Supplemental private health insurance (to be used in conjunction with NHI),

A flyer in my mailbox is advertising 5 different "courses" for supplemental health coverage.

Free dial: 0120-678-078

The company is:
Alico (A member of American International Group, Inc.)
AIG Building
1-1-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005
tel: 0120-111-888
(no website on the flyer which could be an oversight or the company is too small to have developed a website?)

Maybe operating in conjunction with JIM (Japan Insurance M_?_)
03-3549-1002
I tried calling this number because the print was too small for me to read and I wanted to know what the M stands for but no one answered (it was right at 16:00). So it makes me wonder.

I have just seen that you were talking about Alico insurance on your site, but on the Internet I read the site of customers complaining that they never got their money paid.

A friend told me about a good complementary insurance that works like a kind of cooperative(??) and that lots of Japanese choose . It is called Tomin Kyoosai (to for city, min for people - tokyo people - kyoo for public, sai for help, saving.
Enquiries at 03-3980-0271.
Because a very sick friend of mine has it, I believe it is good.
I wouldn't trust Alico too much though it is doing a lot of advertisement here and there. Their insurance to elderlies do sound too good to be true.

I did internet search for "insurance" (hoken) and then "Alico" (in Japanese) and among other sites about Alico there was this complaint one. But of course it might be competitors trying to ruin the image of the company, you never know...

Here's one of the companies that sells to "expats".
International Health Insurance danmark a/s
http://www.ihidanmark.jp
info@ihidanmark.jp
03-3405-0794

My wife and I are three months pregnant and we are planning to move to Tokyo next month. Our current insurance plan in Los Angeles will not cover us in Tokyo. I am having a hard time finding international health insurance that will cover our "pre-existing" condition of pregnancy. Are you aware of an international health insurance firm providing prenatal coverage in Japan for women who are already pregnant? Thanks for your help!

Hi,

Does anyone know a health insurance for short term visitors who comes to japan. Actully We want my Mother in law to come and live with us, Her health is not so good lately and there is no one in my country to take care of her thats why we want her to move here with us. But as far as i know she cant stay more then 3 or 6 (if she get extantion) months. OR CAN SHE?

Please let me know if u have any kind of information regarding health insurance for visitiors and extended period of stay.

Thanks

Dear Shakiba,
I have been researching travel insurance for myself and my daughter. In doing so I heard through the grapevine that JBI travel insurance (based in the U.K.?), sold by Luke Whitehead email: luke@gigjapan.com at Global Investment Group, is very good. I've checked it out for my needs and the single trip premiums do not vary much from the policies sold at Narita airport (though coverage is a bit higher), but the multiple trip one year policy looks like a very good product for my needs.

In the course of this research process for myself, I found out that they also have year around health insurance for people living abroad and do the staff requirements for some of the international schools. This might be the thing for your mother.

There are other companies that sell these international health coverages too (they are generic products). You can shop around. Even the Japanese insurance companies like AIU have some products that might fit your needs. They tend to have lower coverage (but possibly still adequate) for similar or higher premiums. Sometimes communication with the domestic companies can be a problem.

You might also consider working on the Japanese immigration angle for a long-term stay. If you look in the immigration section of these discussions, I think someone else was trying to get a mother over here at some point. I think you can get a grandmom here on a dependent visa. That way she could stay or go back and come again as needed or as plans change and you get the write-off on your tax return for taking care of a dependent (I think it is the same as for a child).

I was on NHI. I got off by leaving my visa (after 3 years here) I came back on a new work visa. Then I used Global for one year before I got married. They covered me very well. I had a kidney infection (one week in St. Luke's at Y30,000 a day) and a broken arm which was completely mis-treated here and I returned to the USA for treatment. They paid that all in full also. Good experience. If you want a list of private medical insurers they hand them out at Tokyo Medical and Surgical Clinic (across the street from main entrance to Tokyo tower). They might fax it to you if you call. I don't know.

The other way to get off NHI that I know of is to prove that you have a private coverage that is adequate.

I personally am on GMC GESTION now used by the majority of French companies and many British companies also. They have a website http://www.henner.com/angl/index.html and they take individuals not just companies. They pay well and I've been very happy with them. Depending on how much you pay they'll do dental and vision also. They paid my glasses that I got at COSTCO. They now cover LASIK (after I got mine done). I got three root canals and three crowns here in Japan at Y300,000 each, all covered 100%.

International Health Insurance policies are sold by a bunch of people. For example, GIG (was a sponsor for this web site for about 6 months) sells some health insurance coverage products (contact luke@gigjapan.com). And there are others such as:
http://www.william-russell.com/
http://www.henner.com/ (mentioned by Robin above)
etc.
They sell insurance provided by a variety of companies based in the UK, etc., such as Global, JBI, etc.

