Expat in Spain shares ‘common regret’ about moving to the country

According to James Blick, a New Zealand-born expat in Spain from Spain Revealed, there are a few “common regrets” from people who move to Spain. James claimed that one major mistake is “getting health insurance the wrong way” – going straight to the provider rather than a broker.

Telling potential expats the “mistakes to avoid when moving to Spain”, James warned that it’s important to get your healthcare insurance right so as to dodge problems later down the line.

He said: “Healthcare is important for two reasons when moving to Spain. One, obviously you want to have healthcare because you want to be looked after. Two, you possibly need private healthcare in order to get the visa you need to move to Spain.”

The expat explained where people tend to go wrong. James claimed that most expats look up the insurance companies who provide policies for people moving, and get their policy from the insurance company directly.

The private healthcare companies provide “perfect healthcare policies for people moving here that suit the immigration requirements and fully cover you for anything that might happen”.

However, the “trap” is “going straight to the private healthcare companies”.

He explained that the “problem” with this is that now the insurance company is the expat’s first point of communication for the duration of the policy.

Then, if you’re an expat who calls their provider with a problem, you will end up speaking to a call centre operator who may not be proficient in English – or very “helpful”.

James advised: “You want a personalised service. In order to get your private healthcare set up, I’d always recommend going through an agent or broker.”

The expat explained that an agent or broker will represent the healthcare provider. It costs the same – the big difference is that they will help you through the process.

He explained that they would help you set up the policy and do the paperwork, plus communicate any existing health conditions you might have.

During the life of the policy, the broker or agent will also be the person you communicate with if any issues arise.

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