Tata AIG has launched an insurance policy in India that claims to offer global cover allowing the customer to choose where they are treated as long as the initial diagnosis is made in India. IMTJ checks the details.
There are an increasing number of global or regional health insurance policies that are a cross-over between domestic health insurance and international health insurance. They tend to be top-of-the-range policies aimed at the global consumer who lives and works in more than one country.
On closer inspection of Tata AIG’s offer, it seems only the most expensive policy in the range (MediCare Premier) actually offers this global cover.
There are a few other restrictions too. The customer can only choose a hospital that is in the Tata AIG hospital network, and the policy only covers in-patient and day care treatment, not outpatient treatment. The insurer will also not pay the travel costs of patient or family to go overseas.
If the customer has a serious medical condition, then there could be problems going overseas as the air ambulance cover only applies in an emergency and not for planned treatment. In addition, there are limits of cover that may be inadequate for treatment in countries more expensive than India. There is no cover for any pre-existing conditions for 24 months after buying the insurance.
Tata AIG’s offer restricting the diagnosis to the country of origin is unusual. The aim is to provide cover for high net worth families who have homes and businesses in more than one country, so allowing them freedom to be treated where they happen to be.
hese policies are not intended to cover planned medical treatment overseas in any country, just flexibility of treatment, including where a person works in a country that may not have good medical facilities.
The ongoing advice from IMTJ is that when buying any insurance, read the full policy details rather than just the advertising headlines.
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