Introduction - Bupa Worldwide Health Options (BWHO) Thank you for your enquiry. BUPA (British United Provident Association) is the biggest world class private medical insurance that makes quality health care affordable around the world. Bupa is a UK company and we are their official International Advisor in the Asia Pacific. THE BUPA COVER In 1946, Britain had won World War II, but was still struggling to get its economy back on track after the war had nearly destroyed it. It was a time of shortages and hardship, and the government of the day, in an attempt to make health care available to everyone began the National Health Service in 1948. When the plan was announced a year earlier in 1947, the British United Provident Association (Bupa) was formed to provide people an alternative to the NHS where they could choose where they would be treated, when it would happen and by whom it would be done. Since then, to setting up hospitals, specialized care facilities, insurance and much more, BUPA is today one of the largest companies in the health care sector. Among its portfolio of services, health insurance is one of the largest operations. It is today, a true multinational organization with operations in three continents where it provides health and insurance services to over 10.3 million clients in more than 190 countries and over 52,000 employees. Its main interests are health insurance, care homes for older people and young disabled, health assessments and workplace health services. Bupa Travel offers a bespoke travel insurance service. Sanitas in Spain, MBF, HBA, Mutual Community in Australia and DCA Agedcare in Australia and New Zealand, ihi Bupa in Denmark and Health Dialog in the US are all part of the Bupa Group which also has centres in Singapore, Hong-Kong, Thailand and Saudi Arabia. Bupa is a company limited by guarantee and does not have a share capital. As a result, it can focus on its customers, helping them to live longer, healthier lives and can reinvest all of its profits to do this this is the dividend that Bupa provides. Bupa has a global network of more than 5,500 private hospitals and you only need to show your Bupa membership card at these hospitals and payment will be arranged direct through Bupa International-UK. Bupa covers treatment anywhere in the world except the USA. For treatment in USA, an upgrade to US cover is available. Bupa Medical Scheme covers from age 0 to 120 and no medical examinations are required for membership entry (except for those with pre-existing sickness). The exclusion by Bupa for any pre-existing condition is limited to those conditions the member had and is normally rational and not excessive. When you are a Bupa member you enjoy a life continuation of cover. You will not be penalised with reduced benefits, cover limit or non-renewal in the next period because of your high claims in this period. Bupa new medical plan on 1 st June 2009 allows a customer to tailor the plan according to his specific needs by adding modules (or add-on covers) to the core cover, thereby assembling a plan best suited to his requirements and only pays for what he needs. The modular system is called Bupa Worldwide Health Options (BWHO).
The modules consist of a core cover called Worldwide Medical Insurance and 4 add-on covers. In addition, the applicant has a choice to include deductible into his package or to upgrade his plan to cover treatment in the USA. The rates of these packages are changed according to individual's age band, place of residence and choice of add-on covers. The component covers are as follows: Worldwide Medical Insurance (WMI) (1) This is the basic and the minimum cover of any Bupa plan. It is for treatment received during an overnight hospital stay or as a day-case patient up to a maximum of 1,500,000 / 1,875,000 / $2,550,000 each membership year. All surgery, cancer treatment and advanced imaging are also included as well as transplant services, intensive care and transport by ambulance. Add-on (2) - Worldwide Medical Plus SPECIALISTS & DOCTORS This is for specialist treatment where a hospital stay is not required. It covers consultations with a doctor or specialist and medical treatments including physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic as well as cover for young child care, maternity care, complementary therapies and speech therapy. Pathology, X-rays and diagnostic tests are also fully covered. Add-on (3) - Worldwide Medicines and Equipment - PRESCRIBED MEDICINES & EQUIPMENT This is for prescribed medicines and the rental of medical appliances such as oxygen supplies or wheelchairs. It also covers any medicines required to manage chronic conditions such as asthma. Add-on (4) - Worldwide Wellbeing - PREVENTATIVE HEALTH COVER This covers medical screenings that can provide valuable early detections of conditions such as cancer. It also covers optical and dental treatments including routine, major restorative and orthodontic treatment. Add-on (5) Worldwide Evacuation - EVACUATION This is for when the treatment required is not available at a local hospital. It covers transport costs to the nearest suitable medical centre ensuring patients get the treatment they need. Repatriation provides customers with the added option of returning to their home country to be treated in more familiar surroundings. It also provides cover for young children to be taken to a relative or guardian until their parent has recuperated. For more details, please refer to the benefits of the covers shown in PDF file WHO Benefits Summary and the corresponding exclusions are listed in the PDF file WHO Exclusions summary. BWHO Plans To make it easy for our customers to visualize how the various Bupa component covers above can be applied, we have organized the component covers into the following plans:
