A second opinion on your international health insurance.
Before a renewal, a move or a change of insurer, let us read the cover you already hold. You receive written findings and a reasoned recommendation, including when keeping it makes sense.
In brief
What is a health insurance second opinion?
A review of your existing policy against your current residence, household and plans.
- We read the schedule, wording and personal endorsements together; the brochure is a starting point, not the full contract.
- You receive written findings, the alternatives considered and a recommendation, one working day after the 45-minute consultation. It can be to keep your cover.
- It is an insurance review, not a medical diagnosis, a clinical second opinion or a legal opinion.
When to get a second opinion: the life around the policy has changed.
You may be moving country, leaving an employer plan, adding a family member or facing a renewal increase. You may simply want to understand an exclusion before making a decision.
Those changes do not automatically make your policy unsuitable. They make it worth checking the actual documents against what you now need. We look at existing rights and limitations before considering a replacement.
If you are arranging international insurance for the first time, start with how international health cover works or our first-review process.
What a policy review checks: the clauses behind the cover.
Your policy schedule, wording and personal endorsements are read together. The brochure is a starting point, not the full contract.
Your personal underwriting terms
The application and personal endorsements, including accepted conditions, exclusions and any premium loading. We compare the current position with what a fresh application would leave unresolved.
The renewal and moving rules
Your renewal notice, changes in premium and the wording on residence, eligibility and continuation. We identify what the insurer has confirmed and what needs a written answer before a move or renewal.
The cover you would actually use
Named family members, treatment geography, benefit limits, exclusions and waiting periods. A headline benefit is read together with the conditions and your personal schedule.
Your share and the claims process
Deductibles, co-insurance, separate benefit caps, pre-authorisation and direct-billing rules. We check which questions need resolving with the insurer before planned treatment.
The documents, and your questions.
- The current schedule or certificate, with the people and area of cover named.
- The full policy wording and any personal endorsements or exclusions.
- The latest renewal notice and any proposed alternative quotation.
- Relevant employer-cover documents, intended move date and the questions you want answered.
We explain how to provide these after booking. Keep medical records and detailed health information out of the initial booking notes.
Robert Kolar focuses on health insurance and Nicole Bohne on life and protection. The team page explains the SIP colleagues' roles and the placement relationship.
A written answer you can check.
Your Private Client Report follows within one working day of the 45-minute consultation. It records the documents reviewed, material findings and their references, the alternatives considered, and the recommendation with its reasons.
It also records missing information. If a move, treatment question or proposed replacement needs an insurer's written confirmation, the report says so and identifies the next step. An unanswered question is not presented as a coverage promise.
The report is yours whether you act on it, discuss it with another adviser or keep your existing arrangements.
Keeping cover is an option.
A new policy can involve fresh health questions, different exclusions and new waiting periods. A lower headline premium does not establish that the replacement is suitable. We consider what you would give up as well as what you would gain.
If changing cover is appropriate, the acceptance, exclusions, effective date and any gap between policies need resolving before cancellation. The insurer decides application and claim outcomes; our review does not replace those decisions.
This is a review of insurance arrangements. It does not provide medical diagnosis, a clinical second opinion or a legal opinion.
For a first check yourself, read the existing-policy review checklist and the nine lines of a policy schedule.
Health insurance second opinion: your questions.
What is an international health insurance second opinion?
A review of your existing policy against your current residence, household and plans. We read the schedule, wording and personal endorsements, then give you written findings, the alternatives considered and a recommendation. The recommendation can be to keep your existing cover.
What documents should I prepare?
Your policy schedule or certificate, the complete policy wording, personal endorsements and the latest renewal notice. Include relevant employer-cover documents if the policies overlap. After booking, we explain how to provide the documents; you do not need to put medical details into the booking notes.
Will the review mean changing insurer?
No. A move or renewal is a reason to check the policy, not an automatic reason to replace it. New cover may involve medical underwriting, new exclusions or different eligibility rules. We compare those consequences with retaining your current terms before recommending a change.
Who reviews my cover?
Robert Kolar focuses on health insurance; Nicole Bohne focuses on life and protection. SIP colleagues support international cover where relevant. The scope of the review and the person responsible are established through the booking and intake process.
Is there a fee for the review?
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.
When will I receive the report?
The consultation lasts 45 minutes by video. Your Private Client Report follows within one working day. If documents or insurer answers are missing, it identifies those open questions and the next steps rather than implying that an unresolved point is settled.
What is outside the review?
This is an insurance policy review, not a medical diagnosis, clinical second opinion or legal opinion. We cannot decide a claim, guarantee that an insurer will accept an application or bind it to cover a condition. Where an answer depends on the insurer or a public authority, that confirmation is identified separately.
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.
Ready for a calm conversation about cover?
A first review is free — 45 minutes, in English, wherever in the world you happen to be. We'll listen first. Then you'll hear exactly what we would arrange if the situation were ours. What you do with that is yours to decide.
Book a review