Thank you Terry, I will take a look at them.
This gentleman gave us incredibly good quotes, when it looked like we wouldn't get our carte vitales, full cover was cheaper than some of the french top up insurance offers. I cannot remeber the insurance company,it was a new one they were dealing with, but I am sure he will know. Hooe he can help you.
p.etheridge@staysure.co.uk
Our private (complementaire) medical insurance is with April http://www.april.fr/
They have proved brilliant over the years. Paid for me to be driven back to Lozere from Paris in an ambulance a few years back. I just called them, told them I needed transport home and they organised and paid for it. Didn't cost me a cent. They're not cheap but nobody is. Don't know if they can help you but can't hurt to ask.
ok, i understand i missed that detail or those details. I know some people that live in Amancy the little villiage not the big city and commute to work to Geneva and its a fast drive. I think the area is beautiful. The private insurance sounds fairly modestly priced now that all these people are pitching in with info; I would be very tempted to go for the private insurance. As it could be possible you end up paying more in taxes as your husbands secretary than you would for a plan for all of you?
Anyhoo, I am a registered nurse in the usa and like insurance and know very little about european insurance thats apparent. The lisence are not compatible and i would need to go to school for a year and then work nights for two or three years and teaching english is at least during the day. Time to make dinner.
That is actually a very good deal - thank you for the pointer.
I know, but it just goes against everything have ever worked towards !!! Well as he works in Switzerland most of the time and I am the one arranging travel etc, technically that is what I am. However, I am not too sure how the French authorities might view it... My husband's Swiss insurance are saying that as the children live nowhere near the boarder (he commutes Mon-Fri) they are not eligible, which I can understand. AXAPPP seem to be offering the best coverage at the lowest price so far. Long term, it will definitely be cheaper for me to go to work here in France !!!
I recall AXA gave a 10% discount if you paid in 1 lump up front, plus the 2 months free.
Thank you Suzanne. That is what I was thinking - try bargaining, especially if we pay the whole amount up front.
Lucy
Sometimes PPP offer it cheaper through an IFA (Independent Financial Advisor) or they might give you the first couple of months free if you go direct. Try bargaining with them. We used them before we were French Resident and they were excellent but expensive. We paid around £2500 for 3 of us. We now have top up insurance with AXA France for 5 of us which is around 160 euro per month, expensive but well worth it.
Thank you Tracy. We are just looking for some basic cover that could extend say to a Physiotherapist should a child have an accident and break a leg for example... So far have had two quotes. I think in the long run it is cheaper to go back to work !!!
Also to be honest, we pay 1560€ just for top up insurance for a family of 4, so I imagine full insurance is going to pretty expensive. Healthcare is very good but very expensive here - for example an overnight stay in maternity costs in the region of 800€ per night and that isn't an expensive department. (not that I'm suggesting you need that department but it's the only one I know how much it costs)
It is a different mindset about saying you are unemployed here, it worried me also but now inbetween english teaching contracts i register as unemployed. It is more an administrative necessity to go and declare you are unemployed. You have had to work like 400 hours to receive benefits just so you know and finish your job in a way that makes you eligible. Anyway, I think irregardless of insurance reasons you need to document yourself as unemployed to start your paperwork for general retirment etc stuff. In fact I think its a strict rule that you should document yourself within days of being unemployed? Anyhoo those AAWE books have loads of info. I learned all sorts of stuff. The AAWE has one for the school system that is pretty understandable also.
As for the medical insurance by declaring youself your husbands secretary you would have to get paid and pay taxes and all that stuff also I am guessing. It might be worth it to put 500 euro in your checking account each month instead of AXA? but probally half that would go to taxes. Also it just dawned on me could your husbands policy cover your guys directly, I wasnt paying attention to the details. That's way to obvious likely I missed something. Since you already aren't going to use the English system sounds like its going to be private or perhaps that secretary thing. That might kill two birds with one stone. You wouldn't have to list youself as unemployed and could get coverage. Although you would be doing some tax books somewhere along the line? And those things always seem easier than they sound.
