What is lifetime health insurance?
Lifetime health insurance generally refers to a type of insurance policy that provides coverage for an individual’s lifetime. Meaning that the policy remains in effect for as long as the policyholder pays premiums and adheres to the policy terms. In simple words, you will hold the policy for as long as you pay the required insurance price to your insurance provider.
Key takeaways
Not all insurance companies offer lifetime renewal option. Most will not let you renew after your 71st birthday, some after 75th. Keep in mind that some insurance companies in China also don’t offer lifetime renewability if you sign up after a certain age, for example 55 years old.
- often required to sign up before certain age
- recent health check up might be required after the age of 55
- if insurance plan gets canceled, you will most probably be offered a transfer to another plan within insurance company’s portfolio under same terms
Understanding lifetime health insurance
Lifetime health insurance in China is designed to provide individuals with continuous medical coverage throughout their lives. Regardless of their age. This type of insurance addresses the growing concerns of healthcare costs due to an aging population and rising medical expenses. Keep in mind that premiums will be changing almost every year. The change on a yearly basis will be greater with the age. If a person turns 41 during policy year, his or her insurance plan might only go up RMB 1-2k on renewal. For elders usually over 70 years old, this change will be greater.
Thus, most of the long term expatriates in China keep inpatient only plan after the age of 65. Simply because the burden of including outpatient raider doubles or sometimes triples the insurance premium. Carrying outpatient medical costs out of pocket might be more beneficial in this case, rather than including outpatient raider in your insurance policy.
What insurance companies provide lifetime health plans for expats in China?
Allianz
One of the first companies in China that offered such a feature was Allianz. As long as you sign up on their plan below the age of 64, you will not need to provide a recent check up report for enrollment.
Now Health
Now Health does not require a recent check up for enrollment. Unless that has been specifically asked by their medical underwriter. Maximum entry age is 79 years old, so as long as you get on the policy before that – they will let you carry on lifetime.
MSH
Maximum first time enrollment age for all MSH plans is set at 64 years old. You will also need to provide recent check up report after the age 55.
Medilink
Similar as MSH, enrollment age limit is 64, however all foreign nationals will need to provide recent check up report at the enrollment stage. If you hold Chinese nationality, this requirement is only after 55 years old.
Cigna
Fresh check up report will be required for most plans after the age of 50. Whereas maximum entry age is set at 64 years old.
AXA
AXA doesn’t require recent check up report at the time of enrollment. Unless that has been asked by their underwriting team. Maximum entry age is 64 and you can carry your insurance lifetime as long as you sign up prior to that.
Pingan
Most of Pingan plans offer lifetime renewal as long as you sign up prior to maximum entry age, which is 64. Check up report will be required after the age 55.
Benefits of having a lifetime health insurance in China
Logic is simple, the longer you are on insurance policy, the less chance there is that new medical conditions will be related to something pre-existing. Keep in mind most individual and family insurance plans don’t cover existing medical conditions, so this will be very handy for long term expatriates in China.
In certain occasions, insurance company might keep you on separate rates table. Which often is few percentage lower than rates for new enrollments. Keep in mind if you change city of residency in China, slightly different rates may apply. Example on this will be Beijing. Several companies as of 2024 started using different rates for those residing in the capital.
No claims discount
Other than that, if you typically don’t use policy a lot, you will be entitled for “no claims discount”. This goes usually for up to 20-25% of the annual premium. This is very beneficial for expats holding inpatient (hospitalization) only insurance plans as you don’t get to stay in the hospital over night every other month.
Transfer to another insurance plan
If you hold a long term policy in China and for some reason it gets cancelled, very often you will be offered to switch to another insurance provider with continuation of cover. Great example will be when Bupa left China at the end of 2023. Companies like AXA and Medilink offered to take up their clients within the same range of terms they have with Bupa.
Keep in mind all such health policies are none guaranteed. That means that at the end of the contract which is almost always 1 year, you will need to agree to renewal terms. Most companies issue terms around 4-6 weeks prior renew date. Once you agree to those, they will start issuing policy documents for the next year. Renewals don’t happen automatic. Companies always need an agreement from the policy holder in order to issue policy for next year.
When keeping insurance for lifetime, it is always best to check if you have portability under the terms. Meaning, if you leave China and relocate elsewhere, can you carry on your insurance with you? More on this in our article.