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Cheapest usable medical insurance in Japan for visitors?

vu7

後輩
18 Sep 2018
33
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Hi there, if you stay in Japan for around 1 year, what's the most economically feasible option for a good medical insurance that covers emergencies and potential illnesses without breaking your bank?
 
Hi.Since there's no reply yet, I'll take a crack at it.

The Japanese health insurance system is sort of redundant.
The mandatory ones are called "Social Health Insurance" and "National Health Insurance" which is a system that the government pays a portion of your medical cost, so from your perspective, the upfront doctor's bill will be cheaper. It becomes mandatory when if you stay in Japan for more than 3 months. If you are employed by a company, there is a chance that you can join the "Social Health Insurance" which is said to be more expensive but better with more coverage etc, and the best part is that all the paper work will be done by the company. Small companies sometimes don't cover this so then everyone else goes to the "National Health Insurance". If you have heard that medical cost in Japan isn't that high, it's because of these insurance. Without it, I believe it will be a bit pricey. The cost of these insurance will depend on your income. I suggest you contact the local government office where you plan to reside for details.

And then there are private health insurance you can contract that will cover your medical fees further (as in when hospitalized etc). As far as I know, they are not mandatory.

Last time I checked for private insurance, you need a working visa or some equivalent (permanent residence permit, spouse visa etc). Also you would need to be able to read / write Japanese to a level for filling in the documents reading and understanding compliance documents, and have a local bank account. After that, the individual insurance companies will ask for documents such as resident permit etc depending on the company's own set of rules.

With that said the below is one of the cheaper private insurance options I have run into that has a pretty good coverage. One of my friend from Pakistan did a contract with them so I do know they take foreigners (of course if their criteria is met). The minimum term seems to be 1 year and the contract will automatically renew if you do not notify them 2 weeks in advance of the expiration date. JFYI, there are no maturity benefits.
You can click on the tab that says 商品プラン to check the cost. 契約年齢 is the age of contract, 入院日額 is the amount insured per day if you are hospitalized, 毎月の掛金 is your monthly fee.
サービス|なごみ共済協同組合
 
Also see what your airline offers. My mother often comes over to Japan (admittedly for only 2-3 weeks) and the airline she uses (generally KLM) always offers her good-value insurance, which she uses.
 
Most travel insurance covers up to 3 months. After that I don't know. I think AIG is your best bet. Check them out. They have an English page. I use them when I travel abroad.
 
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