Chinese students planning to study abroad can now buy insurance at home to cover their medical expenses abroad, the first healthcare product of its kind in China.

China Life Co Ltd said its overseas student policy covers medical expenses in a wide range of foreign countries and offers timely payment by the insurance company.

Offering coverage of up to 12.8 million yuan, the policy covers hospitalization, outpatient treatment, special medical treatment, medical evacuation and transfer.

The insurer promises to quickly pay for students, even in foreign currencies if needed, as long as they go to a hospital or a clinic with authorized licenses, the insurance company said.

It has also opened offices overseas to guarantee the insured get their money in time. If insured students go to designated hospitals, direct billing will eliminate the need to pay cash.

"This product fills a gap in China," said a customer manager of Beijing branch of China Life surnamed Liu.

Nearly 1.07 million Chinese have gone abroad to study over the past three decades. Usually they take medicine with them and buy foreign medical insurance after they settle down in a country.

"But there is always a short period when overseas students have just arrived in a foreign country and got no medical insurance at all," Liu said.

As media reports Chinese students being attacked abroad from time to time, they cannot afford an uncovered period, especially if local police departments or Chinese embassies and consulates do not find out and help them, he said.

Insurance can ensure students get emergency treatment and rescue services from International SOS as long as someone helps to make a phone call. The whole medical expenses can be covered, he said. But he admitted many Chinese parents still have worries about such insurance.

A survey by China Life found that many parents are concerned about complicated procedures for claiming compensation, unbearable long waiting times for payment and a limited range of countries covered.

"We took all these concerns into consideration when we designed the overseas student global medical insurance program, so it does not have those problems," he said.

China Life has a booth at the Beijing International Education Exposition to show visitors the service and convenience of the product.

The insurer has also designed a new product called the China Life Goodhealth International Healthcare Plan for foreign students who study in China.

The product was developed after the Ministry of Education issued a circular last September requiring all foreign students staying in China for more than six months to buy group insurance starting from this September as a prerequisite for registry at colleges.

"We will send representatives to colleges and universities to deal with insurance issues, and plan to provide many value-added services to foreign students here, such as health management, arranging health checkups, emergency rescue and health lectures," he said.

China Life is the top brand in China's insurance sector. A survey in 50 cities showed that 92.3 percent of respondents recognize the name.

Evolving from the People's Insurance Co (Group) founded in 1949, China Life is now China's biggest life insurance company. It was listed on the New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges in 2003 and in Shanghai in 2007.

(China Daily 05/09/2008 page11)