Allianz Care

What Allianz Care is

Allianz Care is an insurer, not a broker or a comparison site. It sells international health insurance, meaning year-round medical cover for people living abroad, plus a short-term plan for stays under a year. Its terms-of-use page names the entity behind the site: "the owner of the website whose registered name is AWP Health & Life SA when relating to Health and Life Insurance and AP Solutions GmbH when relating to Employee Global Benefit Programs, both affiliates of Allianz Partners S.A.S." For the personal health cover described here, that entity is AWP Health & Life SA.

The regulatory-information page lists the branches and how each is registered. The site states: "Registered office address: 7 rue Dora Maar, 93400 Saint Ouen France." Its Irish branch is "Registered in the Irish Companies Registration Office Registered No. 907619," with an address at "15 Joyce Way Park West Business Campus Nangor Road Dublin 12, Ireland." A Qatar branch is "Authorised by the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority," and a Canadian branch is "Regulated by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, under the Insurance Companies Act, Canada." The page for the UK plans says they "were created in partnership with our sister company, AWP P&C SA UK (Allianz Assistance) which is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority."

The About Allianz page gives scale figures for the wider Allianz Group rather than for AWP Health & Life SA: "156,000 employees" worldwide, a "Total business volume of 180 billion euros and an operating profit of 16.0 billion euros," "around 128 million" private and corporate customers, and a presence in "nearly 70 countries."

The Care plans and their limits

The core personal product is called Care, and it is built in three steps. The professionals page says to "Choose your Core plan and pick an optional deductible," then "Add any of the optional plans" such as out-patient and dental, then choose an area of cover: "Worldwide, Worldwide excluding USA, Africa or Europe." The core plans cover in-patient and day-care treatment, and the page says the plans "include coverage for a wide range of in-patient, day-care, and maternity treatments, as well as evacuations and repatriations." It adds: "Our plans also include treatment for covid-19."

There are three core tiers on the professionals page, each with a stated maximum plan limit:

• Care Base, "Our Entry-Level Plan," covering private room, diagnostic tests, surgeries, oncology, rehabilitation, nursing at home and emergency out-patient treatment. Max. Plan Limit: "£830,000/€1,000,000 /US$ 1,350,000/CHF 1,300,000."
• Care Enhanced adds maternity, preventive surgery, bariatric surgery and drug and alcohol addiction treatment. Max. Plan Limit: "£1,660,000/€2,000,000 /US$ 2,700,000/CHF 2,600,000."
• Care Signature, "Our highest level of cover," adds laser eye treatment on top of that. Max. Plan Limit: "£3,100,000/€3,703,705 /US$5,000,000 /CHF 4,814,815."

Maternity sits only in the upper two tiers: the site describes "Allianz's Care Enhanced and Care Signature Plans, covering routine maternity care and complications during pregnancy and childbirth," and says "Fertility treatment is available with the Care Signature out-patient plan." The optional out-patient plan covers "GP visits, diagnostic tests, vaccinations, regular health checks and more," and the site says an out-patient deductible can be chosen to lower premiums. The dental plan covers "dental treatments, surgeries, orthodontics and more." The UK version of Care uses the same three tier names and limits, with the areas of cover listed as "Worldwide, Worldwide excluding USA or Europe."

Flexicare for shorter stays

For people abroad for less than a year the site sells a separate plan. It says "Our Flexicare plan is a suitable option for nomads and their families who are temporarily working or living abroad for less than a year," and "You can choose between a 3, 6, 9 or 12 month policy and we will cover your medical costs such as hospital visits, surgeries, prescription drugs, cancer treatment, diagnostic tests and GP visits." The nomad page explains the difference with the annual product: the short-term plans run "without being tied into automatic renewals," while for stays of more than 12 months "Our annual international health cover renews automatically." Payment for the nomad plan is described as "quarterly or annually by card."

Allianz Care does not sell trip cover itself. The nomad FAQ says: "We do not provide travel or holiday insurance," and points travel-insurance quotes to Allianz Travel.

Buying, pre-existing conditions and claims

There are no published premiums; buying runs through "Get a quote" or a request for a callback from the sales team. For the annual plans the site says premiums can be paid "annually, half-yearly, quarterly or monthly by direct debit card," with "administration surcharges: 0% for annual payment, 3% for half-yearly payments, 4% for quarterly payments and 5% for monthly payments." It also says that "For most plans you can choose coverage that includes or excludes the USA."

On contract length the FAQ says "Most of our health insurance contracts are for one year," and "there is a 30 day cooling off period from the start date. After this, the policy may not be cancelled until renewal." Dependents can be added, each "subject to their own premium which would be derived from their age, cost of healthcare in the primary country of residence and any special condition."

Pre-existing conditions depend on the underwriting route. Under full medical underwriting, the FAQ says, "pre-existing conditions are generally covered unless we say otherwise in your policy documents." Under moratorium, they become eligible only "once you've completed a continuous 24-month period after your start date and have not had symptoms, needed or received treatment, medication, a special diet or advice." The UK page describes moratorium as the quicker route: "There are no medical questionnaires to complete."

For claims the site states "Fully completed medical claims processed within 48 hours," a network of "over 2 million quality medical providers, settling medical bills directly with the provider for most in-patient treatments," and a "24/7 multilingual Helpline and Emergency Assistance Services." Cover is also subject to a sanctions clause that suspends benefits where they would breach United Nations, EU, UK or US sanctions.

Employer plans and brokers

Allianz separately sells a group product called Summit, described as built "for small to mid-sized businesses (covering 3 to 100 employees)." Its tiers carry their own limits: Summit 1750, "Our essential cover," at "Max. Plan Limit: £1,075,000"; Summit 2500, adding out-patient treatment, physiotherapy and palliative care, at "Max. Plan Limit: £1,575,000"; and Summit 4000, adding health checks, cancer screening and preventive surgery, at "Max. Plan Limit: £2,460,000." These are employer plans, not personal cover. The partner FAQ shows that some policies reach buyers through intermediaries, inviting brokers to request a "Terms of Business Agreement or Agency Agreement." No age limit and no claim deadline appear on the plan pages.

Who it suits

Allianz Care fits someone relocating for a year or more who wants a named tier with a published maximum, and who is comfortable getting the premium from a quote. Care Enhanced or Care Signature is where maternity sits, and Care Signature is the one tier with fertility treatment on the out-patient plan. Flexicare fits a nomad or family abroad for 3 to 12 months who does not want automatic renewal. It suits a reader less well if they want trip cover for a holiday, which the site says it does not sell, or a price before giving personal details.