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Expat Smart

The affordable health insurance for life abroad

Awarded by F.A.Z. Institut - 30 years BDAE
Photo: © Jacob Lund, Adobe Stock
Affordable international health insurance
Affordable basic cover
International Health insurance with three benefit options
Three benefit options
Health insurance that can be taken out abroad
Can be taken out abroad

Are you planning to live, work or travel abroad for a longer period of time and are looking for affordable health insurance that is valid worldwide and can be customised to suit your individual needs?

Expat Smart offers you affordable basic cover with individual customisation options that can even be taken out from abroad. It is particularly suitable for people who want to stay abroad for a limited period of time.

Exclusive: With the Feel Good Package, our Expat Smart policyholders can take advantage of a comprehensive counselling service on topics relating to physical and mental well-being.


There are infinite reasons to choose EXPAT SMART

Here are three of them:

  • Anna and Tom are travelling to Indonesia

    After graduating, Anna and Tom want to enjoy life to the full and pursue their shared dream: To open a diving centre in Bali and, at the same time, capture their travel experiences in photographs for their blog. They plan to stay abroad for up to two years and choose Indonesia as the starting point for their adventures.

    As they don't want to spend a lot on health insurance abroad, EXPAT SMART is the perfect solution for them: The insurance offers them worldwide cover, no matter where they are. As Anna and Tom only need treatment if it is accident-related, their monthly premium is low. Even if Anna and Tom choose to travel to a different country during their insurance period, Expat Smart offers various ways of insuring their stay.

  • SEO expert Jana wants to live and work in Cyprus

    Jana is insanely successful with her SEO company. But as her success grows, so does her tax burden. So Jana finds out about legal tax havens in Europe and decides to live and work in Cyprus for a few years. Everything is great, but how do you get the best possible health insurance in Cyprus?

    EXPAT SMART, with its premium variant, is the ideal international health insurance for Jana: it provides her comprehensive protection for up to five years, which also covers visits to the doctor and hospital in her home country. If Jana decides to live in Cyprus permanently, she can make an easy switch to our EXPAT INFINITY lifelong international health insurance after an uninterrupted three-year contract term.

  • Paul becomes a diving instructor in Thailand

    Paul wants to enjoy life and turn his hobby into a career. He wants to become a diving instructor and see the world. To do this, he wants to spend three years abroad and initially work as a diving teacher in his favourite country, Thailand. He doesn't have much money for health insurance abroad.

    For the time being, the EXPAT SMART's classic variant is the the ideal product for Paul: the international health insurance offers him coverage for accident-treatments as well as life-threatening emergencies. Paul can also change his country of residence at any time without having to worry about taking out new international health insurance. If he decides to extend his stay abroad during the three years, he can remain insured with EXPAT SMART for up to five years.

F.A.Z. - Institut - Excellent customer loyalty | 2022 and 25 years BDAE

The BDAE advantage

  • You can enter into our insurance contracts from abroad.
  • You can always count on BDAE experts for support. No being stuck with a call-center agent.
  • You will always be covered by our insurance – even during a pandemic.
  • You can count on our insurance services – regardless of your occupation. Special conditions apply in the case of professional participation in competitions.
  • Your international medical insurances will also include patient legal protection.
  • You’re planning a trip home? Our insurances will even cover your stay in your home country!

Foto: © pexels.com

Benefits and variants

Expat Smart
Basic
Expat Smart
Classic
Expat Smart
Premium
Outpatient Medical Treatments
100 %
if accident-related and medically necessary
100 %
if accidental or life-threatening emergency and medically necessary
100 %
if medically necessary
Inpatient Medical Treatments

100 %
if accident-related and medically necessary

Accommodation as a private patient in a double bedroom

100 %
if accidental or life-threatening emergency and medically necessary

Accommodation as a private patient in a double bedroom

100 %
if medically necessary

Accommodation as a private patient in a single room

Pharmaceutical Products, Bandages and Remedies
100%
if accident-related and medically prescribed and necessary

up to 300 Euro per year as part of outpatient medical treatment
100 %
if accidental or life-threatening emergency and medically prescribed and necessary
up to 600 Euro per year as part of outpatient medical treatment
100%
if medically prescribed and necessary
in the context of outpatient medical treatment
Dental Treatments
100%
for medically necessary outpatient dental treatment
up to 300 Euro per year
100%
for medically necessary outpatient dental treatment
up to 600 Euro per year
100%
for pain-relieving and medically necessary outpatient dental treatment and single fillings
One preventive check-up and treatment per year (including polishing and teeth cleaning)
Tooth Replacement/Orthodontic Treatment
accident-related dentures
up to 1,000 Euro per contract term
accident-related dentures
up to 2,000 Euro per contract term

