Health And Life Insurance

Please help the animals of Mazatlan

A beautiful house in the marina section of El Cid

If you are considering moving to Mazatlan, why not try it out in style? We are renting our home for the next two years for only $2000 USD per month. For that you get 4 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, an office, a game room, and a swimming pool. Click on the picture for lots more info.

Life Insurance

Life insurance can be more difficult to get if you are living as an expat outside of the US.

Brokers

Midland National Life Insurance is AM Best rated A+ and S&P rates them AA. They offer expats life insurance.

Health Insurance

Is an issue expats living here or planning to need to address. What has happened is many have just not bothered, assuming, I suppose, they'll stay healthy forever. I know of many Canadians here - and in Lake Chapala, where my wife Lesley and I used to live - who still rely on Canadian-based health insurance, even though they live here virtually year-round. That happens to be illegal.

To qualify for essentially free health care in Canada, most provinces require that one can only be out of the country for three months or less a year - Ontario allows you to be out of the country for a longer period of time. Many Canadian expats are abusing this rule - and it's not fair. That's because Canadian taxes are high, largely because of universal health care.

Further, OHIP and the other provincial health care organizations only cover their citizens at price levels prevailing in those provinces, which means you could be stuck with a bill for extra costs outside of Canada. Another reason to look at extended health care coverage when travelling outside of Canada.

Two groups that have first rate information on current Canadian coverage are the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP)and the Canadian Snowbirds Association.

In the case of most Americans in Mexico they have more options than Canadians, ironically (including relying on military-based health coverage). The crux of the issue, for all expats, is how much do they plan to be back in the States, Canada or wherever. If they're going to live here year-round, they should just buy a Mexican-based policy or just find a good doctor and pay cash for his services (it's not that expensive here, as we all know). If they're planning to go back to visit often, they need some form of coverage for "back there". We've all heard horror stories of people who have literally been forced into bankruptcy by unexpected medical costs. If that's the case, there are several international policy options.

If you are ex-US military, this site gives information on an affordable international option.

Brokers

Juan Chong is a well known local agent that provides insurance through ING. Very reliable and capable and he can help with ALL your insurance needs. Juan speaks excellent English.

Another broker is Tony & Patricia. Their website is http://www.seguros-insurance.net. Or call in the US at 480-445-9324.

Multi NationalUnderwriters has a number of policies you can apply for online. I found their rates to be among the best. They have options for Worldwide or Mexico only policies. They are licensed in the state of Indiana. An obvious advantage to purchasing coverage from a company based in the US is that the policy is written in English. Application for coverage can be made online.

Allianz Mexico , an affiliate to Allianz International

Groupo Inbursa has a local office and offers Mexico only coverage. They offer an inexpensive Proferred Provider Network plan (or PPO plan). This plan also has an emergency medical coverage option outside of Mexico, but the benefits are limited. Groupo offers other "full coverage" options which are considerably more expensive. The office is on Ejercito Mexico.

Another very low cost option for retirees is IMSS . Click on the report "IMMS Report" by Rick Lewis. IMSS has a mixed reputation for quality of care.

Most US health insurance policies provide some type of emergency coverage outside the US (check before you leave). If your insurance policy only provides coverage in the US consider Skymed insurance. Tel. 1-800-475-9633 for specific questions. Another option for travel outside the US is emergency medical travel insurance like this .

For Canadians, there is another option for traveling outside of Canada - CIBC .

I think it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, that you should read any insurance policy (auto, home, health) carefully - especially the exclusions and limitations sections.

Rates For Comparison Purposes:

A 45 year old woman under the Groupo plan, was under $400 a year ($1000 deductible). Under this plan routine care is not covered, but that type of care is cheap enough to pay yourself.

The Multinational plan charged $700 for a 45 year old male ($2000 deductible). The Multi National plan covers everything including many services not covered under the Groupo plan. If you have treatment in Mexico (or anywhere else in the world, including Europe) your bills are covered at 100%. If you elect treatment in the US or Canada, your charges are paid at 80% up to an additional $5000 deductible.

An excellent article on the quality of care in Mexico can be found here

Health Savings Accounts

Many of the high deductible health insurance policies above qualify for special tax treatment by the IRS. If you don't have an HSA, consider getting one. Your contributions to the plan are tax deductible (just like an IRA) and so is the interest on the account. Most HSA's are administered only by the company that sells the insurance coverage. HSA Trustee Services is a company that will adminster the plan for you and pay interest on your account. The account is held with a bank and you receive a debit card to obtain your reimbursements.

Thanks to Jim Bentein for helping me put together the information on this page.

David Shafer September 04, 2005