I have just read about a recommendation on your website about using an insurance agent because they speak English – well here is my take on the subject noteably top up insurance for what its worth.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you suggested that most folk looking at the important subject of insurance, because they do not speak French, go to someone who does – however that is not the best idea as you can lose a lot of money by buying a less than best policy just because an agent does not speak English.
Like most ex pats who arrive here and do not and to my shame still do not speak French – I used an English speaking broker who catered for around 3 major insurers – and used them for one of the most expensive outlays here, that is Mutuelle or top up insurance. I used them for many years until the premiums started to rise to unacceptable levels backed up by unacceptable cover – this made me bite the bullet and do some research via the internet with the aid of Google and their translation service.
The task was indeed daunting as I had all sorts of things running about in my mind ie the age of my husband and myself – and especially in the case of my husband his chronic heart condition.
What we have to realise is that the French top up insurance is not based on health and in most cases you never have to answer health questions. To get a quote you have to provide your age, your name, your address with post code and your telephone number. This is the initial part you must go through to even get a quote, and you can be rest assured you will be bombarded by email and telephone – but I did not let this put me off and persisted.
The first time I did it, I saved a little money but came up with a much better policy that in this case even included a small funeral policy of around 2.500 euros. I was able to put more towards my
bi-annual spec bill – a seriously expensive outlay for me in France. It also offered a much higher percentage to any dental treatment I may have required. In this instance I even managed to negotiate a month’s free premium from the internet brokers I chose to arrange the policy. All this at less cost!
Top up insurance in France is a bit of a nightmare to understand for all sorts of reasons – you have to get your head around the fact that it does what it says on the tin, ie tops up your French health service payments and in some cases these payment from CPAM are pretty poor, especially in the field of glasses or dentistry – and this is where the cost of top up policies can cost. They offer various levels of cover and you have to decide what you are going to need in that particular year.
The other important fact that I have discovered with top up policies is that in the future I will be looking to change the company if necessary annually as each year there are different offers out there. I had great fears initially that some companies would not consider taking my husband on for instance with his ongoing health problems and more importantly his age (he is 79 this year.)By the way I have never found anything re loyalty bonuses or anything like just to put your mind at rest re this subject. I have just completed the whole the exercise all over again and have come up with a much cheaper and better policy than the one I have just finished (after 2 years).
One of things I have found out is quite shocking and that is the different price of exactly the same policy with exactly the same company – at least 40 euros per month of a difference. This I did not anticipate,
How did I do this, well I submitted the usual details via several companies and when I came up with a choice I did some further research. Once I had a quote that interested me, I used this as a base for further contact. I always found some broker or agent who could speak English – I used the quotation I had as a base. To gain their interest I stated that I was changing my policy in January 2015.
The internet brokers whom I contacted the last time for my first policy then telephoned me (they discovered that I was on the hunt for a new policy obviously by the use of cookies on the web) and put forth their recommendation – which I was not interested in. , I mentioned the quote I had found on the web (but this was at a price from another agent) Immediately, they said they could do better and as a matter of fact he used this particular policy for his mother (heard this one so many times). When I asked how they were able to do this he said it was because of the volume of business they put forth.
He promptly knocked down the 176 euros I had been quoted to 135 euros per month. Amazing eh – ok not a lot to some but to me better in my pocket than theirs and I will be able to buy top quality varifocal lenses next year. This is something that is seriously important to me, and if my other half has to go into hospital he will have a higher amount of money and thus hopefully more choice more comfort - I could go on and on…
Now to change your top up insurance you (in most cases) give 2 months written notice and send it by recorded deliver (the more expensive service that gives you a receipt via the post to ensure they have received it). This I have done and already I have received my new security info via my new company to register via their website.
In France it goes by age not health and again in most cases and you will find loads of companies that quote for older folk. There is good reason for this as they are usually covered up to 100 percent by the French health service if they have chronic illnesses such as heart disease. My husband was rushed to hospital on New Years Day in 2013 – the ambulance took 10 minutes after my call to arrive. He was in hospital for 17 days and his bill was eye watering but in his case he was totally covered by the French Health service ie his top up company did not pay a penny…
I know that post code is also something you must take into consideration ie Paris consultants can charge well over the odds but your initial quotes should take this into consideration, I am speaking from a living in Brittany perspective. Another argument put forth and it’s a good one, is that if you have plenty of dosh, then why buy a top up policy at all…however that something that you and you alone have to take into consideration. Forking out thousands of euros for top up insurance taken over say 10 years leads to eye watering amounts but some of us cannot financially take the risk.
Perhaps I am over simplifying this – you must check you are well covered for prescriptions - up to 100 per cent and ensure you have good hospital cover and specialist cover. I comfort myself with the fact it is only for one year and if they do not come up to standard I can change them and to my mind, it is a risk worth taking.
Most of us who move here are pretty literate when it comes to the web - we use credit cards or bank cards from the UK or France and we use what I personally consider to be the most important service and that is internet banking.
I now realise I was looking at this through a UK broker eyes ie cost of insurance goes by health. In most cases in the UK there is no way my husband would ever get health insurance.
Must confess I was an Independent Financial Advisor in the UK for over 20 - I was ashamed at my reticence and furious at myself for paying way too much for a policy that cost too much with very few benefits for too many years.