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Customer service: The forgotten factor when choosing health insurance

You’re buried under a huge list of things to do before you make the big move overseas – with getting a good health insurance package sure to be near the top, it may be something which causes you some stress.

What’s often overlooked at this stage is just how important dealing with a company which knows what customer service is when it comes to making things much easier all around.

Of course, you can secure for yourself a better level of customer service than you might normally expect by choosing a broker instead of going direct to the insurance company in terms of the packages which you will get offered.

When you’re looking over the internet, comparing dozens of different deals and being bombarded with jargon and numbers which you don’t understand, finding the best deal can be very complicated.

And for some people, a broker’s job is to be able to communicate with you calmly and effectively so that they can find out what you want even before you realise what exactly you are looking for yourself. This requires a lot of patience on the part of the broker to listen to your needs when you may not know exactly what they are, and use top quality communication skills to quickly find the best package.

Knowledge of the market is of course a central part of delivering great customer service. It is great to have people skills, these are of course an important part of the job, even an essential part – but it’s no good if the wrong product is sold to a customer.

Afterwards clients may discover they were mis-sold, and that creates bad feeling on both sides and is very detrimental to repeat business so this is why brokers place a lot of emphasis on getting it right from the start.

And later, when you find your package wasn’t quite what you expected, how does your broker or insurer handle it? An insurer, right from the start is going to act in their own best interests, which may not be the same as yours. The insurer has a financial incentive to not pay out if there is a quibble over the details, but if you have a broker, an added dimension of customer service will come in the form of acting in your best interests, not the insurers.

It’s not only about the human aspect of course – there are other areas of good customer service such as an online facility for claims and general question handling – is it easy to use? Does the site have a mobile-friendly version?

Dealing with health insurance matters

When dealing with health insurance matters, convenience is king because there is often a lot of paperwork to be done. So if it can be done online in an easy manner without having to stop and try to work out what exactly you have to do, every step of the way, this can deliver great customer service.

Don’t take this article’s word for it – check out China Expat Health’s customer service credentials for yourself by contacting us now to see what health insurance coverage we can offer you.