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| *Travel Tips>>>Bermuda Travel Tips |
I have an opportunity to live in Bermuda. I've heard crime and healthcare are bad. Is this correct? |
Travel Info I have an opportunity to live in Bermuda. I've heard crime and healthcare are bad. Is this correct? Travel Tips Personally, I would do it in a second without looking back. I am single female, and would feel perfectly safe there. Crime is rare - much more rare than you would find on any Caribbean island, that's for sure. That's not to say it's non-existent - it is picking up. Most of what you see is pickpocketing and taking tourist's belongings when they leave them on the beach or in a moped basket. Gun violence is almost non-existent - criminals' weapon of choice tends to be the machete. I have walked around by myself several times and have been fine. Just be vigilant and aware of your surroundings. Here's some (well, a lot of) info on healthcare: If you arrive as an employee with any Bermuda-based local or international company, you will need good insurance coverage from day 1 in Bermuda. Unlike in Canada, UK and Ireland where basic coverage comes with the taxes one pays, there is no National Heath Plan or equivalent in Bermuda. European visitors should not make the mistake of thinking that because Bermuda is British, reciprocal health services for travelers will apply, as they do between the United Kingdom and many other countries both within and outside the European Economic Community. Surgical, medical and dental rates are extra. Costs of medical services in Bermuda are as high now as they are in the USA. Newcomers from Britain should be wary of trying to buy medical insurance coverage from a Britain-based or non- Bermuda-based insurance company or broker. It could mean partial or more extensive duplication of coverage. Bermuda employers are required by law to provide at least HIP (see below) immediately, with Major Medical after the probationary period. The better employers will be more generous, with Major Medical applying immediately. Do not agree a contract with any Bermuda employer that will not give you Major Medical from the day you begin work. If you will be working as a temp with an employment agency, be aware that the law requires your employer to insure you, not the client of your employer if you are not working in your employer's office. Be aware that there are no standard plans or standard premiums, each employer's plan is different, plans cover employees and when applicable an employee's non-working spouse and any children only, not relatives or friends, apply only in Bermuda and increasingly in recent years, cease when you quit employment or retire or reach the age of 65, whichever comes first. In a late 2002 comparison of costs undertaken by the Bureau of International Economic Development, the costs of health insurance in Bermuda are now the most expensive in the world, slightly higher than in the USA and significantly higher than in Canada, UK, Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. Premiums went up in 2003 by about 11% after a similar rise in 2002, but benefits from what was paid for in premiums went down appreciably. Because of prolonged disputes between local insurance companies and medical doctors that in some cases made insured patients at local hospitals pay up-front, the Bermuda Government enacted in late 2002 The Public Health (Hospitals) Regulations 2002 and The Public Health (Clinical Laboratories) Regulations 2002 under the Public Health Act 1949. International - multinational - insurers with a registered office in Bermuda are not allowed to compete with local companies for any local business including hospital or major-medical plans. Bermuda's health care insurers must be local. They include the three largest private sector insurers - Argus Group, BF&M Insurance Group and Colonial Insurance Company, plus Kitson Benefit Services and British American Insurance Company Ltd. Hospital Insurance Plan (HIP) - Social Insurance Department, Government Administration Building, 30 Parliament Street, Hamilton HM 12. Phone 295-5151 extension 1146, 1130 or 1137 - A basic health insurance plan. If over the age of 65 and uninsured, seniors can enroll in this at premiums from $134 a month, from June 2003. It covers 80% of the cost of hospitalization in a public ward in Bermuda but the exclusions are scary - no coverage for doctors or operations. From June 2003, prescription medications were added up to $1,000 per senior per year - only if 65 years or older and enrolled in HIP. Not covered at all is having to go overseas to get treatment of a type not offered in Bermuda. Some Bermudians have spent over $100,000 for a 10-day stay at a hospital in Boston or Baltimore. Many in Bermuda who are not affluent depend solely on their social security and pay rent, have to decide whether to pay for HIP and prescriptions or do without food. There is no Long Term Health Care Insurance offered at all by local insurance companies and those international insurance companies incorporated in Bermuda offering it in other countries even when their home offices are, for example, in the USA, are not allowed by law to offer it in Bermuda. Many residents, whose major medical insurance through their employers stops, if they had it at all, when they reach 65, have had to spend many thousands of dollars of their own money overseas, with no insurance. Visitors who come on vacation or to see family or friends should be aware in advance that they are not entitled to any local health insurance employer-provided employee coverage or benefits. Not covered are services like ambulance fees, x-rays, doctors' consultations and reports, etc. Check whether the hospital will recognize any insurance plans not operated in Bermuda. It may do so, up to a point, for people from the USA with Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance. If you have a major illness or need major surgery, you will likely be sent to the US for treatment. Others Why don`t you take a weekend trip. Rent a car. Tour the island. Check up on the local laws. Do you like to defend yourself? I think they only allow criminals to own guns. Like I said go check it out and then make up your mind. You should always test the waters before you jump in. |
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