Just imagine for a second that you are in the middle of a long-term trip abroad. You are not just on holiday; you are a digital nomad with your travel itinerary booked up for months—but you suddenly get seriously ill.
Congratulations on an excellent article, possibly unique.
One additional point I would raise is please check what hospitals and what doctors are covered. Not easy… I have seen some policies are restrictive - some allow you to go to anyone, some say only in a preapproved emergency and others say you are responsible for any price difference.
I have had patients only eligible in India for unacceptable hospitals in that city or the option to travel hundreds of miles which isnt appropriate
In the US I have had policies that only cover network A of doctors in a hospital but network B is on call
In London we have had only hospital A covered but it doesnt provide that service, and the amount the insurer claims is paid to the approved doctor is so low no doctor will accept that fee and the patient has a massive shortfall.
Finally, as others on this site have pointed out, make sure you can start treatment without delay or too much hassle.
Have been a ‘Safety Wing’ customer since a few years now (actually all courtesy of your first issue of Nomad Insurance), and am very happy with their service (Not that I have yet had cause to claim).
However, on seeing your tabulated info, it makes me question my own switch on/switch off policy.
They’re aware of my date of birth, and yet the premium is of the ‘cheapo’ version as you described it.
Now I must investigate, and urgently, as I am travelling in 3 weeks.
I produce TV documentaries all over the world and use ACS for global health/medical insurance. I don’t think, any other plan on your list beats their “Globe Partner” plan/s. Sorry, if you had it on the list and I overlooked it ACS Global. I just renewed my global health insurance for € 511/year (only the home country = country of residence is excluded). And I am not a spring chicken anymore, so my rate is probably higher than for younger folks … If somebody found better options, feel free to respond to my message. All the best, A
Are you sure you have a global expatriate health insurance with them, not a global travel health insurance? It sounds like the latter since it excludes your country of residence.
I asked for a quote in accordance with our 30-year old “Typical Nomad” persona and the quote is for €2,421 per year. That’s in line with the most expensive ones listed in the article (e.g. Allianz)—which makes sense since their ACS World plan is in fact powered by Allianz.
EDIT: I checked and their Globe Partner insurance is indeed just travel insurance which is limited to a maximum of 12 months.
This is an excellent post!
One point I missed (specific to US taxpayers): are any of these plans potentially HSA-eligible?
This is a great article and I finally got around to reading it since I am making plans for a 6 mo stint in the EU. I guess all I will need is a traveler plan but thought this would be a good starting point. There seems to be a couple of missing hyperlinks where it says “You can access the full policy document here”
Hi,
I’m glad you enjoyed the article. Thanks for pointing out the missing links, I’ve updated them now.
hi Sam
thanks for the note. I went back to the article but I still don’t see the links. Maybe it didn’t save the links ?
Ravi
Hi Ravi,
Which policy document are you trying to access? They all seem to work for me.
Sam
I have a question about the health service providers that are recommended by these health insurance companies. Is there a way to find out the names of the doctors and dentists they recommend? I’m guessing each company has vetted each health professional they recommend and are only steering their policy-holders to the best. Let’s say I want an English-speaking doctor in Gabon, Africa - or in one of the neighboring countries. And let’s say I’m willing to pay the health service provider fees out of pocket. In other words, I’m not interested in purchasing a policy. Is there a way to find out which health professionals are being recommended by these companies, country by country?
At the top of this article, it says:
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry of Primary Health Insurance For Nomads. That entry had 46 comments. When I click the link, it takes me back to this post, “The Ultimate Guide”, which only has 12 comments.
46 (now 47) is the number of people who have clicked on the link.
O.K. Thanks. So I guess I need to contact each primary health insurance provider and see if they make that information available to potential policyholders.
Absolutely not. The insurers will often go to an intermediary that contracts on price with providers. Nothing about quality. There may be an additional layer of a repatriation company such as EuropAssistance who will have a database of what different hospitals are capable of and evacuate you to a more comprehensive hospital. In much of the developed world the insurers offer a low fixed rate and in London at least many senior doctors and some hospitals refuse to accept patients leaving them to go elsewhere.
