top of page
International Schools
Typical Medical Insurance Plans for International Schools in Asia
At a glance (Schools with higher budgets ~$2,000+ USD):
Area of Cover: WWE
WWE - World Wide Excluding the US is the most popular coverage, even for schools with higher budgets. It is quite uncommon even with higher budget schools to offer US coverage as the rate increase is typically between +40% and +100% to the plan premium.
Deductibles & Copays: 0 - $25 / 20%
Per visit deductibles and copays are a great way to keep premiums in check. The main cause of premium creep for schools is frivolous claims / high frequency claims that are generally not made in regards to urgent medical needs. On the other hand, 100% coverage with no deductibles offers the highest level of teacher satisfaction amongst all benefits. Therefore, schools with higher budgets often offer 100% cover. That said, as schools across Asia face lower enrollment and rising costs, it is more common today that schools forego full coverage. In the higher budget schools, full coverage accounts for about 20% of schools with the remaining high budgets schools more frequently adding these measures.
Inpatient: USD $1m to 3m+
There is generally little point in insuring above $1m as the risk of incurring a loss above $1m USD in a given year is extremely low. The insurers know this, and therefore the rates generally don't change much above this level. Because the rate increase above $1m is low, but it does often have a positive psychological impact on teaching staff, this is one benefit where a school can increase the attractiveness of a benefits package with minimal budget impact.
Outpatient: USD $5,000 - Unlimited
For the higher budget schools, Outpatient benefits are often unlimited / up to the Inpatient annual limit. About half of the higher budget schools in Asia cap out at around $5,000, while another 50% choose unlimited. When considering going unlimited, note that the premium rate increase is moderate, as is the satisfaction impact on insured teachers. This gap up to unlimited is viewed differently by different insurers and the rate is highly variable.
Dental: USD $500 - $1,500
Outpatient Dental benefits are high use benefits and therefore high premium. Generally, if a school adds $1,000 in Dental coverage, the added premium will work out to about +$450 per person. The rate of cost benefit increases as the total coverage increases further towards the risk side of the spectrum. Many schools still take up this benefit, but it can be handled internally at the school to some success, and some schools have gone this path.
Maternity: USD $10,000+
This benefit becomes more cost effective as the number of insured increases as the cost is more effectively spread across the group. The larger the school, the better deal the school will get, giving an advantage to larger schools. In most of Asia, schools overshoot the sum insured requirement, as most international medical facilities charge well under $10,000 USD.
Vision: USD $500+
Vision benefits generally do not offer a major bump in teacher satisfaction, but schools with larger budgets sometimes offer this benefit as it does not increase premiums per head by a large amount, and helps provide a robust benefits package.
Wellness: USD $1,000+
Preventative care for teachers is a valuable benefit with a good impact on teacher's perception of the overall package. The related premium increase is often subjective to the insurer. Many insurers see Wellness as budget neutral or even positive, while others see it as a net loss, so related premiums vary a fair amount by insurer. Vennsure recommends Wellness benefits to all schools as regardless of the premium impact, it can encourage teachers to check their health regularly, which can lead to a reduction in missed work days and better in class performance.
At a glance (Schools with mid-range budgets ~$1,000 - $2,000 USD):
Area of Cover: Asia
While Asia only is slightly more popular with international schools than WWE, especially in SEA, there is not much value in limiting coverage to Asia. The insurers generally do not see any risk increase in covering the world (minus the US). Many schools believe that they should cut down benefits to Asia-only for cost savings, but the rate savings vs the psychological impact of global coverage is usually not worth the trade off. Vennsure always reccomends WWE.
Deductibles & Copays: $50 / 25%
Many schools with tighter budgets use higher deductibles and copays to control budgets as low or no copays are one of the largest impacting factors on premiums. Most schools in Asia do not add very high deductibles, even with tighter budgets as this creates the most complaints from teachers. That said, many schools these days are switching to annual deductibles - a one time deductible of perhaps $200 to $300 dollars per year, after which the deductible is paid, and no more out of pocket payment is required. While this is tempting, Vennsure does not recommend this type of deductible, as many insurers lose track of the amount paid, and it can lead to customer service issues.
Inpatient: USD $100k - 500k
There is a significant risk creep in this range as it is not uncommon for complicated and longer term treatments of certain illnesses or acute injuries to run up to $500k USD. Particularly, the $500k to $1m gap tends to create a fairly steep rate increase for insurers as this is a worst case scenario that does sometimes occur. Schools with lower budgets can cap in this range for solid savings.
Outpatient: USD $1,000 - $5,000
At the lower end of this scale, the premium impact is significant. As the majority of claims from any given school will mostly come from Outpatient, having a low cap means insurers will be happy to reduce premiums significantly. There is also a high degree of pushback from the teaching staff when Outpatient is low, or when Outpatient runs out (which it may mid-year if under a few thousand).
Dental: USD $0 - $500
When Dental benefits are on the lower end, it means that the insurer is more likely to incur a total loss. If Dental cleanings in your area average $150, and $150 is the coverage amount, this tells the insurer they will lose all of the premium, and this becomes a function of financial planning rather than risk mitigation. In such a case, adding Dental benefits of $150 would mean a premium increase of roughly $140 per person. Because of this, Vennsure highly advises schools with tighter operating budgets to use their money on pumping other benefits that have a higher cost benefit ratio.
Maternity: USD $0 - $5,000
Many schools with tighter budgets forego Maternity coverage and leave it to the teachers to handle themselves. This is because Maternity can be a large premium increase, especially if the school is smaller (under ~40 insured teachers), and the teacher demographic is heavily stilted towards middle aged women. While Maternity is a high impact benefit, the majority of smaller schools do not offer this.
Vision: USD $0
For smaller schools and schools on tighter budgets, Vision benefits are generally not offered due to the low satisfaction impact. Often times the money spent on Vision benefits is better directed to increasing other benefits that have greater attraction and retention impact.
Wellness: USD $0 - $500
Wellness is often the benefit schools offer after Inpatient and Outpatient, and is common amongst schools in Asia. Depending on the insurer, schools can further maximise the value of the Wellness benefit by charging the cost of the work permit Wellness check to the insurer through this benefit. Vennsure highly recommends this benefit to all schools.
About the above
The above information is a general outlook on international schools typical medical insurance benefits range of offerings based on the opinions and experience of Vennsure insurance. Each school typically has it's own bespoke plans which can vary greatly, and insurers often change how they underwrite. This information is for a general understanding only.
pacific-cross logo
Describe your image
Luma Logo
Describe your image
liberty logo
Describe your image
pacific-cross logo
Describe your image
1/9
bottom of page