International Health Insurance

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International Health Insurance provides long-term coverage to people living or working outside of their home country, typically for one year or longer. These plans are ideal for expats and their families, individuals with dual residences, multinational employers, and more. Being a global citizen can be an exciting experience, yet one that can pose many potential risks. Your health care abroad should not be one of those concerns. IMG offers revolutionary programs that provide the flexible worldwide coverage you need, backed by the world-class services you expect.

IMG's flagship international medical insurance plan, Global Medical Insurance, allows you to custom build a plan that is specifically tailored to you. The program provides benefits suitable for individuals and families, provides fully portable 24 hour coverage, and gives you the global piece of mind you are seeking. Additionally, the plan was designed to provide long-term, worldwide medical cover that allows you to receive and continue treatment wherever you choose.

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Ideal for Expats & Global Citizens

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Global Medical Insurance

Global Medical Insurance

Annually renewable worldwide medical insurance program for individuals and families

Highlights

  • Long-term (1+ year) worldwide medical insurance for individuals and families
  • Annually renewable medical coverage
  • Deductible options from $100 to $25,000
  • Maximum limit options from $1,000,000 to $8,000,000
Plan Details View Brochure
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Trip Protection
Medical Benefits

Group International Health Insurance Programs

The Global Employer's Option - GEO Group

The Global Employer's Option - GEO Group

Employer-sponsored group health insurance for internationally assigned employees.

International Marine Medical Insurance

International Marine Medical Insurance

Long-term (1+ year) medical coverage for professional marine crew.

MP+ International

MP+ International

Worldwide employer-sponsored group health insurance for mission groups.

 

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Recent Blog Articles

Ask the Expat: Paul Gordon, General Manager of IMG Insurance Consultancy LLC in the UAE

Nov 29, 2017, 13:30 PM by User Not Found

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) are home to more than 9 million people — but the majority of the country’s residents aren’t UAE nationals. They’re expatriates.

For many of these people, “home” may have a different meaning. However, after five years of living as an expatriate in Dubai, IMG’s Paul Gordon has come to call the UAE home.

Read on to learn how he found comfort, connections and culture shock in his new country.

My Life as an Expat: As Told by Paul Gordon

After living in the UAE for 20 years, my (now) wife, Rebecca, decided to move to the UK to live with me in 2009. She put most of her belongings — including the furniture from her house — in storage, and made the 7,000+ kilometer move to Birmingham, England.

Little did we know that after two years, we would be moving back to the UAE. Rebecca was offered a job opportunity that was too good to refuse, and within two months of accepting the job offer, we were packed and on a plane to Dubai. We were quite lucky that she still had her furniture in storage!

I had mixed feelings when we moved. First, I knew leaving my mom and dad would be difficult. They missed my brother who moved to the United States 15 years prior, and our nan had died two months before. I had also started a business from scratch in the UK 18 years previously, and I suddenly had to delegate the day-to-day running to a manager.

Feeling a bit anxious was an understatement, but I was excited to embrace a new culture in a warm climate. I was also lucky to have the expertise of my wife who had grown up in Dubai. This made the transition to expat life much easier, since Rebecca knew the area and had already established a network of friends and business colleagues.

Importantly, she also understood how basic processes in the UAE worked, such as getting electricity and water. She knew who to call and where to go for these things, which can be very daunting when you’re living in a new country. For these reasons, my experience wasn’t as difficult as it can be for other expats, who move to a new place and have to completely start over.

It took about two years to really get into the comfort of living in Dubai, but it feels like home now. We are raising a 2-year-old daughter who is enrolled in nursery and will be attending school next September. We don’t envision moving for quite a while.

‘Lessons Learned’

When we arrived in Dubai, I quickly realized that not everyone had taken the same driving test! This was my first culture shock – driving on the other side of the road was really an eye opener. My first experience driving on my own came when my wife was admitted to the hospital and I had to drive on the main highway to visit her. I was thrown into the deep end to say the least!

Another surprise was a bit more welcoming. Despite moving to a region where the official language is Arabic, I was pleased to learn that English is the UAE’s language of choice in business. Although understanding Arabic would be an advantage for expatriates, it’s not expected to be spoken.

Additionally, after working and living among people of so many nationalities, I have become increasingly aware of the speed of my speech. Generally, I talk very fast, but now I make a concerted effort to slow down during presentations, meetings and phone calls when I know there may be a language barrier. 

Interestingly, my work schedule also changed when I arrived in the UAE. Working here is incredibly intense; you’re never off the clock. People will contact you and expect you to respond almost immediately regardless of the hour — which has actually made it easier for me to communicate with my IMG colleagues in the United States.

The only time periods when business slows down in the UAE are during Ramadan when many people are fasting, and during the summer months when the heat approaches 50 degrees Celsius (about 122 degrees Fahrenheit). Both always have an effect on the amount of work that gets done.

Making Connections

Expat life is a good life. It’s stressful, but you learn to make the most of it, and establishing a network in your new country helps. 

Even while I had Rebecca’s friends and colleagues to lean on, I learned quickly the importance of networking in the UAE. One of the most powerful tools as an expat is networking. You meet one person and go to a social gathering, then meet more — and suddenly you build up a network of friends and establish business relationships.

That’s the way business is done in the UAE. In the West, emails and phone calls are sufficient to keep a business relationship running. Here, face-to-face communication is still the most important way to do business. That’s one of the many reasons IMG opened an office in Dubai.

