The covid-19 pandemic has increased business for health insurance providers catering to expats around the world, research by Aetna International found.
In a survey of 1,000 expat families across the UK, US, Singapore and UAE, the firm discovered that more than 24% took out a policy to provide cover for their families.
More than a third (35%) decided to add their loved ones to an existing health plan.
Only 17% of respondents didn’t buy extra cover, while 16% considered it but decided not to, and 7% would do it in the future.
Overall, a third of global expats already had cover in place to protect both themselves and their families.
Regional differences
Aetna International found that there were a few regional differences depending on the expats’ location.
People in Singapore and the UAE were most likely to already have health cover in place for themselves and their family members, at 45% and 37%, respectively.
This compares to just 28% in US and 22% in the UK, while the global average is 33%.
But nearly half (46%) of expats in the US who already had insurance added their family members to their plan because of the coronavirus pandemic; and 33% of expats in the UK already holding a health policy bought an additional one to make sure their family was protected as well.
‘More aware’
Hemal Desai, global medical director at Aetna International, said: “The health crisis has clearly made people more aware of their own health.
“Private medical insurance has become increasingly important for expats as a means of protecting one of their most valuable assets – their health and the health of their families. Organisations like ours are more than just an insurance provider.
“As the impact of covid-19 continues, it is more important than ever that people protect their own health and that of their family.”
