Brits still concerned about healthcare abroad

20-May-2011

New research from Aviva UK Health reveals that the NHS still ranks highly in the things that people would miss most if they moved abroad. Just over a third of people (34%) say that they’d miss the NHS if they moved abroad – an increase of nine percentage points on Aviva’s 2010 figures.

The findings come from Aviva’s annual ‘semi-gration’ study that tracks the UK population’s appetite and motivations for moving abroad. Aviva conducts the research on an annual basis to understand the challenges customers face when moving overseas.

While this year’s research shows that relationships still top the list of things that Brits would miss most if they moved abroad (74%) it also highlights that moving overseas has more practical implications, particularly in relation to health.

More than one in four (27%) of people admit that they don’t know enough about health benefits in different countries. Moreover, nearly one in five (17%) do not know where they’d get support and advice on basic needs such as health.

Aviva’s research also reveals that:

• One in five (21%) would worry about the quality of treatment they’d receive abroad

• One in ten (11%) worry that a lack of understanding of the country’s health system would mean that they wouldn’t know how to arrange treatment

• 23% worry about the potential cost of treatment and how they would fund it.

But it’s not just quality and access to treatment that concerns mobile Brits. Over a quarter (26%) of people say that they’d worry about potential language barriers if they needed treatment. And, one in six is concerned about cultural differences. Interestingly, less than 2% of people would be concerned about waiting lists.

Teresa Rogers, business lead for international PMI at Aviva said:

“Moving abroad doesn’t come without its worries and it’s often the simple things we take for granted in the UK - like being able to speak to a doctor in our own language or knowing where to go for treatment - that top the list of concerns. But with the right planning people can make sure that they know what to expect and make the necessary arrangements.

“Taking out appropriate international health insurance for example, can help eliminate a number of the health-related concerns identified in our research. We can put people in touch with specialist multi-lingual support services, arrange treatment on their behalf, give them access to 24-hour support from a physician and take care of their medical bills, leaving them to dream about roast dinners rather than worrying about their health.“

Aviva has recently enhanced its International Solutions product. The core benefit enhancements give customers more than £3.5m additional cover.

The changes include increases to the overall benefit limit, newborn lifetime cover limit and chronic conditions cover. Now offering some of the most extensive benefits on the market, International Solutions enables individuals and companies to tailor their cover to suit their needs and budgets whilst complementing the healthcare provisions in the country in which they are living. International Solutions also includes StandbyMD, an exclusive arrangement giving Aviva customers prompt access to a physician offering medical support and advice any time of the day or night.

The top ten things people would miss about the UK as identified by Aviva’s research are:

Friends and family (74%)

TV (43%)

Sense of humour (39%)

Food and drink (38%)

NHS (34%) / English language (34%)

Own town/city (29%)

Own house (26%)

Sport (15%)

Nightlife (10%)