Bupa Global: Bupa's international health insurance, underwritten from Ireland for Europe

Bupa Global is the international brand of the British Bupa group. For residents of the European Union, including France, the insurer is Bupa Global Designated Activity Company (Bupa Global DAC), a company incorporated under Irish law and supervised by the Central Bank of Ireland; the pages intended for Europe state that Bupa Global is the sole insurer of the policy.

Teleconsultation and medical second opinion services are provided by a third-party provider and are not subject to this supervision: they are not part of the insurance cover itself.

For a resident of France, the Global Health Plans range has four plans. Major Medical focuses on hospitalisation and serious conditions, with an annual limit of up to €2,500,000³ per insured person. Select, which adds outpatient care, is capped at up to €1,250,000²; Premier sits between the two, and Elite, a family plan, reaches up to €3,750,000¹.

• Medical evacuation to the nearest appropriate place of treatment and repatriation to the country of residence or nationality, in all plans.
• Maternity reserved for the Elite plan, after the mother has been covered for from 18 months⁶; same waiting period for assisted reproduction.
• Routine dental care covered after from 6 months⁵, health checks after from 10 months⁴.
• An Ultimate plan with no annual limit and a Private Client offering exist, but the former does not appear in the offering displayed for France.

Payment can be made directly to the practitioner or to the insured person, on presentation of supporting documents.

Several levels of annual deductible are offered, with cover starting once cumulative costs exceed the chosen deductible; the amounts are not published on the pages consulted. Prior conditions may be covered after medical review of the application; those that were not declared never are.

The main policyholder must be at least from 18 years⁷. The premium is not published in any form: it is obtained on quotation, and online purchase is not available for these policies.

We were unable to consult the brochures, membership guides and product information documents, as the website blocks automated downloads; deductible amounts, maximum age at enrolment and the full list of exclusions have therefore not been verified.

1. The benefits and limits displayed for their country of residence: the insurer states that they vary from one country to another.
2. The area chosen: excluding the United States, or even Europe, reduces the premium but also the planned treatment available in those countries.
3. How prior conditions are treated in the insurance proposal, before cancelling an existing policy.
4. Whether there is any coordination with the Caisse des Français de l'étranger, which we did not find on any official page.