Inpat Insurance and Expatriate Insurance for Foreign Nationals in the U.S.

Global employers should not treat foreign nationals coming into the United States on assignment the same as expatriates leaving the U.S. for insurance issues.  Here is an overview of the major areas why inpat insurance is a different animal and why foreign nationals coming to the U.S. need different treatment.

First, almost all foreign nationals needing insurance in the United States are coming from a country that has national health insurance in some form or another.  They just don't understand the medical insurance system in the U.S.  Medical plans offered to foreign nationals in the U.S. have to be very easy to understand.  If a form of managed care is used like an HMO, the specifics of our system need to be explained in detail.  A massive uncovered claim may fall back on the employer.

Also, these local nationals in the United States need to know that they may have very little or limited coverage if they leave the U.S. or return home for a period of time, and may be considered "out of network."

Other than the big one, medical, here is the rest of the list:

1. Auto insurance:  They should be told to apply for a State drivers license as soon as possible without delay.  You can't keep driving here with an international license and can't get insured properly.
2. Property insurance:  They need to understand where to get personal property insurance and more importantly, international liability insurance to protect their net worth in case of lawsuit.
3. Vacant Home Insurance:  Do they still have a house back in the home country that is unoccupied?
4. Life Insurance:  Is the U.S. 2 x salary standard adequate?
5. Disability insurance:  A personal plan may be necessary because the U.S. plan will not be able to pay foreign nationals LTD money if they return to their home country if disabled.