The international health insurers we work with
Eight carriers, in no meaningful order. There is no best insurer — there is the right paper for one household's situation, and finding it is the whole job. These pages are what we look at when we look at each of them.
Bupa Global
The international arm of Bupa, the British healthcare group. One of the longest-established names in international private medical insurance.
Tiered worldwide plans with the area-of-cover choice (worldwide, or worldwide excluding the United States) that decides most of the premium.
What we check firstCigna Global
The individual international health business of Cigna, the US healthcare group — one of the largest IPMI writers worldwide.
A modular build: an inpatient core with outpatient, evacuation, dental and vision added as separate modules, which is where both the value and the gaps live.
What we check firstAPRIL International
The international health arm of the French APRIL group. Strong in Europe and Asia, and a common answer for French-speaking destinations.
First-euro plans alongside top-up structures, with short-term bridge products — relevant to exactly the enrolment gaps this site keeps describing (France, Portugal).
What we check firstGlobal Health (Foyer)
The international health insurer of Foyer, Luxembourg's largest insurance group — relaunched under the "Global Health" brand (verified 2026-08-01); the underwriting entity remains Foyer Global Health S.A.
The five-tier Journey range, from a short-term entry plan to unlimited-maximum tiers — replacing the older Essential/Special/Exclusive line, which much of the internet still describes.
What we check firstAllianz Care
The international health and life arm of Allianz, operating from Dublin. The carrier most often already present through an employer scheme.
Individual plans and large group schemes — which means the first question is usually about the plan you already have through work, not a new one.
What we check firstAXA Global Healthcare
The international health business of AXA, the French insurance group.
Worldwide individual plans with the standard area-of-cover tiers, plus virtual care services that matter more in remote destinations than the brochure suggests.
What we check firstMSH International
The international health specialist of the Diot-Siaci group, Paris. Long history with expatriate group schemes and complex postings.
Strong on employer and mobility schemes — often the paper behind a corporate benefits programme rather than a plan you chose yourself.
What we check firstSwisscare
A Swiss-based international insurance provider the Swiss practice has worked with for years — strong on students, young mobiles and Swiss-connected expats.
Currently a single emergency-only medical product on fixed terms — structurally long-stay travel cover rather than renewable expat insurance, which is exactly the distinction a review exists to make (verified 2026-08-01).
What we check firstA carrier not being on this page means nothing except that we have not written its profile yet. And a carrier being on it is not an endorsement — the report recommends paper, not brands, and sometimes it recommends the paper you already hold.
Four of these eight are among the seven insurers quoted in an independent fifty-country cost benchmark. That is not a shortlist either — the benchmark needed a consistent basket of globally operating carriers to price countries with, and its authors say twice that it does not compare them against one another. What it is genuinely good for is the question underneath: what a country costs before anyone quotes you.
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