Expatriate health insurance in malaysia

When moving to Malaysia (or any foreign country) don’t forget to plan for your health insurance. This is because your existing health insurance most probably do not provide coverage overseas. For that you need expatriate health insurance, which is designed specifically for foreign nationals.

It is essential that you purchase a good expatriate health insurance to ensure you have the same  access to healthcare as the local population. Knowing that the chosen insurance provider will have the expertise to ensure the best treatment in the best facilities in Malaysia is priceless.

Update:

As of January 2011, the Malaysian government has made health insurance mandatory for all foreign workers / expatriates. The Foreign Worker Hospitalization & Surgical Insurance Scheme makes it compulsory for employers to provide health insurance coverage to all foreign workers aged 18 to 59 in Malaysia.

Foreign workers covered under the insurance scheme, are entitled to government hospital care. The law applies equally to skilled workers and professionals.

Employers hiring new foreign workers would have to enclose a copy of the medical insurance policy for their prospective employees when applying for a work permit. The same applies for renewal of permits of existing workers.

Currently there are 32 registered insurers authorized to offer coverage on the scheme.

At present there seems to be no exclusion for workers with international private medical insurance, but as the latter offers more comprehensive treatment, it would be wrong to remove this cover and replace it with the compulsory one.