I HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE-NOW I HAVE PEACE OF MIND

I have been researching health insurance the last few weeks.  Asking people who they use and getting a feel for companies here in Kenya.  There seems to be a lot of expat insurance with companies all over the world happy to insure you for living in Kenya.  The last thing I want is to have an accident here in Nairobi/Kenya and have to either pay squillions of dollars for care, have to be air lifted out and cost another gazillion or not have coverage and not being able to seek treatment.  I never worried about private health insurance back home, but I have a feeling it would be a more of a priority here than anywhere back in Australia. 

A few weeks ago I started Googling insurance companies and I found a broker who came back with 7 companies that ranged from 1200AUD to 1500AUD for the year.  I was hoping to get it a little cheaper so I enquired with 2 major companies here in Kenya with options of outpatient which is around 900AUD or you can just opt for the inpatient option for around the 500AUD mark, which I am thinking is all I will need for now.  So if I am involved in an accident and have to be hospitalized or airlifted out I would be covered.  The way the Kenyans drive here (crazy people) I was just worried about being involved in an accident and not having coverage.  Having sold travel insurance for over a decade, I knew to look at all the limits and what the excess was, but I also spoke to a few mzungu’s here and a lot of them are insured with the company I was looking at, AAR, so I am feeling confident I have chosen the right company for me.  I had been dealing with a nice guy at AAR via email, who was always helpful, replied back in a speedy manner with all the answers to questions I was asking and we made an appointment for us to meet and for me to fill in the paperwork. 

It was surprising that he was willing to come to me, so to save me a trip and money into town; we decided to meet Village Market.  Steven said this was not unusual and part of their job, so it worked for me so who was I to complain?  My AAR guy, Michael, arrived on time with a co-worker and with the paperwork to fill in.  They asked if I had any questions and when I told them that I would be travelling for 4 months at the end of the year, I found out that I have a 45 day coverage of travel insurance-worldwide included in my policy.  What a coup!!  So purchasing this policy also saves me some money on my travel insurance with me only having to buy a 35 day policy now instead of a 75 day policy.  I just have to let Michael know a week out before travelling and they will give me a list of reciprocal providers in the countries that I will be travelling to.  So I filled in the form (which looked legit) and I there was a question on what blood type I am.  Now that is a very good question and I really should know that, and I don’t.  So I will have to get a test done to determine that and I know that it is a pretty important thing to know.  I also had to let them know my next of kin was, which Shelly (as always) is and I needed to have her passport number as this is how they find files should something (touchwood) should happen to me.  After signing the forms, providing a passport photo, given a copy of the terms and conditions I was given receipt for the money I was still yet to pay and I asked for the M-Pesa code so that I could pay via my phone account to avoid the 12.5% credit card fees.  I was to do this after our meeting and 25 minutes later they were on their way.  I would see them again in 14 days when they had my insurance card for me, which seems too important to send in the mail and they will personally deliver it to me.  At the end of the meeting I was wondering if I should tip these guys but after asking Steve, he said no as it is part of their job, so I am glad I didn’t. 

I added money to my M-Pesa account via an M-Pesa dealer at the Village Market, which basically puts money onto your phone sim account and with a password you can send money to friends, family and also pay bills via this source.  M-Pesa which means M for mobile and pesa is Swahili for money.  M-Pesa is a mobile-phone based money transfer and micro-financing service for Safaricom and Vodacom, the largest mobile network operators in Kenya and Tanzania and it is currently the most developed mobile payment system in the world.  It is an amazing concept and it helps not having to carry quantities of cash around.  When I got home in the afternoon, I sent the equivalent of 500AUD to the account that was given to me via Michael and after I had hot the send button on my phone, I had a nanosecond thought that what about if this was a scam?  I didn’t ask for any ID from the guys (but can be faked anyway), but then my correspondence had started via their official web site and he had a legit email and the forms looked official and so did my receipt and you can imagine my relief when I got a conformation text from M-Pesa confirming my money was sent to AAR Insurance (so the codes were right) and then a text from AAR stating they had received the money.  PHEW.  So, it was reassuring but I guess the real test will come in 2 weeks, when I am supposed to see them again with my card.  So I am now covered for inpatient care (touchwood I won’t need it) but it is a good feeling to now be covered not just here in Kenya, but for the next 12 months of travel as well.