FAQ
ADAPT Frequently Asked Questions
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| 1. |
Who is eligible to enroll? |
New applicants under the age of 55, who are in good health and living outside their country of citizenship, and employed in non-manual labor occupations are eligible to apply. Persons living in the United States are not eligible for membership.
| 2. |
How does the Cash-back Savings Rebate System Work? |
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Make no claims, and you will receive the full $500 rebate, plus interest, for total Cash-back of $525. |
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Make, for example, $100 in claims, & you’ll still get $400 Cash-back (but no interest bonus). |
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If your claims exceed $500, there will be no rebate, but your eligible claims will have been paid in full. |
| 3. |
Is the Cash-back Savings Rebate the same as a prepaid deductible? |
No. If you had a $500 deductible with a competing health insurance scheme, you would only save about 20% on your premium.
With ADAPT, after your cash-back savings rebate, your actual net cost can be as much as 70% less than retail prices charged by competing health insurance schemes.
| 4. |
What happens if I quit the health plan, do I still get a Cash-back Savings Rebate? |
Yes, if your claimed expenses have been less than $500, you will receive your rebate even if you quit.
| 5. |
How does Cash-back Savings differ from a no-claim bonus? |
A no-claim bonus is not a bonus at all—its merely a discount off your next year’s premium, and its never paid to you in cash. If you quit your policy, you get nothing.
Since competing health insurance schemes raise their rates every year by 7% to 25%, your no-claim “bonus” is mostly or completely wiped out by the annual rate increase.
With ADAPT, you are guaranteed your Cash-back Savings Rebate, even if you don’t renew your health plan.
| 6. |
Are there any deductibles or co-payments I have to pay when I make a claim? |
No, there are no deductibles or co-payments. You will receive coverage from the first dollar of expense for all of your eligible claims.
| 7. |
Will my occupation affect my eligibility to obtain cover? |
Yes, you must be employed in a non-manual labor occupation to be eligible for cover.
| 8. |
Do you have any special rates for teachers? |
Yes, in fact, we have special rates for everyone, irrespective of occupation. Since risk is similar for people of similar age living in the same country, everyone gets the same low rates according to their age and country of residence, and is eligible for up to $500 Cash-back, plus interest, every year.
| 9. |
Will I be required to complete a medical questionnaire to be considered for enrollment? |
For your own protection, you must disclose any pre-existing medical conditions at application, so that you can be properly assessed and advised up-front as to whether our health plan will be suitable for you. Companies that advertise “no medical questions” are doing you a disservice, as the lack of a disclosure and an assessment does not eliminate the pre-existing conditions exclusion in those policies. It’s best to know exactly where you stand from the beginning, rather than to be unpleasantly surprised later when your claim for a pre-existing condition is declined.
| 10. |
Will my cover be affected if I move to a different country or repatriate to my home country? |
If you move to a different country as an expatriate, you can continue your health plan subject to notifying us and paying any rate differential, if any, in the new country. If you repatriate to your home country, by law in most countries, you are no longer eligible for expatriate health cover, and you must quit the health plan immediately. However, arrangements may be available for interim cover prior to becoming eligible for local home country cover, if we are notified in advance, and if this does not conflict with the laws in your home country.
| 11. |
What are the coverage limits? |
You are covered up to an overall limit of US$250,000. The limit may be raised, if desired, for additional premium charge. Note that claims in excess of $250,000 are almost unheard of, and paying for a higher limit is thus unnecessary. The companies that advertise higher limits do so for marketing purposes only.
| 12. |
If I incur expenses out-of-pocket for an eligible claim, how quickly would I be reimbursed? |
For outpatient claims, as quickly as within one day if you provide full details of the claim, unlike competitors that make you wait as long as 30 days. Inpatient claims are always paid direct to the hospital.
| 13. |
What about Overseas Travel, am I insured? |
Yes, as an ADAPT customer, you’ll get Free Overseas Travel Insurance for multiple trips, up to a total of 90 days per plan year, including to your home country, as long as you notify us of your travel dates and destinations prior to your departure. The number of days can be increased for additional cost if you exceed the 90 day limit.
| 14. |
How do I qualify for Dental Coverage? |
To commence dental cover, simply get a self-funded dental checkup, have any pre-existing problems repaired, and report the results to us on the form we provide. Proof of a self-funded dental checkup is required at least once every 12 months thereafter in order to maintain your dental coverage.
| 15. |
Will my premiums increase with age? |
Yes, unfortunately, risk increases with age and must be reflected in premiums, however, our Cash-back Savings system assures that ADAPT customers of any age who maintain their health will pay significantly less than the customers of competing health insurance schemes.
