New range of policies designed to cover people who live or work abroad.
Bupa Global has launched a range of so-called tiered international private medical insurance (IPMI) products in the UK.
IPMI is a type of health cover designed to ensure those that live or work overseas have access to private medical care and treatment while away from home.
The new Bupa Global line-up consists of four products: Select, Premier, Elite and Ultimate Health Plans. They are tiered by coverage and price.
For example, the worldwide policies cost more than the one limited to a certain region.
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What the tiered Bupa Global plans cover
All four of the Bupa Global Health Plans will cover:
• health checks;
• mental and holistic therapies;
• in hospital and out-patient care;
• medical evacuation with one accompanying person;
• treatment for cancer and other serious illnesses;
• hereditary, congenital and chronic conditions;
• transplants and rehabilitation.
Below is a table with the other features that set the plans apart.
|
Bupa Health Plan |
Annual claim limit |
Area covered by plan |
Additional benefits |
|
Select |
£1 million |
Regional |
Semi-private hospital accommodation Specialist consultations and doctor’s fees (15 visits) |
|
Premier |
£1.5 million |
Worldwide |
Private hospital accommodation Specialist consultations and doctor’s fees (30 visits) Dental and eye checks Physiotherapy, osteopaths and chiropractors Complementary medicine (up to 15 visits) Vaccinations Dental and eye treatment |
|
Elite |
£3 million |
Worldwide |
Private hospital accommodation Specialist consultations and doctor’s fees (60 visits) Dental and eye checks Physiotherapy, osteopaths and chiropractors Complementary medicine (up to 30 visits) Maternity cover (after 10 months on plan) Medical repatriation Vaccinations Dental and eye treatments Cover for two children under 10 at no extra cost |
|
Ultimate |
Unlimited |
Worldwide |
Private hospital accommodation No cap on GP consultations/ genetic cancer screenings Dental and eye checks Physiotherapy, osteopaths and chiropractors Complementary medicine (unlimited visits) Maternity cover (after 10 months on plan) Medical repatriation Vaccinations Dental and eye treatments Cover for two children under 16 at no extra cost Premium family accommodation Rehabilitation - including stays at health resorts |
The Bupa Global Select Health Plan is the cheapest as it offers the most basic cover and is limited to a specific geographical region.
Premier stretches cover to worldwide and includes a higher number of doctor visits, dental and eye check-ups and treatment as well as vaccinations.
[SPOTLIGHT]Elite has all this plus a higher 60-visit limit for consultations, maternity cover, medical repatriation and cover for two children under 10 at no extra cost (subject to underwriting).
And at the other end of the scale the Ultimate Health Plan has the most comprehensive coverage on offer from Bupa Global including an unlimited annual claim limit, cover for two children under 16 (subject to underwriting), nearby accommodation for family if you fall ill, rehabilitation and no cap on consultations.
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Tiered plans vs tailored cover
Robert Lang, managing director at Bupa Global, said the tiered range had been created after surveying 3,000 people in six countries, including the UK, over 12 months.
The research found the majority just wanted a simple product where the levels of coverage and price were tiered making it easy to choose an option based on a clear and distinct range and scale.
A tiered range can reduce the complexity of choosing a PMI plan as providers can clearly set out how benefits improve as policies get more expensive.
However, not everyone will get on with this way of selecting cover as it can prove inflexible if you aren’t able to tailor your policy with add-ons or allowed to opt-out of some benefits.
The new tiered Bupa Global plans don’t allow tweaks and are available in the UK, Mexico and Hong Kong. Bupa Global says it will launch similar tiered product ranges in other “priority” markets over the comings months and years.
It advises those looking for cover in other countries can still use the Bupa International Worldwide Health Options plans. This range offers core cover called Worldwide Medical Insurance with seven additional cover options to build a plan that matches your needs.
Other tiered plans
If you like the sound of a tiered international private health cover plan there are a few other providers that offer them.
Allianz Worldwide Care for example also offers four core plans. These include Essential, Classic, Club and Premier with optional add-ons to enhance cover.
AXA PP International has four levels of cover too: Standard, Comprehensive, Prestige and Prestige Plus, which also have optional add-ons to enhance cover.
If you aren't living or working abroad you can also get tiered domestic PMI plans.
These plans help you get quicker medical treatment than you would do on the NHS for curable medical problems that start after a policy begins.
Saga, which provides cover to the over 50s, offers four tiered levels of PMI: Support, Saver Plus, Secure and Super.
General & Medical has the Equs Range with three tier levels for basic cover (Equs Key, Equs and Equs Plus) and the Altus Range which has three tiers of comprehensive cover (Altus Key, Altus and Altus Plus). It also has three hospital options: First Choice (choice of 150 hospitals in UK), Freedom (bigger ranges of hospitals plus cash benefit) and Premium (specialist facilities normally found in London).
Freedom Health Insurance offers two levels of tiered PMI: Your Choice and Elite. They allow you to get treatment in UK hospitals or at hospitals abroad and the most basic plan includes cancer cover.
Meanwhile WPA offers three Flexible Health plans: Essentials, Premier and Elite, which can be tailored with some add-ons.
How to get the best policy for your needs
When taking out a PMI policy, cost should not be your only concern.
It’s crucial to understand what you’ll be covered for, what’s excluded, where you will be covered and how to make a claim.
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