I'm new to Japan. I live in the Chofu area of Tokyo now. I need some general information on Health Care in Japan. From what I understand, there are basically two options: NHI or private. I am not yet working. My wife is. She said that we currently have the private option and not NHI. My wife is about two months pregnant. I just want to make sure we have the coverage that makes the most sense for us. I believe it costs us about 20,000 yen/month for the two of us to be covered.

Aside from coverage for the preganancy, how do general office visits work? Is there a co-pay with private insurance?

Thanks for any information you might be able to provide.

Hi Chuch, Are you asking about Japanese health care or about a comparison between NHI and private insurance?
If you are talking about Japanese health care, it is one of the top 10 or 15 in the world. If you are asking about comparing NHI with private insurance, then it gets tricky because private insurance varies depending on the policy that you have. It's a bit easier to ask explicit questions about NHI. All insurances have caps on various services. For example there is often a fairly low cap on mental health services clinical coverage, and a somewhat higher cap on psychiatric hospitalizations. Some private insurances don't cover pregnancy at all, many don't cover vision correction or dental work, etc.

Specifically, I think that usually with private insurance you have to pay in full when the service is provided. Then you submit the receipts and whatever forms are required to your private health insurance and they reimburse you whatever they cover.

I think I'm still learning a lot about the various insurances. Through my wife's employer we are covered. Is this considered "private"? I know it's not NHI. From what I understand different employers offer different plans. Basically I would like to know if the coverage through my wife's employer would be the best option to have when having a baby.

It seems that even with her insurance we have to pay upon each visit. The first one was 5500 yen, the second 3200.

Hi Chuch and all,

Anyone, do correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that you should always apply for NHI if you're not covered by a health insurance association that your company may belong to, because I can't recall any private insurance companies that will cover any portion of a short visit to a clinic when you catch a common cold with say high fever. If you never go to the doctors, you will not get back the insurance fee you paid to either NHI or an association, but that's better than to nearly go broke when you catch cold.

And my understanding is that to have more assurance, say to get more money back in case you are hospitalised for a long time, you can apply for private insurance. And even if you never go to the doctors, most private insurance companies have a program where you will get your money back if you don't use their insurance after a certain amount of years.

In any case, I can't recall any kind of insurance that will cover pregnancy that has no problem at all (for example, if you end up needing a forceps delivery, then your insurance can cover most of your hostpital fee).

Also, the post office handles insurance that is similar to those of private companies.

Again, correct me if I'm wrong so that I can save more money. And I really am not up-dated on these things. But you usually can get all the details at the administration section of the employee's company (in Chuch's case, his wife's company).

I'd like to add to my previous message.

So if my understanding is correct, in Chuch's case, he doesn't have to apply for NHI since his family is already covered through his wife's company.

But his family is free to apply for more security through a private insurance company of their choice.

If anything unfortunate should happen during his wife's pregnancy, a private insurance will work fortunately. If the pregnancy is fortunate all the way, then you don't get any insurance money for it.

Again, please double check.

Yuko and Chuch,
It really depends on the insurance company as to whether or not you are reimbursed for a healthy pregnancy. Some private insurances such as Cigna will reimburse you up to 100% for a healthy pregnancy, not just one with compilications.

Linda

Thank you Linda.
It's really good to know about options like Cigna. Although I couldn't find out about their policies concerning Japan through the internet, and although I don't have plans to be pregnant, I'm sure I can contact them to find out details when I need to.

Marsh Pty Ltd Expat Health coverage also cover 100% for a healthy pregnancy. Seems to be geared for Australian expats, but maybe worth a look even if your'e not. Unfortunately, like Cigna they don't state the premiums so you probably have to email them for a brochure.
{http://www.marsh.com.au/Affinity/ExpatriateHealth.html

Here's another private provider for expats: http://www.mpih-jp.com/

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My wife an I have regular insurance through our employers (National Health Insurance). We would like to purchase supplemental insurance for any part that is not covered by NHI, as well as maternity coverage for the future. Please advise what our options are. Do we need to purchase 100% coverage from private insurers or there are some supplemental ones? (We DO NOT want to quit NHI.) Please recommend some insurance companies please (of course they could be Japanese companies). THANKS!

Hi Adam (just kidding). Thanks to all of you! I received some really good tips from some of you. Anyway, I ended up buying 2 policies: (1) For my wife -- IHI (International Health Insurance), a Danish company; and (2) For me: MedEx administered by International Medical Group, Inc. ("IMG") The agent for IHI, Mr. Daniel Peterson was extremely helpful (IHI's e-mail: info@ihidanmark.jp; website: www.ihidanmark.jp); The broker for IMG, Alex Routh, was equally helpful (Alex's e-mail: arouth@medexplan.com)
Perhaps you may want to explore the above choices as well;
Best wishes!