How to choose an independent international health insurance adviser.
“Independent” is a word any adviser can use. These eight questions test it, and under each one is our own answer, with the page where you can check it.
In brief
How do you choose an independent international health insurance adviser?
Ask how they are paid, which insurers they can place, and what you receive in writing.
- Payment: whether a higher premium can mean higher remuneration.
- Scope: whether they read the contracts you already hold.
- In writing: findings, alternatives and reasons, including keeping what you have.
Eight questions to ask any adviser, including us.
Ask them of every adviser you speak to. Our answers come from pages on this site, so you can check them rather than take our word for it.
| Ask | Why it matters | Our answer, and where to check it |
|---|---|---|
| How are you paid? | A fee, a commission or both. If the insurer pays a percentage of the premium, a higher premium can mean higher pay. | International cover is placed on a courtage basis: the insurer pays a percentage of the premium when a policy is placed. A higher premium can mean higher remuneration; this payment model does not remove that potential conflict. Our written report sets out the reasons for a recommendation, the alternatives considered and whether keeping existing cover is appropriate. There is no fee for the review or written report, whether or not you arrange cover through us. How cover is placed and how we are paid. |
| Who is regulated, and can I check the register? | The firm that advises and the firm that places the cover can be different firms. Ask which one is on the register. | Expat Savvy is an advisory practice and holds no insurance licences of its own. International cover is placed through SIP Medical Family Office. Availability depends on your residence, the product and the relevant SIP entity; we check the placement route before arranging cover. The register entries are linked from our about page. |
| Which insurers can you place for me, and are you tied to any? | A selection is not the market. Ask what the adviser can offer for your residence, and what they cannot. | We hold no exclusive arrangement with any insurer. Our insurer pages cover a selected research set of seven ranges, not the whole market, and say so: how we make the comparison. |
| Will you read the policies I already hold? | A replacement can add exclusions and waiting periods. The cover you have may already accept your conditions. | Yes: the schedule, the wording and the personal endorsements, read together. A second opinion on your international health insurance. |
| What do I get in writing, and can it say keep what you have? | A written recommendation with reasons is something you can check, and take to someone else. | A Private Client Report one working day after the 45-minute consultation: the documents reviewed, the findings, the alternatives considered and the recommendation with its reasons. Sometimes it says: keep what you have. Read a fictional sample. |
| Who exactly is the adviser? | A named person with a page you can read is easier to hold to account than a brand. | Robert Kolar reviews health insurance and Nicole Bohne life and protection. SIP colleagues support international cover. The team page says who does what. |
| What happens after I buy, and what will you not do? | Insurers decide claims, and a good adviser says so before you buy. | Once cover is placed through us, Robert or Nicole help you through a claim. The insurer decides whether it is paid: we cannot decide a claim, guarantee that an insurer will accept an application or bind it to cover a condition, and this is not a medical diagnosis, a clinical second opinion or a legal opinion. What the documents say about approvals, renewal and moving: after you buy. |
| What do clients say, and about whom? | Reviews help only if you know whose they are. | 4.9 from 68 reviews of our Swiss practice on Google. They are the Swiss practice’s reviews: the international site is newer than the work. Read them on Google. |
An adviser who answers all eight in writing, and lets you check the answers, is easier to compare than one who answers none.
The decisions around the choice.
Choosing the adviser is one decision. Choosing the route is another: broker or buy direct sets the two side by side. Using the cover once you have it is a third: what happens after you buy.
If you already hold a policy, a renewal or a move is the moment to have it read: a second opinion on your international health insurance. If you want to see the written output first, the sample report is fictional and complete.
For the insurers themselves, with no ratings and no premiums, start from the selection guide.
Choosing an adviser: your questions.
Is an adviser different from a comparison site or a quote engine?
The useful distinction is scope. Ask whether the service includes the contracts you already hold, which insurers and products can be considered for your residence, how the provider is paid, and whether the findings and alternatives will be put in writing.
How is an independent adviser paid for international health insurance?
International cover is placed on a courtage basis: the insurer pays a percentage of the premium when a policy is placed. A higher premium can mean higher remuneration; this payment model does not remove that potential conflict. Our written report sets out the reasons for a recommendation, the alternatives considered and whether keeping existing cover is appropriate. There is no fee for the review or written report, whether or not you arrange cover through us.
Do you help if I have to make a claim?
Yes. Once cover is placed through us, Robert or Nicole help you through a claim. The insurer decides whether it is paid: we cannot decide a claim, guarantee that an insurer will accept an application or bind it to cover a condition.
Can I use the report and still buy elsewhere?
Yes. The report is yours whether you act on it, discuss it with another adviser or keep your existing arrangements, and there is no fee for it whether or not you arrange cover through us.
Does Expat Savvy hold an insurance licence?
Expat Savvy is an advisory practice and holds no insurance licences of its own. International cover is placed through SIP Medical Family Office. Availability depends on your residence, the product and the relevant SIP entity; we check the placement route before arranging cover. The register entries are on our about page.
The arrangement, in plain words.
Expat Savvy is an advisory practice and holds no insurance licences of its own. International cover is placed through SIP Medical Family Office. Availability depends on your residence, the product and the relevant SIP entity; we check the placement route before arranging cover.
We hold no exclusive arrangement with any insurer, and no insurer owns part of this business. That does not mean every insurer or product is available to every client. The scope of a recommendation depends on the cover we can consider and arrange for your circumstances.
International cover is placed on a courtage basis: the insurer pays a percentage of the premium when a policy is placed. A higher premium can mean higher remuneration; this payment model does not remove that potential conflict. Our written report sets out the reasons for a recommendation, the alternatives considered and whether keeping existing cover is appropriate. There is no fee for the review or written report, whether or not you arrange cover through us.
Ask us to explain the remuneration attached to a proposed placement. You can read the reasoning before deciding, ask why an alternative was left out, or take the report to another adviser.
These register entries identify the relevant SIP companies, not Expat Savvy: FINMA intermediary register — Switzerland, SIP Switzerland AG registration F01111824 · FMA register — Liechtenstein, SIP Europe AG licence 10116 · FCA register — United Kingdom, SIP MFO Ltd firm reference 989310. The entities and their terms of business are on our about page.
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