Medically necessary orthodontic treatment (up to the age of 18) and medically necessary dentures
up to 3,000 Euro per contract term

accident-related dentures
up to 5,000 euros per contract term

8-month waiting period, apart from accident-related dentures

Preventive Medical Checkups - -

Preventive check-ups for children and cancer screening

Check-ups
up to 500 Euro per contract term

Vaccinations - -

general vaccinations, travel vaccinations

Covid 19 Vaccination - - -
Pregnancy and Delivery - - -
Infertility Treatments - - -
Aids and Appliances

up to 300 Euro per year
if accident-related and medically prescribed and necessary

Life-sustaining aids if accident-related and prescribed by a doctor, up to the maximum annual amount per year

There is no insurance cover for visual aids

up to 600 euros per year
if accidental or life-threatening, emergency-related and medically prescribed and necessary

Life-sustaining aids if accidental or life-threatening, emergency-related and medically prescribed, up to the maximum annual amount per year

There is no insurance cover for visual aids

up to 1,000 Euro per year
if medically prescribed and necessary

Life-sustaining aids if medically prescribed and necessary per year up to the maximum annual amount

There is no insurance cover for visual aids

Visual Aids - - -
Eye Lasering - - -
Psychotherapy - - -
Patient Transports/Return Transports/Transfers

if accident-related and medically necessary
Patient transportation 100%, repatriation max. 10,000 euros per claim, repatriation in the event of death max. 10,000 euros

if accident or life-threatening emergency and medically necessary
Patient transportation 100%, repatriation max. 10,000 euros per claim, repatriation in the event of death max. 10,000 euros

if medically necessary
Patient transportation 100%, return transpor max. 10,000 Euro per claim, transfer in case of death max. 10,000 Euro

Follow-Up Liability
up to 30 days
up to 60 days
up to 90 days
Congenital Medical Conditions - - -
Legal Expenses Insurance for Patients
Medical Assistance
Feel Good Package
Maximum Annual Amount
300,000 Euro
600,000 Euro
Unlimited
Benefits included in the plan
Greater scope of benefits than in a lower-priced plan

The comparison table provides you with a general overview regarding the volume of insurance benefits. It does not replace the insurance terms and conditions of individual products. The scope of benefits as well as the benefits covered vary from product to product and are dependent on the product variant selected. For more information, hover over any of the information icons or select the more detailed view. Complete information can be found in parts I and II of the Terms and Conditions of Insurance.

Adjustment of the country zones

As medical treatment costs vary worldwide from country to country, there are three country zones in the Expat Smart product. This way, we can offer our customers the greatest possible fairness in the level of insurance premiums according to their life situation.

Please refer to the following table for the allocation of countries to one of the three country zones:

