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A new option will soon be available for expatriates troubled by the lack of international medical insurance plans.

Expatriate-tailored healthcare insurance is expected to launch in China as early as the second quarter of this year.

China Life Insurance Co, the country's largest life insurer by revenue, and Goodhealth Worldwide, a leading provider of international medical insurance, yesterday signed a letter of intent in Beijing, agreeing to jointly provide international healthcare insurance plans in China in the coming months.

It is estimated that 300,000 foreign nationals are currently staying in China, a number that is expected to increase dramatically as China's economy further integrates with the global one.

Currently all healthcare insurance policies in the nation, according to Chinese laws, must be underwritten by insurance companies that are registered in China and settled in local currency, RMB.

Medical insurance issued by insurers in China does not cover medical costs if the policyholders seeks treatment overseas .

Under such an arrangement, very few expatriates living in China sign up for the local medical insurance plans, which is something China Life and Goodhealth are hoping to change with their partnership.

The market value for the expatriates' international medical insurance is currently expected to hit 300 million yuan (US$37 million), said Wang Xu, head of China Life's Product Development Division.

"It's a number that will balloon as the number of expatriates is set to surge," he said.

Under the partnership, China Life, which is both listed in Hong Kong and New York, could make use of its branding and sales network, while Goodhealth will try to bring its know-how into the specialized market.

"It's a niche market where we could bring in our expertise in international medical insurance," said Martin Garcia, Goodhealth Worldwide's group managing director.

Besides targeting expatriates staying in China, China Life and Goodhealth are also targeting the growing number of Chinese executives working overseas.

"Generally speaking, Chinese companies prefer to book medical insurance for their employees working overseas collectively in China. This is a growing market as more and more Chinese firms are branching abroad," said Liu Yingqi, vice-president of China Life.

Goodhealth will soon set up a subsidiary in Shanghai, China's financial hub, to handle the business partnership with China Life, Garcia said, adding it would be up and running as early as the "second quarter" of this year.

Headquartered in Bermuda, Goodhealth Worldwide is one of the largest and most experienced international medical insurance underwriters in the United Kingdom.

(China Daily January 20, 2006)