Core Cover = Worldwide Medical Insurance (Cover for hospitalisation and day surgery) = Base cover WMI (1) Core-Plus = Core Cover + Worldwide Medical Plus (Cover for hospitalisation, day surgery and specialist costs) = WMI (1) + Add-on (2) Full Cover = Core-Plus + Worldwide Medicines and Equipment (Cover for hospitalisation, day surgery, specialist costs, medicine & equipmt) = WMI (1) + Add-ons (2) + (3) Full-Preventative = Full Cover + Worldwide wellbeing (Full cover with routine dental, optical, vaccinations, full screening and prevention) = WMI (1) + Add-ons (2) + (3) + (4) We will refer to these plans in our quotations to customers. Briefly in terms of benefits, the BWHO has more cover over Bupa s old policy in these and other areas : * Chronic conditions cover * New dental and optical benefits * Out-patient full refunds * Maternity home delivery * Increased annual overall limit by up to 50% PREMIUM Bupa Plans can be settled under monthly, quarterly and annually payments. Monthly and Quarterly payment rates are respectively 4% and 3% higher than the annual ones. Payment for premiums could be arranged through credit card, bank draft or telegraphic transfer. Credit card payment is compulsory when you choose the monthly and annual deductible plans. Bupa does not embed a No-Claim-Discount incentive in its premium as such discounts discourage members from seeking medical attention in a timely fashion. DEDUCTIBLE Applicant may get saving if he does not mind selecting a core cover with deductibles for a lower premium. Deductible is also called excess in insurance. It is the amount the insured must first bear himself and any excess balance beyond the deductible shall be paid by Bupa. The core plan deductibles are US$425, US$850, US$1,700, US$3,400 and US$8,500. A core plan with a deductible is paired up with add-on covers with small deductibles of their own. For instance, Worldwide Medical plus and the Medicines and Equipment covers have rates with small deductibles of US$170 for medical plus and US$80 for medicines and equipment respectively. These deductibles are designed to facilitate early pay out to claims for Medical Plus and Medicines.
For example, if you select a core cover with a deductible of US$850 per annum. Your claims for doctor fee under Medical Plus becomes payable when your cumulative doctor claim exceeds US$170 per annum and your claim for medicines is payable once your cumulative medicine claim exceeds US$80 per annum. This means you get paid much sooner for the add-on cover deductibles than the core cover, which must wait till its deductible of US$850 is exceeded. You get paid for benefits in the core cover as soon as your cumulative claim for benefits in the core cover exceeds US$850 per annum. FREE LOOK You need not pay premium on membership confirmation until Bupa sends you the invoice, which is about 3 to 4 weeks later. Meanwhile Bupa will cover you from day one of approval of your membership. You may cancel your policy within 28 days of receiving your policy pack from Bupa and you are entitled to full refund if there is no claim made during this free look period. CLAIM ACTUALISATION We are one of small select group of International Advisors with specific access to Bupa Management. When you purchase Bupa from us you are indirectly connecting with Bupa and also buying into our Business Philosophy. The idea of an insurance cover is that the insured gets his/her money without all the hassles. But there are technicalities and administrative procedures most customers are ignorant because they have no experience in the process. As Bupa Advisor we are well aware how exposed our customers are when it comes to claims so we structured our computer systems and dedicates 2 staff to assist our customers in claims. We pay for these overheads to help track your claims and take away your pains and chores in submitting claims especially when you are trying to recover from an illness. We handle our job differently and you can email us at any time and receive an immediate response; usually less than a day. We archive your file and advise on your claims. We vet through, scan, record the processed documents and courier them to UK claims department for payment. Bupa is strong and reputable at settling claims in good time, provided the documentation is in order. We ensure that for you. We try in all ways to ensure you obtain your reimbursement as soon as possible. You will find us very different in handling your cover as we want to ensure you receive your money. That s our business philosophy. It makes a lot of difference when there is someone holding your hand all the way after you buy from us as against a onetime transaction with some other and you are left mostly on your own. It is for these reasons we are serving customers from the Asia Pacific to Zambia in Africa. We hope you can appreciate the practical difficulties most insured persons have and that our service and experience are of real value when it embraces our customers in such times. If you decide on the Bupa cover, just fill in the attached application form and fax it to (65)64492669 or email the form to us. In case of doubt please do not hesitate to contact us. We will assist you in the application.
We look forward to receiving your application. Please do not hesitate to contact me at (65)97544770 or Mui at (65)62443616 for clarification or assistance anytime. If you are in Singapore, I shall be available to meet you to explain the cover without any obligation. Best regards, Liz Bupa International Scheme Advisor Mobile 65-97544770 Office: 65-62443616, 65-64493366 Fax: 65-64492669 Web: www.bupa-medical.com Web: www.bupa-intl.com