Cathy Mo, Liu Minxia

THE increasing number of expatriates coming to Shenzhen prompted AIG General Insurance Company China Ltd., a subsidiary of American International Group (AIG), to roll out a Health product specially designed for foreigners.

"Over the past several years, we've noticed a significant increase in the number of expatriates coming to China. Fortunately, in AIG, we have some expatriate staff so we have a lot of good feedback from them, including myself, on their medical needs and concerns" Adam Francis, AVP of Accident & Health Division of AIG General Insurance Co. China Ltd., said in an interview with the Shenzhen Daily.

Francis, who moved to China more than four years ago, said the company realized several years ago that there was a significant demand for medical insurance plans for expatriate communities. "We then decided to leverage our GlobalHealth plan, which is structured exclusively for expatriates," he said.

The GlobalHealth China program was first launched in Shanghai and has been well-received in China's largest city. The company then decided to bring it to Shenzhen and Guangdong as more and more foreigners were choosing to live and work here.

In addition to 15,000 long-term expat residents, Shenzhen receives about 430,000 foreign visitors a day, according to data released by the Shenzhen Municipal Security Bureau last year.

GlobalHealth is a comprehensive medical plan with benefits of up to US$2,000,000. It has worldwide coverage and has maternity and dental options.

Mr. Francis, an expatriate himself, said he fully understood the difficulties expats face when they are involved in accidents and in need of medical services.

"There are a lot of good doctors and good quality medical care in Chinese hospitals, but the challenge with expats is language. If they don't speak any Chinese at all, they won't feel at ease going to Chinese hospitals. Even if they speak some Chinese, for serious cases, they may still prefer to go somewhere they can speak English to make sure they understand everything.

"Many of our GlobalHeath clients prefer to go to local hospitals because they are happy with the service there, but these people are mostly expatriates who have stayed in China for a longer time, four or five years or more," said Francis.

The GlobalHealth plans were designed to be comprehensive to meet the different needs of expatriates from different countries, he said.

"The needs of expatriates can of course differ depending on where they are from. What we want to do is to come up with a comprehensive plan that meets the needs of the general customer and at the same time we want to be flexible, so that we can make the right offer to the right people."

Francis said the GlobalHealth product had two plans: one was worldwide coverage and the other has a North American exclusion.

"Obviously, North America has some of the most expensive medical care in the world, so the expenses we would incur would be much higher to meet the needs of people from the United States and Canada if they go back to their home country for medical services.

"For people who need that coverage, we have a plan available that has coverage for North America and the rest of the world. But European customers can choose a plan without the North American option if they only go back to their home countries for medical attention. Because of the exclusion, there is a direct savings in the premium charged to the customer" he said.

The product has a wide range of benefits including, but not limited to, hospitalization, outpatient benefits, optional dental care, optional maternity benefits, private nursing, organ transplant, mental and nervous disorders and emergency medical evacuation and repatriation. It has benefited more than 1,000 expatriates in Shanghai.