Now Health WorldCare health insurance for expats in Asia

WorldCare is Now Health International's flagship international private medical insurance (IPMI) plan for globally mobile individuals and families. IPMIAsia explains its four levels, the deductible and co-insurance options, its full-medical-underwriting approach, and the carriers that stand behind it in Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia.

The four WorldCare levels

WorldCare comes in four levels, from hospital-only cover to a top plan that includes routine dental and maternity. Every level offers the same set of deductible and co-insurance options, so you can tune the premium whichever plan you choose. Now Health also sells SimpleCare, a lower-cost plan built around cover close to home; the two sit at opposite ends of Now Health's price range, which is worth knowing before you ask for a quote.

The headline figure is the annual maximum plan limit, the most the plan pays per person per year:

Exact benefit sub-limits are in the plan's Table of Benefits and can differ by the territory the plan is issued in.

What each level adds

In-patient and day-patient treatment is the core at every level. The ladder then adds:

• Out-patient care: consultations, diagnostics, physiotherapy and alternative therapies on Advance and above, with a limited option on Essential.
• Dental: routine and complex dental on Excel and Apex, after a nine-month waiting period.
• Maternity: routine maternity on Apex, after a twelve-month waiting period.
• Wellness, optical and vaccinations: an optional module on Advance and above.
• Extended evacuation and repatriation: listed as an option on every level.
• Menopause hormone replacement therapy: listed on all four levels.

Two options change the area of cover. USA elective treatment extends cover to planned treatment in the United States, and an Africa restriction narrows it. Both are chosen at quote and both change the premium, so decide where you actually expect to be treated before comparing prices.

Three levers to lower the premium

Every WorldCare level offers the same three levers:

1. Annual deductible on in-patient and day-patient treatment, with options up to US$15,000 for people who want the lowest possible premium.
2. Out-patient per-visit excess of US$15 or US$25 per visit, on Advance and above.
3. Out-patient co-insurance, where you pay 10% or 20% of each out-patient bill.

Underwriting: full medical underwriting only

Underwriting is how the insurer decides what to cover given your medical history. The market uses four main approaches: full medical underwriting (FMU), where you declare everything and get certainty upfront; moratorium, where recent conditions are excluded until a symptom-free period has passed; CPME, where existing exclusions carry over from a previous insurer; and CTT, transfer onto broadly equivalent terms. Our pre-existing conditions guide explains each.

Now Health's own position is specific:

• Every individual plan is fully medically underwritten. Now Health asks detailed medical-history questions once, at application, and states that you then know exactly what you are covered for. There is no moratorium option for individuals.
• If you are switching from another insurer, Now Health may offer continuous transfer terms or continued personal medical exclusions, carrying across the terms or exclusions your current insurer gave you.
• Company plans with fewer than 10 employees are underwritten the same way; groups of 10 or more may be offered a medical-history-disregarded basis.
• Now Health's service promise is to respond to an application that needs underwriting within two working days. That is a published target, not an average.

FMU-only is a real difference from insurers that also offer moratorium terms. If you have medical history, the exact terms offered matter more than the headline price. Nomi flags them, and an experienced adviser confirms the terms before you buy.

Service, claims and extras

• Claims: Now Health commits to processing eligible pay-and-claim reimbursements within five working days, and to placing guarantees of payment with hospitals for in-patient treatment within five working days, so you do not pay upfront. Both are service targets.
• Digital tools: plan documents, claims submission and claim tracking through the online portfolio and smartphone app, with provider search built in.
• Support: 24/7, 365-day customer service by phone, online chat and WhatsApp, with a one-working-day response promise on enquiries.
• Extras: a second medical opinion service, a global concierge service for treatment abroad (appointments, guarantees of payment, medical-visa support), and a member assistance programme for confidential counselling.

WorldCare for expats in Asia: area, currency and who carries the risk

WorldCare is a worldwide plan by default, with the USA elective treatment option switched on or off at quote. For most expats in Asia the sensible starting point is worldwide without USA elective treatment: that covers you across the region and everywhere else you travel, with planned US treatment left out of the price. The Africa restriction is a further option to narrow the area if that suits you. Our guide to regional versus worldwide cover in Asia works through the decision.

Plan limits and all three cost-control levers are expressed in US dollars, which makes WorldCare easy to compare against other US-dollar plans but means you should convert carefully if your benchmark is a plan in Singapore dollars or Thai baht.

One detail that is particularly relevant in this region: Now Health International administers WorldCare, but the risk carrier depends on where the plan is issued. Now Health's published information names AXA General Insurance for Hong Kong, Sompo for Singapore and Indonesia, Best Doctors Insurance Limited (Bermuda) for most rest-of-world plans, Starr for the UK and Europe, and Arabia Insurance for the UAE. Check which carrier applies to your residence. IPMIAsia includes WorldCare and SimpleCare in every whole-market comparison it runs through Nomi.

Relevant country pages: Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan.

Who Now Health WorldCare suits

A strong fit if you want high annual limits with a clear four-step ladder, you value published service standards for claims, pre-authorisation and underwriting turnaround, and you are comfortable with full medical underwriting, or you are transferring from another insurer with terms you would like carried across.

Worth comparing alternatives if price is the main driver (WorldCare is Now Health's premium-tier product; its own SimpleCare sits at the value end), you would prefer a moratorium underwriting option, or you need dental or maternity sooner than the nine-month and twelve-month waits allow. Browse all insurers or read the cost guide for Asia.

Frequently asked questions

This page is general information, not personal or medical advice, and is based on Now Health International's published WorldCare plan information and underwriting statement; exact terms, limits and underwriting are confirmed by the insurer at quote. Prices are indicative. Now Health International and WorldCare are trademarks of their respective owners.