Health Insurance For Expats In Saint Kitts And Nevis

The Best Health Insurance For Expatriates Living In Saint Kitts And Nevis

Posted by Greg Jones on January 24, 2020

If you've searched the web for private health insurance that covers expats in Saint Kitts and Nevis then you are probably for looking for trusted UK based health insurance companies that can cover your medical costs in Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Living as an expatriate in Saint Kitts and Nevis you want to avoid any unwanted and unexpected health care costs. In some countries these can amount to hundreds of thousands of pounds for serious conditions.

Our advice when looking for health insurance that covers expatriates living in Saint Kitts and Nevis is to speak to a insurance broker. Health insurance is incredibly complex and if you want complete certainty that Saint Kitts and Nevis is covered you should talk with a health insurance broker who can explain which providers will cover medical costs for expatriates in Saint Kitts and Nevis and which will exclude it.

There are many advantages to using a insurance broker but the biggest by far is that you're using their insurance training at no cost. They are paid by the insurer (Aviva or Bupa etc) rather than you so it costs you no extra to use their brokering services.

  • Do you live in many different postcodes? Some will give you a lower policy premium than offers. A insurance broker will be able to advise whats best.
  • Do you have a hobby that may invalidate your insurance policy? A broker will know this vital information.
  • If you are a couple and one of you has claimed on your insurance policy this year would it be cheaper to separate you both onto two different insurance policies?
  • You've developed a certain condition and want to know which policy provider offers the biggest amount of cover for it. A broker will know this instantly saving you so much time and effort.

You can call around every medical insurance provider on the market and ask if they provider cover for expats in Saint Kitts and Nevis, however this will be a very time consuming process. Each insurer will ask for your medical history because its not normally a simple yes or not if a medical condition is covered or not.

Its far far quicker to speak to one medical insurance broker which will know which providers on the market offer cover for expats in Saint Kitts and Nevis and under what conditions they do or don't cover it.

Saint Kitts And Nevis Information

The economy of Saint Kitts and Nevis has traditionally depended on the growing and processing of sugar cane; decreasing world prices have hurt the industry in recent years. Tourism, export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking activity have assumed larger roles in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Most food is imported. The government has undertaken a program designed to revitalize the faltering sugar sector. It is also working to improve revenue collection in order to better fund social programs. In 1997, some leaders in Nevis were urging separation from Saint Kitts on the basis that Nevis was paying far more in taxes than it was receiving in government services, but the vote on cessation failed in August 1998. In late September 1998, Hurricane Georges caused approximately $445 million in damages and limited GDP growth for the year.

The economy of St. Kitts and Nevis experienced strong growth for most of the 1990s but hurricanes in 1998 and 1999 contributed to a sharp slowdown. Real economic growth was 0.75% in 2002 after a decline of 4.3% in 2001. The economy experienced a mixed performance during 2002, with some sectors experiencing positive growth while others experienced varying levels of decline. The construction sector recorded a 4.51% decline, manufacturing and hotels and restaurants also recorded significant declines of 4.01 and 9.89% respectively, and sugar production fell by 5.1%. Significant new investment in tourism, including a 648-room Marriott hotel and convention center that opened in December 2002, as well as continued government efforts to diversify the economy, are expected to improve economic performance. Consumer prices have risen marginally over the past few years. The inflation rate was 3–4% for most of the 1990s.

St. Kitts and Nevis is a member of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) issues a common currency (the East Caribbean dollar) for all members of the ECCU. The ECCB also manages monetary policy, and regulates and supervises commercial banking activities in its member countries. There is an extensive parallel economy denominated in US$, which is the de facto currency for many business transactions.

According to the CIA World Factbook the main industry is tourism. Tourists, mainly Americans, come to the island via cruise ships (via Port Zante in Basseterre), air travel (via Robert L Bradshaw International Airport), and the private airport and private dock (for private yachts).

The tourism industry is unique in that it relies on both long term and short term visitors. Short term visitors are generally Americans, Canadians, and other CARICOM countries who come via cruise ship for the day or via Robert L Bradshaw airport for short term stay. Long term visitors are mostly Americans and Canadians that are staying for an average of 2.5-3 years on the island for vet school or medical school. The vet school on the island is Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine.

The tourism sector was badly hit by the effects of the hurricanes in 1998 and 1999. The country had just started to rebuild after Georges in 1998 when Lenny created substantial damage in 1999. The Port Zante complex, where the pier and terminal buildings are located, suffered serious damage. In Nevis, the only large hotel was forced to close for 6 months, resulting in lay-offs of staff (although many were employed to re-landscape devastated gardens) and decreased government revenue. Overall visitor arrivals, both of those staying over and those on cruise ship calls, fell about 15 percent in 1999, with a resulting decrease in visitor expenditure from the 1998 figure of US$75.7 million.

A unique point of interest is that the island of St. Kitts possesses the only remaining active railway in the West Indies. This was built to move sugarcane around, and part of the railway remains in use for tourist tours.

Of the islands' total land area, about 39% is devoted to crops. The principal agricultural product of St. Kitts is sugarcane; peanuts are now the second crop. On Nevis, sea island cotton and coconuts are the major commodities. Sweet potatoes, onions, tomatoes, cabbages, carrots, and breadfruit are grown for local consumption on both islands, mostly by individual smallholders. In 2001, agricultural products accounted for about 18.5% of total imports by value and 11.2% of exports; the government has embarked on a program to substitute for food imports.

Sugar estate lands were nationalized in 1975, and the sugar factory was purchased by the government the following year. The output of raw sugar slumped between 1986 and 1989, and as a result the government entered into a management agreement with Booke and Tate of Great Britain in August 1991; a World Bank loan of US$1.9 million was utilized to provide financial stability. Sugar production in 1999 was estimated at 197,000 tons. Faced with a sugar industry that was finding it increasingly difficult to earn a profit, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis embarked on a program to diversify the agricultural sector and stimulate the development of other sectors of the economy, particularly tourism. In July 2005, sugar production ceased.