Country
Country zone
  • Abkhazia 1
  • Afghanistan 1
  • Egypt 1
  • Åland Islands 1
  • Albania 1
  • Algeria 1
  • American Samoa Not insurable
  • Andorra 1
  • Angola 1
  • Anguilla 1
  • Antarctica 1
  • Antigua and Barbuda 1
  • Equatorial Guinea 1
  • Argentina 1
  • Armenia 1
  • Aruba 1
  • Azerbaijan 1
  • Ethiopia 1
  • Australia 1
  • Bahamas 2
  • Bahrain 1
  • Bangladesh 1
  • Barbados 1
  • Belarus 1
  • Belgium 1
  • Belize 1
  • Benin 1
  • Bermuda 1
  • Bhutan 1
  • Bolivia 1
  • Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba 1
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina 1
  • Botswana 1
  • Bouvet Island Not insurable
  • Brazil 2
  • British Indian Ocean Territory 2
  • Brunei Darussalam 1
  • Bulgaria 1
  • Burkina-Faso 1
  • Burundi 1
  • Chile 2
  • China 2
  • Cook Islands 1
  • Costa Rica 1
  • Curaçao 1
  • Denmark 1
  • Germany Not insurable
  • Dominica 1
  • Dominican Republic 1
  • Djibouti 1
  • Ecuador 1
  • El Salvador 1
  • Ivory Coast 1
  • Eritrea 1
  • Estonia 1
  • Falkland Islands 2
  • Faroe Islands 1
  • Fiji 1
  • Finland 1
  • France 1
  • French Southern and Antarctic Territories Not insurable
  • French Guyana 1
  • French Polynesia 1
  • Gabon 1
  • Gambia 1
  • Georgia 1
  • Ghana 1
  • Gibraltar 2
  • Grenada 1
  • Greece 1
  • Greenland 1
  • United Kingdom 2
  • Guadeloupe 1
  • Guam Not insurable
  • Guatemala 1
  • Guernsey 2
  • Guinea 1
  • Guinea-Bissau 1
  • Guyana 1
  • Haiti 1
  • Heard and McDonald Islands Not insurable
  • Honduras 1
  • Hong Kong 3
  • India 1
  • Indonesia 1
  • Iraq 1
  • Iran 1
  • Ireland 1
  • Iceland 1
  • Isle of Man 2
  • Israel 1
  • Italy 1
  • Jamaica 1
  • Japan 1
  • Yemen 1
  • Jersey 2
  • Jordan 1
  • Virgin Islands (UK) 2
  • Virgin Islands (USA) Not insurable
  • Cayman Islands 1
  • Cambodia 1
  • Cameroon 1
  • Canada 1
  • Cape Verde 1
  • Kazakhstan 1
  • Qatar 1
  • Kenya 1
  • Kyrgyzstan 1
  • Kiribati 1
  • Coconut Islands 1
  • Colombia 1
  • Comoros 1
  • Congo (Democratic Republic) 1
  • Congo (Republic) 1
  • Kosovo 1
  • Croatia 1
  • Cuba 1
  • Kuwait 1
  • Laos 1
  • Lesotho 1
  • Latvia 1
  • Lebanon 1
  • Liberia 1
  • Libya 1
  • Liechtenstein 1
  • Lithuania 1
  • Luxembourg 1
  • Macau 1
  • Madagascar 1
  • Malawi 1
  • Malaysia 1
  • Maldives 1
  • Mali 1
  • Malta 1
  • Morocco 1
  • Marshall Islands 1
  • Martinique 1
  • Mauritania 1
  • Mauritius 1
  • Mayotte 1
  • Mexico 1
  • Micronesia 1
  • Moldova 1
  • Monaco 1
  • Mongolia 1
  • Montenegro 1
  • Montserrat 2
  • Mozambique 1
  • Myanmar 1
  • Namibia 1
  • Nauru 1
  • Nepal 1
  • New Caledonia 1
  • New Zealand 1
  • Nicaragua 1
  • Netherlands 1
  • Netherlands Antilles 1
  • Niger 1
  • Nigeria 1
  • Niue 1
  • North Korea 1
  • Northern Mariana Islands Not insurable
  • North Macedonia 1
  • Norfolk Island 1
  • Norway 1
  • Oman 1
  • Austria 1
  • East Timor 1
  • Pakistan 1
  • Palestine 1
  • Palau 1
  • Panama 1
  • Papua New Guinea 1
  • Paraguay 1
  • Peru 1
  • Philippines 1
  • Pitcairn Islands 1
  • Poland 1
  • Portugal 1
  • Puerto Rico Not insurable
  • Reunion 1
  • Rwanda 1
  • Romania 1
  • Russia 1
  • Saint Barthelemy 2
  • Solomon Islands 1
  • Zambia 1
  • Samoa 1
  • San Marino 1
  • Sao Tome and Principe 1
  • Saudi Arabia 1
  • Sweden 1
  • Switzerland 2
  • Senegal 1
  • Serbia 1
  • Seychelles 1
  • Sierra Leone 1
  • Zimbabwe 1
  • Singapore 3
  • Sint Maarten 1
  • Slovakia 1
  • Slovenia 1
  • Somalia 1
  • Spain 1
  • Sri Lanka 1
  • Saint Helena 2
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis 1
  • Saint Lucia 1
  • Saint Martin 2
  • Saint Pierre and Miquelon 1
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1
  • South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Not insurable
  • South Korea 1
  • South Africa 1
  • Sudan 1
  • South Ossetia 1
  • South Sudan 1
  • Suriname 1
  • Svalbard and Jan Mayen 1
  • Swaziland 1
  • Syria 1
  • Tajikistan 1
  • Taiwan 1
  • Tanzania 1
  • Thailand 2
  • Togo 1
  • Tokelau Islands 1
  • Tonga 1
  • Trinidad and Tobago 1
  • Chad 1
  • Czech Republic 1
  • Tunisia 1
  • Turkey 1
  • Turkmenistan 1
  • Turks and Caicos Islands 2
  • Tuvalu 1
  • United States Minor Outlying Islands Not insurable
  • Uganda 1
  • Ukraine 1
  • Hungary 1
  • Uruguay 1
  • USA Not insurable
  • Uzbekistan 1
  • Vanuatu 1
  • Vatican City 1
  • Venezuela 1
  • United Arab Emirates 2
  • Vietnam 1
  • Wallis and Futuna 1
  • Christmas Island 1
  • Western Sahara 1
  • Central African Republic 1
  • Cyprus 1

Monthly premium

The amount of the premium depends on the desired country zone, the age of the person to be insured and the selected product variant.

