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Q: is going without travel/health insurance a gamble you are willing to take?
my insurance is running out and I am considering not renewing it....it is expensive and I question it's usefullness, except maybe to send me home in a prepaid body bag.
11 years 22 weeks ago in Health & Safety - China
Of course that is a personal question as it depends on your own priorities.
When I came to China (two years ago tomorrow btw), I wanted to get health insurance, but as I wasn't on an expat package I would have to pay for it myself. My wife insisted it was / is a waste of money as (and I'm paraphrasing her now) she said that the best insurance you can get only pays out 80% of the costs and ALL the insurance companies will try to trick and con you and not pay out, indeed they try so hard at avoid payouts that you usually end up having to pay the bill yourself and fight the insurance company later. So we didn't get any and still don't have any. So far all our ailments have been minor and easily treated at the local pharmacy, when my brother-in-law got involved in an incident and needed some stitches to his head, the bill was less than 200RMB.
Of course serious illnesses can be VERY expensive but I'm hoping that if they occur I've got time to jump on a plane and get back to the UK and use the NHS. I do realise that may not always be possible and in such situations I / we would have to rely on family.
My schools provides the 80% coverage talked about above and so far it has just worked fine.
