{"id":5548,"date":"2021-02-05T18:18:08","date_gmt":"2021-02-05T17:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.axa-eco.votre-projet.com\/?post_type=parole-experts&#038;p=5548"},"modified":"2025-07-09T11:04:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T09:04:59","slug":"expats-during-the-health-crisis-how-to-ease-the-distance","status":"publish","type":"parole-experts","link":"https:\/\/www.axa-assurancescollectives.fr\/en\/parole-experts\/expats-during-the-health-crisis-how-to-ease-the-distance\/","title":{"rendered":"Expats during the health crisis: how to ease the distance"},"content":{"rendered":"<section style=\"background-color: #fafafa\" class=\"pe-section\">\r\n                    <div class=\"pe-titre row\">\r\n                                            <span class=\"titre-num\">1.<\/span>\r\n                                        <h2>2020 was a particularly difficult time for expats. What did you observe during the year?<\/h2>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                                <div class=\"pe-texte\"><p>Generally speaking\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.axa-assurancescollectives.fr\/en\/actualites\/working-abroad-on-assignment-or-as-a-local-hire-how-does-it-impact-your-employee-benefits\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">expatriates<\/a>\u00a0are better equipped to deal with the consequences of a global public health crisis like the one we are experiencing now. By nature, workers on a foreign assignment know how to adapt to new situations, both inside and outside the workplace, and are familiar with digital tools, remote work and managing different time zones.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these advantages, expats have had to overcome many new obstacles during the crisis:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Travel restrictions and lockdowns prevented them from travelling, although mobility is a core aspect of their professional status.<\/li>\n<li>Health problems heighten the longing for one\u2019s home country and culture. Even more so when that country is France, whose high-quality and accessible healthcare system is superior to many, no matter what the critics say. In a medical emergency, the language barrier becomes a bigger problem than many would have expected.<\/li>\n<li>The crisis underlined the importance of mental health. Isolation and a disrupted work-life balance further amplified this sentiment. In this new environment, the future for expatriates seems uncertain\u2026The next few months will be decisive for employment in some areas of the economy that have been hit hard by the crisis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\r\n                                <div class=\"pe-titre row\">\r\n                                            <span class=\"titre-num\">2.<\/span>\r\n                                        <h2>What specific measures did you take to support expats during the year?<\/h2>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                                <div class=\"pe-texte\"><p>Let\u2019s be reminded that although France decided relatively suddenly to impose a lockdown, we had witnessed the development of the crisis, first in Asia and then in Europe just a few weeks beforehand, so we were able to anticipate the confinement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n                                <div class=\"pe-cite row\">\r\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.axa-assurancescollectives.fr\/wp-content\/themes\/axa-asc\/ressources\/img\/quote.svg\"\r\n                         alt=\"quotation marks\">\r\n                    <div class=\"cite-text\"><h4>At AXA France, we immediately set up a crisis unit that included the main executives involved, so we could provide a real-time, operational response to the issues encountered by our customers.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                                <div class=\"pe-col row reversed\">\r\n                    <div class=\"column\"><p>We drew our customers\u2019 attention to services we already provided but that were infrequently used or insufficiently known. AXA\u2019s Telemedicine Consultations is one example. The service was launched in 2015 but had only been used on a modest scale. The number of consultations shot up in 2020, illustrating a dramatic change in usage.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, we significantly reinforced measures to provide psychological support and prevent the deterioration of our customers\u2019 mental health.<\/p>\n<p>We quickly accepted to cover the cost of prescribed PCR tests and later, under certain conditions, of Covid-19 vaccines. Unlike in France, in many countries, people must pay out of their own pocket for Covid-19 tests and vaccines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.axa-assurancescollectives.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Paroles-dexpert-Ludovic-Lambolez-b-761x1024-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" >                <\/div>\r\n                                <div class=\"pe-texte\"><p>We also accelerated our work to digitize processes, raised the maximum amount for which reimbursements are accepted based on electronic invoices and encouraged the use of electronic signatures.<\/p>\n<p>Our portfolio is made up of loyal business customers and we made every effort to assist them in this absolute emergency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n                <\/section>\n\n<section style=\"background-color: \" class=\"pe-section\">\r\n                    <div class=\"pe-titre row\">\r\n                                            <span class=\"titre-num\">3.<\/span>\r\n                                        <h2>What differences in expat coverage did you observe between the French policies and those from other countries?<\/h2>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                                <div class=\"pe-texte\"><p>The year\u2019s extraordinary circumstances allowed us to observe concrete examples of the differences between French policies and foreign policies (more specifically Anglo-Saxon) in terms of expat coverage.<\/p>\n<p>French policies closely follow the spirit of our country\u2019s social security system:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Policies providing comprehensive benefits, including vision and dental care<\/li>\n<li>Facilitated transition to the national health insurance system if the expatriated employee returns to France, without any waiting period<\/li>\n<li>Less generous benefits, however, for mental health services<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Foreign policies, on the other hand, take a much different approach:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Policies with highly detailed descriptions of the coverage provided<\/li>\n<li>Long lists of exclusions: in general, anything not explicitly covered is excluded<\/li>\n<li>No continuity of health and personal protection benefits for expats returning to their home country<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\r\n                                <div class=\"pe-titre row\">\r\n                                            <span class=\"titre-num\">4.<\/span>\r\n                                        <h2>Human resources departments in large companies play a pivotal role in providing support to expatriates. How do you work with HR to tailor coverage to match expats\u2019 needs?<\/h2>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                                <div class=\"pe-cite row\">\r\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.axa-assurancescollectives.fr\/wp-content\/themes\/axa-asc\/ressources\/img\/quote.svg\"\r\n                         alt=\"quotation marks\">\r\n                    <div class=\"cite-text\"><div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<blockquote>\n<h4>Most policies with large companies are \u2018custom-made\u2019 policies and HR departments have a duty to find the best coverage at the best cost.<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                                <div class=\"pe-col row\">\r\n                    <div class=\"column\"><p>I think that two of the major challenges for large multinationals and their expatriate workers in the coming years will be:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Finding ways to offer even more comprehensive coverage with an increasingly limited budget<\/li>\n<li>Finding an insurer that can organise coverage while ensuring compliance in all countries, despite constantly changing regulations<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why I believe that global insurance players are the only ones who are sufficiently equipped to address the new needs of these large companies, who want to provide increasingly better protection for their expatriate employees. AXA operates in more than 57 countries and is a robust group: we have everything it takes to meet these challenges!<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.axa-assurancescollectives.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Paroles-dexpert-Ludovic-Lambolez-2-762x1024-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" >                <\/div>\r\n                <\/section>\n\n    <section class=\"custom-block block-push-pages\">\n        <div class=\"push-pages-head row\">\n            <div>\n                                            <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n        <div class=\"pages-listing-grid\">\n            <div class=\"pages-slide\">\n                                                            <div class=\"page-listing\">\n                                <span class=\"title\">How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted expat mental health<\/span>\n                                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axaglobalhealthcare.com\/en\/about-us\/news\/2021\/covid-19-expat-mental-health\/?utm_source=linkedin&#038;utm_medium=social&#038;utm_campaign=PR&#038;utm_content=mental-health-covid\"\n                                   target=\"_blank\">More details<\/a>\n                            <\/div>\n                                    <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n                            <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":822,"template":"","expertise":[],"class_list":["post-5548","parole-experts","type-parole-experts","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - 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