What Does Emergency Evacuation Benefit Cover in a Health Plan?

Emergency evacuation benefit is a common benefit found in most health plans in China offered by various insurance companies, but what exactly does it cover?

This is a benefit that can cover emergency medical evacuation to difference places (or countries) for treatment when the treatment is not available locally.

For example, if you are hospitalized due to a critical illness, and the treatment needed is not available locally and you need to be treated back home or at a major hospital in another city, this benefit can cover the costs that moves you from A to B.

Such evacuations, are often relatively costly, as it involves special medical equipment and transportation tools such as helicopters, etc.

International evacuations from China for example, could cost between $50,000 to $150,000. A Canadian expat in Beijing once suffered severe stroke and needed to be evacuated to a hospital in Vancouver. The air ambulance, equipped with medical staff and specialized equipment, cost around $85,000.

As for how much does emergency evacuation benefit cover, most plans could provide full coverage up to their annual maximum limits, which are often high and could cover up to several millions, tens of millions RMB etc.

Such benefit normally includes a repatriation of mortal remains benefit as well, where if the insured is deceased, the insurance could cover the costs of burials, and transportation of the remains back to home country. However not all plans could cover global repatriation, which is something you should confirm before you make any decision.

About the author

I'm an insurance broker at Mingya Insurance Brokers based in Beijing, and my company works with multiple insurance companies in China providing insurance plans eligible for expatriates in China. Our insurance partners include AXA, Allianz, AIG, Bupa, Cigna, GBG, MSH, Medilink, Ping An etc.

I specialise on insurance solution planning for expatriates in China, particularly health insurance. I have been assisting expatriates in China with their insurance solution planning since 2018, as well as group insurance planning for corporates and institutions' foreign employees. Currently our clientele includes international schools, foreign enterprises, embassies and so on.

I was born in Beijing, and am able to communicate in fluent English and Mandarin. I held a financial advisor's license issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for 2 years, and I am currently holding an insurance broker's license issued by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) since 2018.