Please let me know if you have any claims experiences with this company.  Trustpilot reviews look (mostly) good.

 

From what I can tell in my limited research, the policy terms are clear and fit my needs.  Even their 13 page "Policy Wording" document is accessible and seem more reasonable than others.

 

Expatriatehealthcare dot com

This company is an intermediary and not an insurance company. To its credit it is regulated by the FCA in the UK and they state that they would extend FCA protections on a voluntary basis to those who would not normally come within its scope.

 

I believe they operate for the most part as a managing general agency for one particular insurer, although they do state they may use others in certain instances. An MGA usually has underwriting and claims-paying authority on behalf of the insurer with which they have their agreement.

 

Drilling down into the policy wording, Expatriate Group does divulge the name and location of the insurance company that insures their plans: 

 

Guardrisk Insurance Company Mauritius Ltd PCC,
authorised and regulated by the FSC in Mauritius (Registration
number: C142417/C1/GBL).

 

Here's a link to one of Expatriate Group's webpages that gives some info on Guardrisk in terms of size and Moody's credit ratings:

 

https://www.expatriatehealthcare.com/information/underwriters/

 

I see that Guardrisk is rated Ba2 on a global scale by Moody's. This rating is stated by Moody's as non-investment grade or speculative.

 

I don't have any insight into this company's claims-paying attitude.

Thank you.  I'm not sure if being in Mauritius is a good or bad thing.

 

Do you have any insights into HCI Group?  Healthcare international.  I'm being offered a policy from them through a broker.  They apparently cover heart attack & stroke even though I have high blood pressure, albeit with a 30% additional premium

8 hours ago, deptrai said:

Thank you.  I'm not sure if being in Mauritius is a good or bad thing.

 

Do you have any insights into HCI Group?  Healthcare international.  I'm being offered a policy from them through a broker.  They apparently cover heart attack & stroke even though I have high blood pressure, albeit with a 30% additional premium

 

I don't know much about the regulatory or financial oversight capabilities of the authorities in Mauritius. I think Guardrisk is owned by a South African entity, so I suppose that there must be tax and regulatory benefits to incorporating in Mauritius instead of South Africa.  Generally, I tend to be a bit skeptical of companies operating from tax havens or places where oversight tends to be weak.

 

I believe HCI is a German company and is an intermediary and not an insurance company.  HCI's website indicates that they offer expat health insurance through their UK branch which is managing general agent for MGEN, a French insurer. MGEN is rated "a" by AM Best, so they are good from a financial standpoint. HCI's UK branch would be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and MGEN presumably under France's ACPR, so the regulatory framework should be favorable. I wouldn't worry much about financial or regulatory issues in dealing with HCI or MGEN, but ask your broker about this just to confirm.