International Health Insurance Options For 501c(3) Workers | Global ...

Those serving in mission agencies are often faced with different missionary health insurance options, depending on the size of their agency.

There are primarily three different approaches to insuring missionaries for both stateside and overseas service. The first two are largely set options that an individual cannot vary, but the third scenario, which is the more individualized scenario, is the more flexible, but potentially more confusing.

The first scenario for large agencies is that it may be self-insured. This means that there are often enough members who pay into a fund to cover routine expenses, and then the agency usually would have a larger policy to cover catastrophic needs. Typically claims are handled by a third person party, not the agency itself. In this case, the amounts taken out for individual policies are averaged and normally reflect the condition of the self-insured fund.

A second scenario for mid to large agencies is that the agency may have a standard policy of ?one size fits all.? This is helpful in one sense as it eliminates the individual worker from navigating the confusing maze of insurance options; but can be difficult in another sense that certain needs may be limited, such as coverage for Stateside/home service.

A third scenario, particularly for smaller agencies, is where the agency will take a salary deduction and pay an insurance policy of your choice.

This is where more work is required on the part of the individual overseas worker, and the help of knowledgeable insurance brokers will be particularly helpful.

Often, one cost effective means to consider, especially if your health needs are relatively stable is to ask if your agency will adopt a Health FSA (Flexible Spending Account), HRA (Health Reimbursement Account), or HSA (Health Savings Account).

Though an insurance brokercan assist agencies to find missionary insurance in all three categories, the third scenario has greater flexibility.

Though it is somewhat easier to go with the given plan as described in the first two scenarios, you may find yourself in an advantageous position for developing an economical plan in scenario three.

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