Health Insurance w/o HKID

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  1. #1

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    Health Insurance w/o HKID

    What are my options for health insurance w/o a HKID? I'm a US citizen living in Sydney at the moment. Is anyone on an international insurance plan? Would like to know how much approx plans (doc, hospital visits + dental) are for a single person in her later 20's.

    Much Thanks,
    Jen


  2. #2

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    >> What are my options for health insurance w/o a HKID?

    Pretty much restricted to what you have on your current plan - assuming it covers you in Hong Kong.

    The logic, one would assume - if you're not a resident in HK, why would you need insurance here?

    >> doc, hospital visits + dental

    Depends on the deductible - drop Kwiksure.com a line .. or try International Health Insurance, Expatriate and Traveller Medical Cover those tend to have the most reasonable quotes. William Russell / Bupa / Zurich for more expensive options.


  3. #3

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    >>The logic, one would assume - if you're not a resident in HK, why would you need insurance here?

    True true

    I was told that HK doesn't recognize domestic partnership? I was able to obtain a working visa and an ID through my boyfriend in Australia. Now when we move to HK I will be without a perm visa until I find employment.

    Thanks for your reply! I will look into those plans that you've suggested.


  4. #4

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    Hong Kong Immigration doesn't recognise unmarried couples (or at least, only in very exceptional cases - with kids, shared mortgages etc). But that doesn't mean that Insurance companies won't.

    But remember that Insurance companies only exist because on average you pay more in than you get back, so unless you have good reason to believe that you can somehow "beat the odds" (through needing more than average healthcare) it's not clear to me how you would benefit from insurance.

    Be aware also that Immigration might get upset if you tell them that you are "moving to" Hong Kong when you don't have a visa which allows you to do so.

    Given that you're apparently in the process of moving country for a second time with your b/f, why don't you simply get married? It's a trivially easy process in Hong Kong, and it makes dealing with various bits of bureaucracy a lot easier.


  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by totso111:
    What are my options for health insurance w/o a HKID? I'm a US citizen living in Sydney at the moment. Is anyone on an international insurance plan? Would like to know how much approx plans (doc, hospital visits + dental) are for a single person in her later 20's.

    Much Thanks,
    Jen
    Our company insured us all with Cigna for one year - that was an international health plan and covered us for wherever in the world we lived or worked or travelled. Their admin was shocking however, and this year we have switched to Aetna, much the same deal. Google them - both US firms but should be able to offer you something. Unlikely to be cheap but since my firm pays I don't care!

    (Both work fine in HK, by the way, we have made various claims).
    Last edited by MovingIn07; 10-09-2008 at 04:16 PM.

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    Given that you're apparently in the process of moving country for a second time with your b/f, why don't you simply get married? It's a trivially easy process in Hong Kong, and it makes dealing with various bits of bureaucracy a lot easier.
    I tend to think that the decision to marry is a much larger one than simplifying the process of visa and health insurance! I'm sure the OP will decide what to do on this in her own good time (for all you know, one of the parties could be stuck in a huge divorce process taking year etc etc).

  7. #7

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    In my mind if a piece of paper makes any difference to the level of commitment you have to your partner then you probably shouldn't be getting it. Marriage certificates are simply bits of bureaucracy like birth certificates, passports or whatever. They don't prove anything in themselves - you don't need a birth certificate to prove that you were born or a marriage certificate to prove that you are in a committed relationship. But, unfortunately, bureaucrats around the world justify their going to an office every day by giving these pieces of paper far more importance than they deserve.

    (Obviously, if there's a divorce involved then that's different, from a bureacratic point of view.)

    Last edited by PDLM; 10-09-2008 at 04:28 PM.

  8. #8

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    I'm not sure it's just the bureaucrats who give the certificate additional importance... some of us think that marriage IS more than just a "committed relationship" and hence once that needs some consideration before entering into it.....


  9. #9

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    One thing to check is your boyfriend's plans and whether he can add you to his company plan as I do with my common-law wife who is still in Canada.

    The irony for me is that of my two brothers and one sister, I am the only one that did not officially get a marriage licence and I am the only one of them other than my parents not to be divorced. The Canadian government is not hung up on licences and we file joint tax returns and she is on my health and extended health and dental plans.

    In applying for a Visa for HK for me only, the last 30 years for them with my wife are totally irrelevant. Very strange and old fashioned thinking.

    In Canada, it has been a long standing principle of law that even if you moved in with a woman who had a child from an earlier marriage, the partner would become by virtue of 'in loco parentis' an acknowledged legal parent. In fact, my friend got into that arrangement and left the c/l arrangement after a couple of rocky years. The woman was angry and took him to court to pay child support for the child that was not his. She won. Later he met the judge while jogging one day and asked him how that could happen when that woman never made the legal father pay one cent while she kept taking him back to court for more every time he heard he got a promotion and ergo more salary. The judge just said that was the law!!!

    I know this as one day while walking to a meeting together we ran into a mutual friend of ours that my buddy had played pro football with. He asked what the two of us were doing together as he didn't know the guy took a good management job at my firm. I blurted it all out. As we walked away, my pal said that was bad as his ex gf was that guy's cousin! That led him to the ill-fated court case. Thereafter she found a way to find out how he was doing and would have him back to court when he was promoted or got a pay increase. Clearly someone else leaked that information as it became regular in the years of big pay increases and bonuses!!!

    Last edited by Football16; 10-09-2008 at 05:17 PM.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    Hong Kong Immigration doesn't recognise unmarried couples (or at least, only in very exceptional cases - with kids, shared mortgages etc). But that doesn't mean that Insurance companies won't.

    But remember that Insurance companies only exist because on average you pay more in than you get back, so unless you have good reason to believe that you can somehow "beat the odds" (through needing more than average healthcare) it's not clear to me how you would benefit from insurance.

    Be aware also that Immigration might get upset if you tell them that you are "moving to" Hong Kong when you don't have a visa which allows you to do so.

    Given that you're apparently in the process of moving country for a second time with your b/f, why don't you simply get married? It's a trivially easy process in Hong Kong, and it makes dealing with various bits of bureaucracy a lot easier.
    Ordinarily I wouldn't worry about going a few months w/o insurance. But I was recently diagnosed with helicobacter pylori (stomach bug) and gastritis (stomach inflammation caused by the bug). BTW I got the bug when I was in HK back in June.

    I've already spent 2k on medical bills in Australia. When I arrive in Oct I would need follow-up tests to see if the the antibiotic treatment was successful. I have a very high level of infection so additional medical treatment/advise may be needed. So I figured I might as well look into insurance coverage in HK.

    Thanks for the warning on immigration! I'll be careful when I'm crossing the border.

    As for marriage, I agree it's the easeist way to get around the bureaucracies. But either my partner and I are inclined to do so right now. We are lazy doodles.
    Last edited by totso111; 10-09-2008 at 05:25 PM.