Are they local?
Are they friendly and approachable? (we all prefer doing business with people we like)
Who are the insurance company? Have you heard of them?
What is the excess? Make sure the excess is one you agree on and not one given just to give you a low premium
Do they have a good reputation?
Do they listen to you and explain things in a way that you understand?

If you follow these 4 simple secrets there is every chance your experience when dealing with Insurance for your Nursery, Pre-School or Kindergarten will improve. And whilst I cannot guarantee that Insurance will become your number 1 hobby (in fact I’d be a little concerned if it did!) there is every chance the cover you get will be what you want, the premiums you pay will be less than you’ve paid before and the service you receive will be one you would be happy in giving and one you would be happy to recommend.

The secrets to getting the right protection for your

No Comments » Posted by Matt Cubb /