Top 9 Insurance Companies in South Korea for Expats
The top ten insurance companies in South Korea include Cigna, AXA, Bupa Global, and other leading international providers. These insurance companies are popular choices with expats due to their comprehensive plans, wide networks, and excellent customer service.
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Are you an expat moving to South Korea and looking for insurance? Do you want to secure a private health insurance plan to extend your coverage? This article from Pacific Prime will help you understand your insurance options while in South Korea.
We will share the top insurance companies in South Korea and a comprehensive overview of their insurance plans and benefits. Keep reading to learn all about the best insurance providers in South Korea for expats!
Best 9 Insurance Companies for Expats Abroad in South Korea
The best nine insurance companies for expats in South Korea are:
These insurance companies often have decades of experience providing international insurance and offer products that can fit any budget or lifestyle.
AXA for Expats in South Korea
AXA is a global health insurance provider with 55 years of experience insuring expats and their families. Its health insurance plans are offered in five coverage tiers: Foundation, Standard, Comprehensive, Prestige, and Prestige Plus.
Each of these plans each plan includes comprehensive inpatient coverage, with annual limits ranging from KRW 215,291,200 to 10,764,560,000. Exact coverage benefits will vary from plan to plan.
The core benefits included in all five plans are:
- Inpatient Hospital Charges and Surgeries
- Emergency Care
- Medical Evacuation and Repatriation
- Wide Range of Cancer Treatments
- Ambulance Transport
- CT, PET, and MRI Scans
The more inclusive plans, Prestige and Prestige Plus, offer these valuable additional benefits:
- Routine Pregnancy Care
- Annual Health Checks
In addition to these medical benefits, AXA offers other important services to their members with each of their five plans. This includes 24/7 personal support, claims repaid within 48 hours, second medical opinions, and virtual doctor services.
Bupa Global for Expats in South Korea
Bupa Global offers international health insurance coverage for expats in South Korea with their plans Major Medical, Select, Premier, and Elite. Their most affordable plan offers an annual benefit limit of KRW 5,920,508,000.
Their plans and their coverage details may vary by region, so ask your broker for more information. Below, we have compiled a short table illustrating the coverage benefits offered by Bupa Global.
| Bupa Insurance Coverage Availability for Expats in South Korea | |
| Benefit | Availability through Bupa |
| Inpatient & Outpatient Coverage | Available |
| Emergency Evacuation and Repatriation | Available on many plans |
| Dental Coverage | Available with a 24-month waiting period for orthodontic benefits |
| Maternity Coverage | Available with a 12-month waiting period |
| Coverage for Annual Health Checks | Available |
| Vaccination Coverage | Available for routine and travel vaccines |
Allianz Care for Expats in South Korea
Allianz Care is one of the largest international health insurance providers on the market today, and offers expats in South Korea excellent private health insurance coverage. The main three plans they offer expat individuals and families are Allianz Care, Allianz Care Plus, and Allianz Care Pro plans.
We have included the short table below to compare Allianz plan benefits.
| Allianz Plan Benefits for Expats in South Korea | |||
| Care Plan | Care Plus Plan | Care Pro Plan | |
| Annual Limit | KRW 3,363,925,000 | KRW 5,382,280,000 | KRW 6,727,850,000 |
| Type of Room | Semi-Private | Private | Private |
| Inpatient / Day-Care | Covered | Covered | Covered |
| Oncology | Covered | Covered | Covered |
| Medical Evacuation | Covered | Covered | Covered |
In addition to their core Care plans, they also offer additional add-on plans to further your coverage. These plans include their Out-Patient Plan, Dental Plan, Repatriation Plan, and
Maternity Plan. These plans offer important additional treatment coverage for expats in South Korea.
Cigna for Expats in South Korea
Cigna Global offers international health insurance to expats in South Korea with their Silver, Gold, and Platinum Plans. Cigna Global is one of the largest international health insurance providers, with a broad global network of 1.65 million hospitals, doctors, and clinics.
Cigna’s three health insurance plans offer comprehensive coverage for inpatient and outpatient services and more. The core benefits shared by these plans are:
- Inpatient and day patient coverage
- Full cancer care
- Newborn care coverage
- Private hospital rooms
- Hospital stays and treatments
Some additional coverage that can be added to these plans are:
- Dental and vision benefits
- Evacuation and Crisis Assistance Plus™
- Outpatient services
- Health and wellbeing services
William Russell for Expats in South Korea
William Russel is a popular international health insurance provider with expats in South Korea due to its comprehensive coverage. They offer health insurance through four standard plans: Bronze, SilverLite, Silver, and Gold. Each plan varies in coverage limits and benefits.
William Russell offers its members extensive benefits and enhanced member services, with personal account managers for their clients. They designed these unique features to help members get the most out of their policies.
We will compare these four plans and their benefits in the table below.
| William Russell Plan Benefits for Expats in South Korea | ||||
| Bronze | SilverLite | Silver | Gold | |
| Annual Benefit Limit | KRW 2,018,355,000 | KRW 2,018,355,000 | KRW 3,363,925,000 | KRW 6,727,850,000 |
| Hospital Accommodations | Semi-private room (option to upgrade to a private room) | Semi-private room (option to upgrade to a private room) | Private room | Private room |
| Hospital Treatment | Full coverage | Full coverage | Full coverage | Full coverage |
| Annual Limit for Out-patient Treatment | No limit | Up to KRW 6,727,850 | No limit | No limit |
| Primary Medical Care | Post-hospital treatment only | Up to KRW 2,018,355 | Full coverage | Full coverage |
VUMI for Expats in South Korea
VIP Universal Medical Insurance Group (VUMI) Insurance offers comprehensive health and travel insurance for expats in South Korea. VUMI offers individual health insurance through its Global Flex VIP Plans.
