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Post by Shammal on Oct 20, 2014 6:52:33 GMT
Is it common for Aramcons on US payroll to opt out of the medical payment plan and purchase their own travel insurance?
The medical payment plan deduction (US Payroll) seems to be comparable to the cost of paying for travel insurance on a trip by trip basis and travel insurance can cover more than just medical expenses.
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Post by Shammal on Oct 20, 2014 20:49:33 GMT
To illustrate- Assume the medical payment plan costs $1,980 annually($165x12 months) to cover medical expenses for two adults and two young children while traveling outside of the kingdom. I've read that Travel insurance can cover much more than medical expenses and can generally be estimated at 5% of the cost of the trip per person.(The price can be as high as 12% depending on the level of covee you choose) It appears that the $1,980.00 you spend with Aramco for medical insurance could buy enough travel insurance to cover $39,600 of planned travel expenses and include covee for: -Medical -Trip Cancelation -Trip interruption -Misconnecting flights -flight delays -baggage delays -lost luggage -Tour company bankruptcy -medicine -medical evacuation -dental -Consulting a US doctor by phone -Rental car insurance -Accidental death/dismemberment -ideny theft. Some policies even cover children under age 17 at no extra cost! An example given at the link below is a 32-year-old on a 15 day trip to europe. The cost of the trip is $5,000. The quoted premium to insure the trip was $206. By comparison, $206 is about 4 months of the aramco insurance premiums for a bachelor and only medical would be covered during the trip. travel-insurance-review.toptenreviews.com/Is this commonly done or am I missing something? |
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Post by UmmRiyam on Oct 21, 2014 10:31:48 GMT
If you are a US citizen and you travel to USA, then I don't think a travel insurance policy would cover any medical expenses there.
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Post by Shammal on Oct 21, 2014 22:24:20 GMT
UmmRiyam,
I called two providers to check eligibility and ask a few other questions.
USAA partners with Travel Insured International(TII) for travel insurance. While typically TII only covers travel for US residents traveling from the US to any other country, USAA has negotiated an exception allowing their members residing outside of the US to purchase covee for travel to the US and any other country. I specifically asked about residents of Saudi Arabia traveling to the US or any other county and they confirmed that this is covered for USAA Members only.
CSA Travel protection is another top rated provider with seemingly very generous covee, however I could only find one of their partner travel agencies that would package covee to, or originating outside of the US.
Rates were very reasonable by comparison to the Aramco plan and more so if you forgo the trip cancelation covee.
I haven't had a chance to call other providers, but I wouldn't make a decision one way or the other without hearing from someone in Saudi who uses travel insurance.
Anyone?
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Post by vpainter on Oct 22, 2014 20:21:06 GMT
Why would you even consider that option. U.S. employees when they reach 10 years of service and 50 years of age, you are allowed to keep that insurance for life as long as you pay the premium.
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Post by Shammal on Nov 1, 2014 8:23:07 GMT
vpainter,
I was not aware of that benefit until speaking with someone in Dhahran the other day. They explained that it is more than a "just in case" health plan to cover accidents while on vacation and is actually one of the best benefits that Aramco provides for the reason you mention.
Many expats like to visit their family doctor or favorite specialists when they are home on repat.
My Aunt battled cancer successfully at a world class research center here in the US over the past few years including some major surgeries. I just found out that thanks to the Aramco health insurance which my uncle retired with a few years ago, the grand total of my aunt's treatments and procedures were a few hundred dollars.
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