What insurance coverage should a GCC provide for expatriate employees in India?

A GCC with expatriate employees in India typically provides four layers of insurance: an international health insurance plan or a local group plan with worldwide top-up, emergency evacuation and repatriation cover, group term life and personal accident insurance, and travel insurance for family visits back to the home country. The right stack depends on assignment length, family status, and the parent country's expectations.

What health insurance does an expat employee need in India?

Expatriate employees typically need cover that works in India for daily healthcare and in the home country when the family visits or the employee travels for work. Two structures achieve this. The first is an international health insurance plan (issued by insurers such as Cigna Global, Allianz Care, or Bupa Global) that provides worldwide cover including India. The second is an India-issued group health plan with a worldwide top-up rider, which routes primary care through the Indian cashless network and reimburses international treatment separately.

Should an expat rely on the Indian group health policy alone?

Not usually. A standard Indian group policy covers treatment in India and may include limited emergency cover abroad, but it does not typically cover planned treatment outside India or provide the direct-billing arrangements expats often expect with international hospitals in their home country. For assignments longer than 12 months with family accompanying, a dedicated expat health plan or worldwide top-up is standard.

Why is emergency evacuation cover important?

Emergency medical evacuation and repatriation cover pays for air ambulance, medical escort, and repatriation to the home country if treatment locally cannot address a critical condition. This is standard practice for expat postings and is often bundled inside international health insurance plans. Stand-alone evacuation cover from providers such as International SOS is also used, particularly by GCCs sending employees to multiple locations across Asia.

What life and accident cover should an expat employee have?

Group term life insurance and group personal accident cover work the same way for expat and local employees, but the sum assured is typically set higher for expats because of relocation, currency, and repatriation costs. Payouts to nominees under group term life policies are tax-exempt in India under Schedule II, clause 2 of the Income Tax Act, 2025 (the recodified Section 10(10D)).

How should the Indian and home-country plans coordinate?

The two plans should be structured so that one is primary and the other secondary, avoiding both under-insurance and duplicate coverage. Common practice is for the international plan to be primary (with wider networks and direct billing) while the Indian group plan sits as secondary for local incidental care. Coordination is documented in the assignment letter and the plan wording so that claims flow to the correct insurer first.

What other cover should a GCC consider for expats?

Beyond health, life, and evacuation, GCCs often add:

• Travel insurance for family visits back to the home country.
• Home contents and personal liability insurance for the expat's Indian residence.
• Assignment-linked professional indemnity where the expat holds a senior technical or leadership role.
• Dependants' education insurance where children study internationally.

How Plum approaches this

Plum works with GCCs to structure the local Indian group health plan alongside the parent-country or international expat plan, so the two do not overlap or leave gaps. Across Plum's group health book, claims NPS runs at 79 and cashless pre-authorisation clears in a median of 45 minutes, both operational metrics that expat employees compare directly with the international plan they may have used elsewhere. Plum places group cover from a minimum of 7 employees, working across partner insurers including ICICI Lombard, HDFC ERGO, Bajaj Allianz, Star Health, Niva Bupa, and Aditya Birla Health Insurance, and coordinates with the parent-country broker where the international plan sits outside India.

Frequently asked questions

Are expats covered under the regular Indian group health policy?

Yes, if the employer includes them, though the cover is usually supplemented by an international plan for the reasons described above.

Does India require expats to have local health insurance?

There is no blanket legal requirement, though certain visa categories and employer contracts specify health cover as a condition of stay.

Who pays for expat insurance?

The employer typically bears the cost as part of the assignment package, and the premiums are generally tax-deductible as a business expense under Section 37(1) of the Income Tax Act.

Are expat insurance premiums taxable for the employee?

Employer-paid group health premiums are excluded from perquisite taxation under Section 17(2) of the Income Tax Act, 2025, subject to the specific structure of the plan.

What happens to the international plan when the assignment ends?

Cover under the international plan usually ends on the assignment end date, and the employee moves back to the home-country plan on repatriation.

Should the family be included in the expat's insurance?

Yes, if the family accompanies the expat to India. Family cover is a standard inclusion in most expat health plans.