International and Group Health Insurance for Hong Kong Companies: A Guide for French Employers

When a Hong Kong-based company employs staff abroad, whether a small team in another Asian country or French expat employees, local Hong Kong health insurance usually does not follow those employees. International health insurance, or IPMI, is designed specifically for this situation. This guide explains when it is needed, how it works, and how to combine it with the French system of the Caisse des Français de l'Étranger for the companies and employees concerned.

Who needs international health insurance

• A Hong Kong company with a small team abroad, for example a few employees in a neighbouring country who need real access to private care where they live.

• Internationally mobile employees who move between several countries for their role and need cover that follows them.

• French HR teams looking for health insurance for staff sent abroad from France, or managed from a head office in Hong Kong.

How it differs from local Hong Kong health insurance

A standard Hong Kong plan, by contrast, is built around Hong Kong's private hospital network and usually offers only limited cover for care received abroad. That is enough for an occasional business trip, but not for an employee who actually lives in another country.

What an IPMI plan usually covers

• Inpatient and outpatient care in the employee's country of residence and, depending on the plan, internationally

• Access to a worldwide network of hospitals and clinics, often with direct billing in major cities

• Emergency medical evacuation when suitable local care is not available

• Maternity, dental and other benefits, depending on the plan level chosen

The CFE and international top-up cover

For French companies and employees, the Caisse des Français de l'Étranger offers voluntary membership of the French social security system for expats. However, it generally reimburses on the basis of French rates, which leaves large out-of-pocket costs in most countries abroad, including Hong Kong. Company international health insurance can work as a top-up to the CFE in the same way an individual top-up plan does for a private person. It covers the gap between the CFE reimbursement and the real cost of local care. In a private healthcare system like Hong Kong's, where hospital fees bear almost no relation to French reimbursement rates, that gap can be a very large share of the final bill.

French employers can also enrol their staff in the CFE: see the CFE for companies for how it works.

A small team abroad: a common case

A common case is a Hong Kong company that has hired a few employees in a neighbouring market, without enough staff to justify setting up a local group plan in that country. IPMI solves this simply: the company sets up a single international plan covering those specific employees, rather than trying to build a local insurance relationship in a market where it otherwise has little presence.

How international health insurance is priced

• The specific countries where the covered employees live, because the cost of care varies enormously from one market to another

• The number of employees covered

• The level of benefits and network access chosen

• The age profile of the covered group, a factor that also affects the pricing of standard Hong Kong plans

Fitting IPMI in with the rest of your cover

Most companies that set up IPMI already have group health insurance in Hong Kong for their Hong Kong-based staff. IPMI is added as a separate plan for the employees who need it, rather than replacing the Hong Kong plan. A broker who manages both can coordinate them, in particular to make sure an employee is never left without cover when their place of work changes. This is exactly the kind of detail that is easy to miss when a company manages the two plans separately, with no overall view.

Getting started

If your company has employees based abroad, or is about to send one abroad, talk to an advisor to set up suitable IPMI cover.

What to prepare before asking for a quote

• The countries where the employees concerned are, or will be, based

• The number of employees to cover in each country

• Whether any of them already have a local plan that would need to move over to the new plan

• The benefits that matter most to your team, for example maternity or a particular level of hospital access

Keeping cover when an employee changes country

A common practical question is what happens when an employee's assignment changes, for example a move from one posting abroad to another, or a return to Hong Kong after a period abroad. If it is well managed, cover should pass from one plan to the other without a break and without new medical underwriting each time. This depends on the change being planned and reported to the insurer or broker well in advance, rather than discovered only once the move has already happened.

The cost of international cover compared with local cover

International health insurance is usually priced above a comparable local group plan in Hong Kong. This reflects the cost of keeping access to an international network, and the extra administrative work of covering employees spread across several different healthcare systems. It is worth budgeting for this difference realistically, rather than assuming that a plan covering employees abroad will cost about the same as a simple extension of the existing Hong Kong plan. The two products actually serve very different needs and networks.

Choosing between a global insurer and a regional specialist

For IPMI in particular, there is a real choice between the large international health insurers with very wide global networks and regional specialists that focus more on Asia or a specific group of countries. Global insurers usually suit a company whose employees are spread across many very different regions. A regional specialist can sometimes offer better networks and better value across a smaller but equally relevant group of countries. The best choice depends entirely on where your covered employees actually are. It is better to work this out with a broker than to go straight to the best-known name on the market.

The pricing context

International cover is priced against healthcare systems with very different costs. Every year, Hong Kong ranks among the two most expensive markets in the world for international health insurance, with an average international individual plan at around 8,000 US dollars a year, and family plans well above that. A plan covering employees in several countries reflects the cost profile of each of those markets, which is why IPMI pricing varies more by geography than a local plan does.