What is a health insurance deductible and how does it work?

What is a deductible?

Put simply, a deductible is the amount of money that you have to pay on your own behalf before your plan will kick in and start to cover eligible medical costs.

The main benefit of a deductible is that you will save money on your premium. So the larger the deductible, the greater the discount on your premium. This is because you are assuming more of the risk of having to pay for medical treatment. Other ways to save on your premiums include co-insurance, which is another option available on our MyHEALTH plans in Asia.

How do deductibles work?

The easiest way to illustrate how deductibles work would be through some simple examples.

Example 1:

If person A has a deductible of $500 and required treatment equalling $4,000, then their insurance would cover $3,500 after person A met their deductible.

Additionally, further treatments during the policy would be covered in full by insurance as the deductible has already been met.

Example 2:

Person B has a deductible of $2,000 and requires treatment equalling $1,000. However, later that year they require another treatment costing $5,000. In this case, person B would cover the $,1000 for the first treatment and $1,000 of the second, while the insurance would cover $4,000 of the second claim.

Build your own health insurance plan with or without deductibles

Looking for comprehensive international health insurance coverage in Asia? APRIL International offers a range of plans that offer international coverage to people living in Asia, providing flexible coverage to expats and local nationals alike. Learn more about our available international health insurance plans for individuals and families or contact us today to learn more.

We also offer group health insurance plans for companies of every size, from SMEs to large multinationals.