Exeter Friendly Society - The Importance of Private Medical Insurance outside the UK

The Importance of Private Medical Insurance outside the UK

With Exeter Friendly Society’s international plans you will have peace of mind that your cover is portable and will entitle you to use your private healthcare benefits in your new country of residence, as well as if you return to the UK.

When moving to a different country from the UK, health is probably low on the list of your priorities and it may not be until you have experienced a doctor or hospital visit in your new country that this may change.

It may be that should you become ill and need medical attention that you would return to the UK to have your treatment free under the NHS, but were you aware that Government guidelines have changed?

Under current regulations, anyone who spends more than 3 months living outside of the UK is no longer automatically entitled to free NHS treatment in England. Whether you will remain entitled to free NHS treatment will depend on the nature of your residence abroad.

There are many exemptions to this legislation and full information can be found on the Department of Health’s website – www.dh.gov.uk

You will also need to establish what your healthcare options are in your new country of residence. It may be that there is state healthcare system that entitles permanent residents to free healthcare. If this is the case, you will need to find out if you qualify for free healthcare and/or whether you are required to make a financial contribution.

Each country is different; some providing free healthcare to all, whilst with others this may apply to only nationals of that country. Either way you will need to be prepared to pay for some or all of your medical costs.

Dependent upon your circumstances, you may still qualify for UK healthcare cover under the state scheme in your new country (normally if in the EEA), you should contact the Department of Work and Pensions www.dwp.gov.uk for further information.

What do you know about the standards of healthcare in your new country? In some parts of the world, the standards of healthcare may be a far cry from those you are used to in the UK. Most countries will have a combination of both Government and private hospitals, private facilities being the more advanced when it comes to standards of care.