My Biggest Piece of Advice for Other Expats

For those considering becoming an expat, I would highly recommend it.

One of the most important things I have learned throughout this experience — and my biggest piece of advice for others — is to remain open-minded, accepting and tolerant of other people. You can watch the news from afar and get an opinion of a particular country or region, but only when you live there and speak to the people from those countries do you actually understand their way of life. The media will simplify things for their audience; only when you’re here do you understand the truth. 

The UAE is a melting pot of cultures, beliefs and languages. Whether you’re an expatriate in the UAE or living elsewhere, you have to be accepting and tolerant of others’ points of view and ideas. In the West, you often form opinions from what you hear in the media, and you don’t get the full picture. I held my own views when I lived in the UK, but when I came here, I became much more open-minded. That’s key to having a successful expat experience in any country.

 

Do you have questions about becoming an expat? Tweet @IMGLOBAL and use #AskTheExpat!

Want to learn more about becoming an expat or browse expatriate health insurance options? Visit our Expat Health Insurance Plans.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I seek medical help?

With an international health plan from IMG, you have medical coverage worldwide. Our plans give you the freedom to choose your own health care provider wherever you are in the world.To view IMG's exclusive provider list, visit the Find A Doctor page in the myIMG member area.

What is the definition of a "Qualified Expatriate"?

To qualify as an “expatriate health plan,” substantially all of the primary enrollees must be “qualified expatriates.” A “qualified expatriate” is a primary insured meeting all of the following:

Qualified Expatriates in the U.S.:

The individual’s skills, qualification, job duties, or expertise is of a type that has caused the employer to assign him to the U.S. for a specific temporary purpose or assignment tied to employment; and

In connection with such transfer or assignment, the plan sponsor reasonably determines that the individual will require access to health insurance in multiple countries, and is offered other multi-national benefits on a periodic basis (e.g., tax equalization benefits, cross-border moving expenses, compensation to enable the expatriate to return to his home country);

Qualified Expatriates Outside of the U.S.:

The individual is working outside the U.S. for a period of at least 180 days in a consecutive 12-month period that overlaps with the plan year. For purposes of the definition, “U.S.” includes the 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

There are also special provisions for members 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations who are traveling or relocating internationally for the organization, including students and religious missionaries.

Expatriate Health Plans are Minimum Essential Coverage

Expatriate health plans qualify as minimum essential coverage. This means that an expatriate health plan will satisfy the employer mandate and the enrollee’s individual mandate.

Employers are Still Subject to §6055/§6056 Reporting and Cadillac Tax on Certain Expatriates

The exemption from ACA requirements does not apply for the new health information reporting requirements for the beginning of 2016.

However, the information statements (primarily the Forms 1094-C and 1095-C for employers) may be provided electronically to individuals covered under an expatriate health plan even if the individual has not consented to electronic distribution (as long as the individual has not explicitly refused electronic distribution).

Expatriate health plans will be exempt from the §4980I excise tax on high cost employer-sponsored health coverage (generally referred to as the “Cadillac tax”) that is scheduled to take effect in 2018, except for expatriates assigned to work in the U.S.

Effective Date

These provisions related to expatriate health plans apply to expatriate health plans issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2015.

Am I getting the best deal on these plans?

Insurance prices are regulated by the government - you won't find a better price on IMG insurance plans anywhere else.  

How long does it take to process my application and receive my ID card and other documents?

If you are applying for coverage under the Patriot series of plans, IMG will process your application and send your ID card and other documents within one business day. If you are applying for coverage under the Global or Group series, IMG will process your application within three to four business days following the receipt of all required information, and your materials will be forwarded the same day coverage is approved. Every attempt will be made to process your application timely. The specific time frame depends largely on the type of coverage for which you are applying. 

I am a U.S. Citizen. Am I eligible for your Global Medical Insurance (GMI) plan?

You are eligible for our Global Medical insurance plan if you reside outside of the U.S. or have a good faith intent to reside outside of the U.S. for six months or more in a calendar year. Please note that IMG’s Global Medical Insurance Plan does not meet the definition of “minimum essential coverage” under PPACA. GMI is not intended to provide U.S. citizens residing in the U.S. with health insurance. While your GMI plan for worldwide coverage will not be affected by PPACA, you should review the information below to see if you are exempt from the requirements of PPACA or not, and whether you will have to pay a tax penalty or not. Under PPACA, all U.S. citizens, nationals and resident aliens will be required to purchase minimum essential coverage (PPACA compliant coverage), unless they are exempt. Exempt U.S. citizens include U.S. citizens who reside outside of the U.S. The exemption applies to a U.S. citizen who has a tax home (main place of work or employment, or if you don’t have a main place of work or employment, your main residence) in a foreign country, and is a bona fide resident of a foreign country. See details under the IRS foreign earned income exclusion test. If a person was required to purchase minimum essential coverage and did not, she/he would be required to pay a tax penalty for not purchasing PPACA coverage (if she/he files a U.S. tax return). In many cases, this tax is far less than the premiums that a person would pay for obtaining PPACA coverage.

Disclaimer

This is not an offer to enter into an insurance contract. This is only a summary and shall not bind the company or require the company to offer or write any insurance at any particular rate or to any particular group or individual. The information on this page does and will not affect, modify or supersede in any way the policy, certificate of insurance and governing policy documents (together the "Insurance Contract"). The actual rates and benefits are governed by the Insurance Contract and nothing else. Benefits are subject to exclusions and limitations.