Health Insurance for Digital Nomads

Nomad Insurance

Subscription policies designed for people who move around. You can buy them while already abroad, pay monthly, and cancel when you stop. Legally they are still travel insurance: they pay for emergencies, not ongoing care.

• Good for: younger, healthy nomads who mainly want cover for accidents, sudden illness and emergency evacuation.
• Watch for: limited or no routine care, waiting periods, caps on cover in your home country, and exclusions for pre-existing conditions.

Long-Stay Travel Insurance

Travel policies for trips of a few months up to a year or two.

• Good for: a defined trip, especially with adventure activities, plus cover for gear, delays and cancellations.
• Watch for: maximum trip lengths, rules requiring you to buy before leaving home, and weak cover for ongoing medical care.

International Health Insurance (Expat Plans)

Full health plans built for people living abroad long term.

• Good for: older nomads, families, people with health conditions, and anyone abroad for years.
• What you get: higher limits (often $1 million to unlimited), outpatient and routine care, specialist visits, prescriptions, and options for maternity, dental and vision.
• Watch for: waiting periods for pre-existing conditions (often 6 to 24 months), annual contracts, and much higher prices if you include the US.

There is no single best insurer. Compare two or three on what you actually need, and read each policy’s wording, not just the summary.

Nomad subscription insurance

• SafetyWing (Nomad Insurance): the best-known nomad subscription. Monthly, cancel anytime, buy from abroad. The Essential plan is emergency cover with lower limits and short home-country visits; the Complete plan adds some routine care, mental health and higher limits at a higher price. US cover costs extra.
• Genki: a European nomad insurer with a clean app and monthly subscriptions. Genki Explorer covers emergencies; Genki Resident is closer to full health insurance for people based abroad. Popular with Europeans.
• Insured Nomads: combines medical cover with telehealth, evacuation and security support, aimed at remote workers abroad for six to twelve months or longer.
• Heymondo: offers long-stay and annual multi-trip policies with a 24/7 medical chat, often good value for Europeans.

Long-stay travel insurance

• World Nomads: the classic backpacker policy, with strong adventure-sports cover and the option to buy or extend while travelling.
• True Traveller: UK and EU residents only; good value for long trips and well regarded for claims.
• IMG (Patriot and Global Traveler plans): flexible long-term traveller plans with higher limits than most subscriptions, worth comparing for stays of six months or more.
• battleface: covers destinations and activities that standard policies exclude, useful where there is an active travel advisory.

International health insurance

• Cigna Global: the most widely used expat plan, with tiered cover, the choice to include or exclude the US, and a huge network.
• Allianz Care: global expat plans with a wide hospital network and strong evacuation cover.
• Bupa Global: premium international plans, strong in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
• GeoBlue (now Blue Cross Blue Shield Global Solutions): the usual pick for US citizens abroad who want continuity with Blue Cross Blue Shield providers when they visit home.
• IMG Global Medical: budget-friendlier long-term plans with high lifetime limits.
• William Russell, April International and AXA Global Healthcare: solid international plans, popular with European and British expats.

Brokers such as Pacific Prime and International Insurance compare international plans side by side and are paid by the insurer, so their quotes usually cost the same as buying direct. For travel policies, InsureMyTrip and Squaremouth compare US-sold policies.

These are rough monthly prices for one healthy person; age, deductible, area of cover and add-ons change them a lot:

Ways to keep the cost down:

• Exclude the US unless you spend real time there; it often doubles the price.
• Choose a higher deductible if you can pay small bills yourself.
• Drop add-ons you won’t use, such as maternity or dental.
• Pay annually if you are sure you will keep the policy; many plans discount it.
• Keep cover continuous. A gap can reset waiting periods for pre-existing conditions.

1. Where you are covered. Many plans charge much more to include the US, and some limit or exclude cover in your home country.
2. Home visits. Nomad policies often cover only a limited number of days at home in each 90-day period, or none for US citizens without an add-on.
3. Pre-existing conditions. Usually excluded, or covered only after a waiting period. Declare everything: an undeclared condition can void the whole policy.
4. Activities. Scooters and motorbikes (often only with a licence valid in that country and a helmet), diving below a set depth, climbing, trekking above a set altitude and contact sports may need an add-on or be excluded.
5. Limits. The overall annual maximum, and limits per condition, per hospital stay and for evacuation.
6. Deductibles and co-pays. A cheap plan with a high excess may cover little day to day.
7. Evacuation and repatriation. Whether the plan pays to move you to a better hospital or home, and who decides.
8. Mental health. Many emergency-only policies exclude it or cap it low.
9. How claims work. Direct billing with hospitals is far easier than paying and claiming back.
10. Whether it satisfies your visa. Many nomad visas set a minimum, such as $50,000 of cover for Costa Rica or ¥10 million for Japan, and some require a local insurer (the UAE does). Ask the insurer for a certificate that names the country, the dates and the cover amount.

Scooter and motorbike accidents are the most common reason claims are refused in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Most policies only pay if you hold a motorcycle licence valid in that country (usually your home motorcycle licence plus an International Driving Permit), wore a helmet, and were not drinking. A car licence alone is rarely enough. If you plan to ride, get the right licence before you go, or choose a policy that explicitly covers riding without one, usually only for small engines. Our travel insurance guide explains the options.

Health policies don’t cover your laptop, and travel policies cover it only up to low per-item limits, often $300 to $500, and rarely for theft from an unattended bag or room. If your laptop is your income, insure it separately: see insuring your gear in the tech guide.

• Call the insurer’s emergency line first if you can. They can direct you to a hospital that bills them directly and approve treatment in advance.
• Keep everything: itemised bills, receipts, prescriptions and a doctor’s report describing the diagnosis and treatment.
• For theft, get a police report within 24 hours and list each item with its value and purchase date.
• Claim within the time limit, usually 30 to 90 days.
• Be honest. Inflated or inaccurate claims are investigated and refused.

Private healthcare in the main nomad hubs is good and much cheaper than in the US, but still adds up without insurance:

• Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Mexico City and Medellín have international-standard private hospitals with English-speaking doctors. A GP visit at a private hospital costs about $30 to $80; a night in hospital several hundred dollars.
• Lisbon, Barcelona and the rest of Western Europe have strong public systems, but as a non-resident you will normally use private clinics, which are reasonably priced.
• Bali, island towns and remote areas have clinics for basic care, but serious cases often need transfer to a bigger city or another country, which is why evacuation cover matters.
• The US is in a league of its own: a few nights in hospital can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Medicare doesn’t cover you outside the US, and most ACA marketplace plans don’t cover care abroad. If you keep a US plan for visits home, you can buy an international plan that excludes the US and save a lot. If you give up US cover entirely, check how you would be covered on trips home: many nomad policies limit or exclude US care unless you pay for it.

• Find a good private hospital and a pharmacy in each new city before you need them.
• Carry a basic medical kit and enough of any prescription medicine to last until you can refill it, with a copy of the prescription and the generic drug name.
• Keep up with vaccinations; check what each region recommends.
• Wear a helmet on every scooter ride, and only rent if you hold the right licence.
• Look after your back: a laptop stand, separate keyboard and a real chair make a long-term difference. See where to work.

• US State Department: Insurance providers for overseas coverage: a list of insurers that cover Americans abroad.
• CDC Travelers’ Health: vaccines and health advice for every destination.
• NHS Fit for Travel: the UK’s destination-by-destination health advice.
• UK FCDO: Travel insurance: what to look for in a policy and what is often excluded.