| 16. |
Are there any extra charges or penalties for choosing quarterly or monthly payments? |
No, you pay the same rate regardless of your payment frequency. All competing health insurance schemes add an extra 5% to 10% penalty tax if you wish to pay monthly or quarterly. Not ADAPT.Although there are no penalties for installment payments, the advantage to paying your ADAPT premium in full for the year is that you will earn interest on your Cash-back Savings Rebate from the date you are fully paid up for the year.
| 17. |
Are there any premium advantages for families? |
Yes. Families have a chance to compound their savings as the available amount of Cash-back Savings is multiplied by the number of family members. And on top of that, our regular rates, which include Cash-back Savings, are lower than competitor’s discounted family rates, which will enhance your savings even more.
| 18. |
Do I have to sign and send back a printed application form? |
No. Just contact your representative, and you can sign up in less than 10 minutes over the phone, with no forms to sign or send back, or simply complete our online application yourself. Your coverage can begin on the same day that your payment is received.
| 19. |
What do I need to do in the event of a medical emergency? |
Go to the nearest hospital or medical practitioner immediately and get treatment, and then contact us as soon as reasonably possible so that we can arrange direct settlement your bill with the hospital.
| 20. |
How do I make a claim? |
Simply contact us. There are no claim forms to fill out, and we will pay back direct to the hospital in the case of an inpatient claim. For outpatient claims, we will pay to the medical provider if possible, and if not, direct to you within as little as one day after you have furnished full details of the claim.
| 21. |
Tell me about the people behind ADAPT Expatriate Assurance. |
The ADAPT management team has led innovation in the industry for nearly two decades, having created and successfully built Global Healthcare and other health insurance programs during the 1990s.
ADAPT was established in 2002 as a next-generation health management solution, as a response to skyrocketing expatriate health insurance rates. The aim was to provide peace-of-mind health coverage at an affordable price, with Cash-back Savings Rebates as an incentive to stay healthy. ADAPT has achieved its mission with spectacular success, collectively saving expatriates several million dollars over the past 5 years; savings that were achieved through a combination of lower rates and Cash-back Savings rebates.
ADAPT is administered by IMF Trustees Limited, a specialist health plan and claims administration company, and a member of the New Zealand Trustees Association (NZTA).The Bank of New Zealand are the bankers for the ADAPT group of companies. DGL Systems are the technology partners for ADAPT, providing secure, online database management and medical records for our planholders.
| 22. |
How does Medical Inflation affect ADAPT rates? |
Not at all.
Medical inflation is a misused bit of jargon by people in the expatriate health insurance industry to justify skyrocketing annual inflationary rate increases. Contrary to propaganda spread by such people, new technologies and medications more often than not REDUCE costs, through earlier detection of diseases, and management of medical conditions that once required surgery, but can now be treated with medication. New technologies such as non-invasive surgical techniques reduce the need for hospitalization and reduce recovery times, bringing significant cost savings. “Medical Inflation” as used by the industry, does not take into account any of these savings, nor is it indexed or tracked by any credible independent economic body.
The only cost that is constantly rising uncontrollably are the commissions for brokers, agents, and other middlemen, which eat up from 40% to 60% of your premium dollar on the very day that you sign up. These commissions have doubled in lockstep with rates in the past decade, with no value added for the consumer.
For example, if you sign up with a competing health insurance scheme and pay a $2,000 annual premium, then as much as $1,200 of your money goes down the drain on Day 1 to pay commissions, leaving only $800 available for claims. So in fact, the amount of the increase attributable to inflation, if any, is a tiny percentage of the overall rate increase. Agents that use the term “Medical Inflation” to justify high costs are merely trying to mislead you into paying a whole lot more than you should.With ADAPT, most of that money that typically would be wasted on commissions by a competitor, is returned to you through lower rates and your Cash-back Savings Rebate.
| 23. |
What kinds of awards has ADAPT won? |
None.The fact is that there are no valid, impartial industry award programs. The “awards” advertised by some competing health insurance schemes on their websites are contrived awards put on by at least three different health insurance industry trade magazines.
Such "awards" programs are merely an attempt to mislead consumers into thinking that an independent evaluation of the products through a voting process has taken place. This notion could not be further from the truth.
Voting is open only to the brokers and salespeople who sell the policies, who vote based on criteria such as the amount of commissions they are paid. Such criteria is irrelevant to a consumer or insurance customer, thus, such awards are useless as a product evaluation tool. As such “awards” lack any validity from a consumer’s standpoint, companies or brokers that use them as marketing tools are intentionally misleading consumers. Furthermore, there is no such thing as an “independent broker”. All brokers are paid by the health insurance providers, and their loyalties are always going to be with whomever is paying their commissions.
ADAPT refuses to participate in any such contrived “awards” programs. The only recognition we accept is valid recognition in the form of a consumer choosing our company to be their personal health plan provider year after year.
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