The following table compares the entry-level prices for Expat Smart in the most favorable country zone 1. Please refer to this table for the exact premiums for all country zones and age groups.

Age Expat Smart Basic Expat Smart Classic Expat Smart Premium
Adults from 64 Euro from 81 Euro from 162 Euro
Children / Teenagers 51 Euro 64 Euro 130 Euro
Show complete premium tables

Country zone 1

Age Expat Smart Basic Expat Smart Classic Expat Smart Premium
0 - 18 years 51 Euro 64 Euro 130 Euro
19 - 49 years 64 Euro 81 Euro 162 Euro
50 - 55 years 81 Euro 101 Euro 203 Euro
56 - 60 years 91 Euro 112 Euro 227 Euro
61 - 65 years 101 Euro 125 Euro 254 Euro
66 - 74 years 135 Euro 170 Euro 344 Euro

Country zone 2

Age Expat Smart Basic Expat Smart Classic Expat Smart Premium
0 - 18 years 66 Euro 83 Euro 165 Euro
19 - 49 years 83 Euro 104 Euro 205 Euro
50 - 55 years 104 Euro 130 Euro 247 Euro
56 - 60 years 114 Euro 143 Euro 278 Euro
61 - 65 years 125 Euro 156 Euro 310 Euro
66 - 74 years 167 Euro 209 Euro 414 Euro

Country zone 3

Age Expat Smart Basic Expat Smart Classic Expat Smart Premium
0 - 18 years 86 Euro 104 Euro not insurable
19 - 49 years 143 Euro 177 Euro not insurable
50 - 55 years 207 Euro 258 Euro not insurable
56 - 60 years 253 Euro 317 Euro not insurable
61 - 65 years 298 Euro 376 Euro not insurable
66 - 74 years 435 Euro 435 Euro not insurable

Product Information

  • Insurance cover for private individuals (e.g. world travellers, digital nomads)
  • Maximum insurable age is 74 years
  • Maximum insurance term 3 years with possible extension up to 5 years
  • Termination of insurance one month to the end of the following month
  • Assistance services (e.g. multilingual 24-hour emergency number)
  • Worldwide patient legal protection insurance
  • Feel Good Package: free counselling services relating to mental and physical well-being 

Country zones and age groups

Because the costs of medical treatment vary from country to country around the world and the average claims rate of an insured group increases with age, the EXPAT SMART product has three country zones and a premium scale according to age groups. In this way, we offer our customers the greatest possible fairness in the level of insurance premiums according to their life situation.

Special regulations for Thailand

Due to the significant increase in healthcare costs in Thailand, our insured persons have to bear a 20 per cent deductible for planned treatments at certain hospitals and practices (except for emergency and accident-related treatments).

The list below or the insurance conditions will show you which service providers are subject to a deductible.


Not included in insurance cover

Openness and transparency are values the BDAE Group promotes in its daily business. These values are a precondition for trust. Therefore you will find below the most important exclusions from our insurance cover. Please refer to the Terms and Conditions Part I and II for an elaborate list of exclusions.

  • Insurance claims occured or existing prior to the start of the insurance coverage and as well as for insurance claims occured during the waiting period (pre-existing illnesses and existing need for treatment)
  • Treatments based on infirmity and a need for care or custody
  • Treatments due to sterility and artificial insemination as well as preliminary examinations
  • Treatments of mental or psychological disorder and diseases, psychotherapy, psychosomatic treatments like hypnosis and autogenic training and as well as suicide attemps and their consequences
  • Immunisation measures
  • Benefits in connection with pregnancy and delivery
  • Withdrawal treatments inclusive of withdrawal cures and treatments of a dependency syndrome
What is considered an accident in EXPAT SMART?

An accident occurs when the insured person suffers involuntary damage to their health as a result of a sudden external event affecting their body. The term accident therefore contains five characteristics: Event, damage to health, sudden, external, involuntary. In addition, this accident requires immediate medical measures and immediate treatment for the insured person. Immediate means within 48 (forty-eight) hours of the direct cause of the accident.

What is considered a life-threatening emergency in EXPAT SMART?

A life-threatening emergency is when a sudden, unforeseeable event or an acute deterioration in health occurs that, without immediate medical attention, would in all likelihood:

  • directly cause death,
  • directly cause serious permanent damage to health, or
  • directly cause significant impairment of the functionality of vital organs.

The following are not deemed to be emergencies:

  • conditions or complaints that do not pose an immediate threat to life,
  • illnesses that can be scheduled for diagnosis or treatment, such as chronic illnesses,
  • situations that can be treated at a later date without risking serious health consequences.