Global Flex VIP plans are available in five different coverage tiers: Basic, Standard, Superior, Ultra, and Total. Each plan has different coverage limits, but all five plans include some core benefits like standard private hospital room coverage and fully covered ICU stays.
We will share more about the Global Flex VIP Plans below.
- Global Flex VIP Basic Plan: The VIP Basic plan offers the most affordable insurance option to expats in South Korea. It offers inpatient coverage, with outpatient services only being covered before and after surgery.
- Global Flex VIP Standard Plan: This plan offers a step-up in coverage from the Basic plan, with optional wellness and optical benefits.
- Global Flex VIP Superior Plan: The Superior Plan has options for additional optical and maternity benefits and also includes coverage for outpatient benefits like complementary therapies.
- Global Flex VIP Ultra Plan: The Ultra plan is the second most comprehensive health insurance plan VUMI offers. This plan includes routine dental coverage and maternity benefits. Optical benefits can be added as well.
- Global Flex VIP Total Plan: The most comprehensive of VUMI’s health insurance policies. This plan includes the highest benefit limits and includes high coverage for dental and maternity benefits.
IMG for Expats in South Korea
IMG Global is an international insurance company that offers health and travel insurance to expat individuals and families in South Korea. Their plans are globally portable, with the choice of worldwide coverage or worldwide excluding the US, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Singapore, and Taiwan.
IMG Global provides international health insurance plans with benefits that include inpatient care, cancer treatment, and prescription coverage. These plans come in four different coverage tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
The annual limits for these plans are listed below:
- Bronze: USD $1,000,000 per individual
- Silver: USD $5,000,000 per individual
- Gold: USD $5,000,000 per individual
- Platinum: USD $8,000,000 per individual
In addition to the core inpatient benefits offered in IMG’s plans, expats may also be able to purchase additional riders to further their benefits. This includes a Dental, Vision, Terrorism protection, and Sports rider.
David Shield for Expats in South Korea
David Shield is one of the top insurance companies in South Korea due to their unique health insurance solutions and excellent customer service. They offer their members access to quality healthcare in East Asia and across the world. They are also known for their product PassportCard.
David Shield offers individuals the option of health insurance plans with worldwide coverage including USA or excluding USA coverage. Expats looking to save money on their premiums can choose the excluding USA coverage plan.
Some key benefits included in David Shield plans are:
- Hospitalization
- Surgery
- Physician Visits
- Maternity and Infant Care
David Shield also offers maximum flexibility for its members by allowing them to select the medical service provider of their choice from their extensive network.
GeoBlue for Expats in South Korea
GeoBlue is a global insurance company offering travel and health insurance plans for individuals, families, students, and groups in South Korea and worldwide. They provide their members access to an extensive provider network and offer customizable, comprehensive plans.
GeoBlue offers expat health insurance through their plans Xplorer Premier and Xplorer Essential. The Xplorer Premier plan comes with United States coverage, while Xplorer Essential can have US coverage added at a fee.
These plans come with benefits like:
- Inpatient and Outpatient Coverage
- Emergency Evacuation and Repatriation
- Dental Coverage (With a 3-month Waiting Period)
- Maternity Coverage (With a 12-month Waiting Period)
- Coverage for Annual Health Checks
- Vaccination Coverage
The Xplorer plans come with different choices of deductibles, and each annual maximum limit will depend on the deductible chosen. GeoBlue plans are especially popular with expats moving to South Korea from the US due to the Xplorer Premier’s built-in US coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Is health insurance required in South Korea?
Foreigners staying longer than six months in South Korea are required to sign up with South Korea’s National Health Insurance System (NHI). While NHI insurance can cover basic inpatient and outpatient costs, foreigners and expats alike often choose to purchase additional private insurance.
Do I need worldwide coverage for my health insurance plan in South Korea?
If you are an expat in South Korea with plans to travel to other countries, you will benefit from worldwide coverage. Health insurance plans with worldwide coverage can protect you as travel in South Korea, back in your home country, and anywhere else on the globe.
How can I customize my health insurance plan?
You can customize your health insurance plan by choosing any optional riders you would like to add to your core plan, such as maternity, optical, or dental benefits. Customizable benefits will vary across insurance providers and policies.
Conclusion
Insurance companies like AXA, Cigna, VUMI, and all carry comprehensive insurance plans for expats in South Korea. Take the time to compare plans from each provider to ensure you understand their terms and are getting the plan that fits your needs best.
If you’re ready to secure an international health insurance plan, contact the experts at Pacific Prime. As an insurance broker, Pacific Prime is not tied to one specific provider. This means we can help you shop around for the best fit for you among different providers, and our advice is free and unbiased.
If you’d like to see quotes for health insurance on your own, use our free quote tool on our website!
If you enjoyed this article, check out our others on the top insurance companies in Portugal and Japan!
Serena earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, Canada. As such, she is an avid advocate of mental health and is fascinated by all things psychology (especially if it’s cognitive psychology!).
Her previous work experience includes teaching toddlers to read, writing for a travel/wellness online magazine, and then a business news blog. These combined experiences give her the skills and insights she needs to explain complex ideas in a succinct way. Being the daughter of an immigrant and a traveler herself, she is passionate about educating expats and digital nomads on travel and international health insurance.
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