UK expats who don't meet the 'habitual residency test', are not covered by the National Health Service (NHS) regardless of whether or not you've paid national insurance contributions your entire working life, as I have.

www.telegraph.co.uk/[...]

Wow! There's some expensive policies quoted here.

I used Brokerfish, a Malaysian regulated company and took out the Bronze policy with IMG global. Deductible is £125/year. Policy was just under £700/year. Cover is worldwide! I'm 50 so will obviously get more expensive as I get older.

If you're intending to keep expat status for the foreseeable future then have good policy with a reputable company, stick with it and build up a substantial no-claims bonus. Attempting to move to a new insurer as you get older, I'm guessing, results in them quoting a deterrent premium. They are not interested. I've been trying out Swisscare (link in earlier post) as a 49 year old, buying a basic level policy and got a quote of just over $1500. I've concluded I have to remain with InterGlobal and it turns out they are reasonable.

This is an old thread but has useful information and links. For me it's insurance renewal time and I'm having the annual internal debate about whether or not the $2,400 (£1,700) premium is a necessary outlay given the health provision here now is very different to what it was a decade ago when I first started paying premiums. My local employer provides insurance with coverage up to 100,000 RMB. How far would this go in terms of treatment for typical emergencies? Long-term treatments would not be necessary since I'd return home once able to travel. l'll probably renew the insurance one last time, unless - perhaps someone has a credible argument that these premiums are no longer necessary, or even just plain stupid, in modern Kunming?

If you get to accident and become paralyzed or whatever, with little hope of fast recovery, I suspect that the local 100,000 RMB coverage will not cover transport back to your home country - while an expensive international insurance would.

But not knowing your circumstances here, it could of course be that you wouldn't even want to be evacuated elsewhere in that kind of situation.

Also, does the local insurance cover international trips, or would you be coverless while, for example, visiting Thailand? Or even trip back to your home country?

@JanJal I can already see the premium flowing out of my account.

Local insurance wouldn't cover me outside of China and I hadn't thought of that. 100,000 RMB would go nowhere near covering the cost of being returned home with even the most basic of medical support. I guess I'm paying for peace of mind and that's what insurance is all about. And there is always 'sods law' to contend with; the day I skip the premium I'll get hit by the number 79 bus. Thanks.

You need to make sure that your insurance will cover you if you are already outside your home county when you initiate cover. Some don’t.

If you are British or a member of some EU countries, and return home pretty often, you may be able to be covered by a Europe Assistance travel insurance by signing up for a N26 bank account. As long as you buy your flights with the credit card they provide, you will be covered with a 3-month at a time premium for as little as 60 euros per year.