28, May 2015: With new research revealing that many British expat workers believe that completing an EHIC form is as much as they need to do in order to secure free health care in other European countries, health officials are urging expats to find out how and what their employee health insurance covers them for.

Always Know the Fine Print

Insurance experts have expressed concerns that small companies are slacking when it comes to providing extensive health insurance for their staff working in the EU. They advise that employees should be asking about their medical insurance and ensuring it is comprehensive enough to keep them safely protected whilst outside of the UK.

It is not uncommon for insurance policies to cover accompanying families and more expensive health needs such as cancer care and childbirth. Company health insurance policies that do not include such eventualities should be treated with caution and checked thoroughly, industry experts stress.

The EHIC

Another example of questionable health coverage offered by companies is the provision of just an EHIC card, with no other insurance policies at all. Officials have urged that completing an EHIC form is the minimum that expat staff should be doing, as it will allow them to access state facilities within another European country, but these are always in danger of being oversubscribed or lacking in English-speaking staff. Private health insurance would ensure much faster health care access with a higher number of doctors fluent in English, in many cases.

A representative from insurance information company, All About EHIC, added, “If an expat worker is looking at serving a long-term contract, they should definitely be provided with more than just an EHIC card. While filling in an EHIC form is a good first step towards health coverage, we urge all expat workers to take personal responsibility for their health. They need to find out what exactly their employee health insurance covers them for before it’s too late and they end up with a huge fee to pay.”

About All About EHIC:

P.K. Chong is the Managing Director of All About EHIC. As a major insurance authority, All About EHIC provides information and top up insurance for those travellers who already have the EHIC. This top up insurance will cover issues not covered by the EHIC card. Contact them at http://allaboutehic.org/

For Media Contact:
All About EHIC
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