By buld_online 
I’m a 38-year-old professional working with a global consultancy. My assignments require me to split time between India and Europe—typically spending 4 to 6 months in each location. I already have a health insurance plan in India, but it doesn’t help me when I’m abroad, and I find it inefficient to hold two separate full-fledged policies. Is there a health insurance solution that offers dual-country coverage, or one that allows me to suspend or ‘hibernate’ my India coverage while I’m overseas and reactivate it seamlessly when I return? What’s the best way to optimise costs while ensuring continuous protection across borders?
Advice by Ashish Yadav, Head Product and Operations, ManipalCigna Health Insurance
With the rise of global careers and cross-border work arrangements, professionals who regularly split time between countries face unique challenges when it comes to health insurance. Conventional domestic plans often fall short outside national boundaries, and maintaining separate policies in multiple countries can lead to overlapping benefits, higher premiums, and unnecessary administrative complexity.
To address these evolving needs, insurers now offer plans with features specifically designed for internationally mobile individuals. These solutions focus on cost efficiency, continuity of care, and global access to healthcare, allowing you to stay protected no matter where work takes you, without the burden of managing multiple full-scale policies.
Dual-Country Coverage Options:
Rather than maintaining two separate full-scale domestic policies, insurers now offer plans with benefits such as global coverage, which can address your needs by covering medical expenses both in India and abroad. These plans typically include access to cashless treatment across extensive hospital networks in India and emergency or planned healthcare services overseas. Additional features may include coverage for outpatient care, major illnesses (e.g., cancer), emergency services abroad, medical evacuation, repatriation, and even travel-related benefits such as vaccinations, making them particularly well-suited for frequent international travellers.
Policy Suspension and Reactivation:
While health insurance plans in India do not commonly offer a formal “hibernate” feature to pause and resume coverage, some provide flexibility through region-specific or condition-specific customization. This allows you to tailor the extent of global coverage, such as limiting it to Europe or to critical illnesses, thereby reducing redundancy and cost. Another practical approach may involve maintaining a comprehensive India-based policy with lifetime renewability, supplemented by a short-term overseas travel or health policy during your abroad assignments.
Waiting Periods
Most plans impose an initial waiting period of 30 days for non-emergency claims, with immediate coverage for accidents. Pre-existing conditions, like diabetes or hypertension, may involve a longer waiting period, though some insurers offer plans that reduce this significantly or waive it under specific conditions. Notably, global coverage benefits for serious illnesses often do not carry additional waiting periods, allowing timely access to care abroad.
Exclusions and Conditions
Standard exclusions include treatments for substance abuse, cosmetic procedures, and non-medical expenses, unless explicitly covered. Global coverage may also come with territorial or illness-specific limitations, and overseas claims are often reimbursed in Indian rupees based on prevailing exchange rates. It’s essential to review the policy wording carefully to understand such region-specific or reimbursement-related clauses.
Ultimately, the right solution depends on your specific health needs, travel patterns, and financial considerations. By exploring plans that offer flexible global coverage, you can strike a balance between cost and continuity.
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