International private medical insurance

An expatriate employee or a retiree settled abroad often loses the benefit of their home country's health insurance. They must then insure otherwise, in countries where medical costs can be far higher than French costs, notably the United States, Singapore or Switzerland. International private medical insurance meets this need. It covers hospitalization, routine care, maternity, sometimes dental and optical, in a chosen geographic zone, with or without the United States, whose inclusion sharply raises the premium. For French nationals, two structures coexist. First-euro insurance covers all costs from the first euro. Voluntary membership of the Caisse des Français de l'étranger, a social security body that reimburses on French tariffs, can be topped up by private insurance covering the gap with actual costs. International employers most often take out group plans for their expatriates, including medical evacuation to a better-equipped country. For insurers, the product combines high cost variability, claims handling across dozens of countries and currencies, fraud risk, and adverse selection at entry for individual contracts.