What is International Private Medical Insurance?

In reality, this is private medical insurance that covers you globally. International Private Medical Insurance (IPMI) ensures your employees are looked after by medical experts no matter where they may be in the world. It can be used in the UK and overseas and is particularly important for people who are on secondment, foreign business trips, residing overseas or living between different countries where there is no NHS to provide primary care for everyday medical requirements, like seeing a GP, providing cover for chronic conditions or even planning a routine or essential operation.

Who does this appeal to?

• Ex Pat's, In Pat's, high net worth clients who require the option to travel to a location for treatment, staff on short- or long-term assignments: literally anybody that is looking for private medical insurance that follows them globally.
• IPMI is also a great benefit for local nationals who wish to have an enhanced level of benefit in comparison to that offered by a standard UK medical plan.

I have travel Insurance?

Most travel policies will cover you in the event of an emergency only and will usually be subject to a maximum number of days overseas. They cannot usually be used to plan any treatment such as operations or for everyday health requirements like vaccinations, eye care, hearing tests or outpatient treatment.

If you only have travel insurance, you are likely to have less control over your treatment options if you have a medical emergency. For example, you may not be able to fly home or to a hospital of your choice, you will simply be taken to the nearest place that can deal with your situation. IPMI gives members and their families the ability to choose where they want to receive treatment in an emergency. In most cases, your IPMI provider will be able to arrange the evacuation and on-going treatment on your behalf, which isn't always the case with travel policies.

It is important to note that travel insurance is for emergency cases whereas IPMI is for planned treatment, although IPMI will cover emergency treatment too.

Can I transfer from a UK existing plan?

We will work with different insurers for different circumstances and if this is a requirement then we can look to ensure the member can protect their medical history and avoid losing previous underwriting or on claims they have previously had.

Usually, the insurers work on similar if not the exact same underwriting as the UK plans, so Full Medical Underwriting, Moratorium, Continued Personal Medical Exclusions, Continued Moratorium and Medical History Disregarded terms.

For more information on how we can help your business, contact us on 0330 333 9100 and speak to one of our expert consultants today.

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