Overseas coverage for CINICO members
Will CINICO cover students while studying overseas? Not every student will study in the UK. Not every student studying overseas is considered an international student, therefore won’t require school-issued insurance.
What about retirees on extended holidays lasting 3-6 months overseas, will CINICO cover them? Current civil servants on holidays, will they be covered in the event of sickness?
Auntie’s answer: This question came up in the comments last month for this column: Insurance coverage for students. Health insurance and the associated issues of coverage is a topic that clearly concerns many people, and rightly so.
I asked CINICO (Cayman Islands National Insurance Company) about overseas coverage and in all of the scenarios queried by the reader, the answer is the same, an official explained. For students, retirees and civil servants, without a referral approved by the chief medical officer (CMO) of the Health Services Authority, “CINICO will only cover emergency services while overseas”. In the event of an emergency, the overseas provider would contact CINICO for approval.
If the patient needs non-emergency medical care while overseas the CMO would have to sign off on the referral beforehand. For a better understanding of what exactly you are covered for, look carefully at the benefit schedule of your plan. This can be found for CINICO here. For private insurance companies, if it’s not on their website, contact your broker.
Since any insurance coverage in Cayman generally only covers emergency or specialist medical care, any student studying anywhere should get local insurance. Here’s a useful site for students going to the UK. If they are going anywhere else, I would recommend that you get in contact with the college in question to get their take on this well before the student in question sets off.
As for extended travel plans, while CINICO says it will cover emergency medical care, travel insurance is not that much for the peace of mind it gives and covers a whole lot of potential disasters in addition to health needs. I use World Nomads, though I’ve never had to claim on it so I cannot tell you about that.
Remember to plan for the worst and take a copy of your policy or insurance card wherever you go. And then relax and enjoy yourself.
Send questions to auntie@caymannewsservice.com
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Category: Ask Auntie, Health Insurance Questions
In other words, you are covered if an ambulance takes you or you register through the emergency room.
I am assuming there is no country restriction and the insurance works worldwide?
Oh dear. Is a government supported insurance company actually advising people to double insure the same risk, for the same periods?
Isn’t that against most policies to have a second policy?