Okay - that sounds a little easier...
I should be able to prove it as the children go to school !!!
Thank you it does.
Hello Chris,
I came accross this on FrenchEntree. Is very explanatory...
http://www.frenchentree.com/fe-health/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=18851
I thought the same about the fraud, however, my friend who lives in Metz said as long as I use a French Chartered Accountant, it should be good and that the children are covered by me by default. I was also advised to register as un-employed, at least then the children would be covered in the case of an emergency. I just can not bring myself to register for that purpose as I feel as though I am conning someone, which is why we just want some private medical insurance, besides which, I have never in my entire life registered as un-employed as I have always worked !!!
So far, this has been the biggest challenge...
We have very similar types of thinking as we like to look at all the choices and get as much information as possible. I had a thought about that idea though, first you would really need to be your husband's secretary (I don't mean to be condensending but who of us is not) but in this case for REALS or it might be considered fraud of some sort and i am guessing you would need to keep an account book or some sort of documentation to prove it and plus your kids might not be covered. Unless you could put the kids on also that way with you. It is worth investigating and you can always figure out how to document for that. Why not? Its worth finding some more information. There is a group called AAWE and they have several books on these topics that seem pretty comprehensive on their website. Also that English magazine called the Connexion might have old articles on that stuff. From my work experience in France I wouldn't count on finding a job that provided coverage any time soon.
My interpretation of resident for 5 years...... is how to prove it. Thus tax residence is my best guess of what will be required by Cpam.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Hello Kevin,
Exactly, both my husband and I left the UK to work in Luxembourg some fourteen years ago. Up until then though we had both paid into the UK system. I went onto the NHS website today and it states quite clearly that once you have left the UK, you can not use the EHIC card (not that I have ever had one!!) I have no objections paying for cover, as long as it is a reasonable amount, for people who hardly ever use it. From reading what you have written, does that mean in order to enter the French social security system I have to have been here for five years as a taxpayer or I can "opt-in" having paid privately for five years (say with AXAPPP) ? Thank you Kevin.
Lucy
Hello Chris,
Is becoming a bit of a minefield to say the least !! A French friend of mine has suggested I register as self-employed and basically act as secretary to my husband... That would also give me a tax card until I start work. To be honest, I am just very surprised that no one here offers that type of cover.
At long last, I really did not sign up for plummeting temperatures when moving south, we thought we had left those days well and truly behind.
Have a good day yourself and thank you for your help and insight.
Lucy
Lucy,
We moved here to be resident 3 1/2 years ago. Similarly we have not been resident in the UK, in our case (at the time we finally came to early retire in France), for 26 years. Legally we do not comply for UK health support as we were not resident for the previous 2 years in the UK. Secondly the position I am told regarding the UK is changing and that if you are not resident and not a tax payer you do not qualify for the NH simply through being British. In fact you can be asked by the UK medical provider if you qualify or you have to pay privately. So no nipping back for an Op. However, I have heard if you want to take the risk just don't fill in that bit on the form. But I am too honest ! Mr. Sarkozy changed the rules here just before we arrived and you cannot obtain French Health cover for 5 years ( with some exceptions) and MUST have suitable private insurance. They haven't actually stated what suitable is... The reason I used AXA UK is because all my other insurance is through AXA France and when I discussed a policy with them they didn't have a clue what I was talking about. (Mind that was 3 years ago) They could only get "top up" insurance in their heads. Hence I went to AXA UK. We pay about 5000 Pounds for my wife and I. You can after 5 continuos years tax residence apply for CPam. The next step is when you retire (wife or husband whoverer is first), then UK covers cost to French Authorities assuming you paid your UK stamp and qualify for any amount of UK pension no matter how small it is,. There are plenty of websites that detail the situation better than I can.
Hi,
Just had an idea, when you call APPAXA or whatever they are called. Ask if they have a France branch?
Chris