BUPA and others

[Rubis]

Anyone recommend a good expat international health and life insurance company. Understand BUPA is good, but also very expensive. Anyone have experience with these?

[niknak]

In the UK cover and costs vary tremendously depending on what you need and what your medical history is.
It's an unfortunate fact that, whilsy you are fit and healthy, premiums will be the industry average, once you are treated for anything under the policy, premiums shoot up, often to unaffordable levels.

I don't think that it's ever been proven, but the media have alleged that once you need treatment, such insurers boost premiums to unaffordable levels because they all rely on the majority of us never claiming to enable them to make a profit. Once we make a claim, that's the profit from the annual premium gone.

[27mm]

Hi Rubis,

Can't speak for everyone, but my Base Cdr and I have been with BUPA for some 10 years or so and they have always been reliable. We have both had numerous treatments / ops through them, sometimes with more than 1 claim per year; they have never raised our premium as a result - indeed, they operate an NCD scheme. They're not cheap, especially if you have to fund it privately rather than having it through your company, but that said, you get what you pay for.