Health Insurance Providers for Brits Living Abroad

How we chose these providers

There’s no shortage of expat healthcare options on the market - so how did we come up with these?

Well, we started by asking our readers!

The question was deliberately lopsided - name one insurer you'd actually recommend to a fellow Brit abroad, and as many as you like that you'd tell them to steer well clear of.

People are far more candid about who burned them than who saved their bacon, and a long "do-not-touch" list tells you more about a market than a short list of fans ever will.

That gave us a shortlist. Then the proper work started.

We pulled each provider's policy wording and tariff sheet and got into the weeds - annual maxima, deductible options, the all-important Worldwide versus Worldwide-ex-US toggle, evacuation and repatriation terms, mental health benefits, and the (tediously long) small print on pre-existing conditions.

We also looked closely at underwriting types - full medical underwriting versus moratorium - because picking the wrong one here can quietly invalidate a claim five years down the line. (More on that further down the page.)

Then we cross-checked the marketing. Insurers love quoting "X% of claims paid within 48 hours" on their landing pages - we tracked these against 2025 published figures and what readers actually reported when it came time to claim. We also examined their historical 1-star reviews far more carefully than the 5-stars… because ultimately, that's where the recurring themes pop up: cancellation friction, renewal-rate shock, "out-of-customary-charges" claim reductions.

Finally, we sense-checked the survivors against destination reality.

A policy can look brilliant on paper and still be useless if it won't pass a Spanish NLV consulate, doesn't direct-bill at Bumrungrad, or fails the 482 visa health condition in Australia.

What you're actually walking away from

The reason all of this is so popular is because of a simple reality:

Lose your UK residence and the NHS sees you as an overseas visitor.

The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 see to this. Once you're no longer "ordinarily resident" - and "ordinary residence" is broadly about the lawful, voluntary, settled basis of where you actually live, not where you pay tax - you become chargeable for any relevant NHS services you use.

National Insurance contributions don't earn you NHS access. Decades of paying into the system don't earn you NHS access. Residence does.

Yes, for many…. it’s a bitter bill to swallow.

The GHIC card replaced the EHIC in 2021 but it's not a residence-based entitlement exavtly. It covers temporary visits to the EEA and Switzerland… but not your routine GP appointments overseas. Misuse of a GHIC for residence-based care can leave you on the hook for the full bill.

If you’re at or nearing retirement, you’ve probably also heard about the S1 form.

UK State Pensioners (and certain posted workers) can register for state healthcare in the EEA at UK expense. The NHSBSA online S1 portal for state pensioners has been functional since late 2025.

But everyone else, especially working-age Brits and retirees outside the EEA, needs private cover.

And that’s where the list above can guide you to a useful starting point.

2026 price hikes

Premium inflation is certainly real this year, and it’s a whole lot worse than usual.

Industry trackers report almost 10% average IPMI premium increases for 2026, with hot spots (UAE, Singapore, major European hubs) seeing even higher hikes.

Cigna has been dabbling with 8-12% annual increases. Elsewhere, Bupa Global's 2025 claims analysis flagged a 22% year-on-year rise in oncology and cardiology claims severity… and that translated directly into sharp 2026 renewal letters.

If you're renewing this year, expect a double-digit hike regardless of which provider you’d use. Budget for it accordingly.

Shop around at any quote that comes in 15%+ over last year, and ask about continuity-of-cover (or "continuous PMI") to preserve waiting-period progress if/when switching insurers.

The problem with visa minimums

A great international health insurance policy doesn't automatically tick the box at a visa consulate.

Visas and insurance policies are written by different people, in different countries, with different ideas of what "adequate cover" means.

We try to address this directly in each of our country guides, but you really do need to do your research carefully before taking out any health insurance.

If you turn up at the consulate with the wrong policy in hand, you burn the application and start again. Not fun.

With that in mind, here are some general rules of thumb for some of our top destinations:

Spain - Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV) and D7

Spain has been tightening the screws since May 2025, and the rules are now really strict.

Your policy has to come from a Spanish insurer (the local regulator keeps a list), with no co-payments, no waiting periods, no exclusions, and full coverage on par with the Spanish public system - for a full 12 months.

What this means: your shiny Cigna, AXA, Allianz or Bupa Global policy almost certainly won't pass the first NLV application, no matter how comprehensive it looks on paper. Crazy… but sadly, true.

The fix most British expats land on is to buy a domestic Spanish policy from Sanitas, Adeslas, ASSSA or DKV alongside their international cover. You're looking at €60-100 a month if you're under 40, and €200-400 a month once you're past 65.

The good news is that after the first year, you can usually switch to a cheaper Spanish policy with co-payments for the renewal.

Thailand - Non-OA, Non-OX and LTR visas

Thai immigration sets minimum cover levels depending on which visa you're applying for:

• Retirement visa (Non-OA, age 50+): THB 40,000 outpatient / THB 400,000 inpatient. Foreign insurers have been accepted since 2021.
• Long-stay retirement (Non-OX, 10-year): THB 3 million minimum.
• Long-Term Resident (LTR): USD 50,000 minimum, or stick USD 100,000 in a Thai bank account instead.

Most decent international plans blow these numbers out of the water - that's not the issue. The issue is paperwork.

When you buy your policy, you need to specifically ask for a Thai-immigration-friendly insurance certificate, worded the way Thai immigration officers expect to see it.

Without that exact piece of paper, the policy doesn't matter - you'll be sent away with your tail between your legs.

UAE - health insurance is now mandatory everywhere

The UAE used to require health insurance only in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. As of 1 January 2025, all seven emirates have followed suit.

If you're working for a company, your employer handles it as part of the visa process.

If you're self-employed, a dependant, or over 64… you sort it yourself.

The basic government-mandated package costs AED 320 per year (around £70) for anyone aged 1 to 64 - bought through DubaiCare or approved suppliers. It's bare-bones, and most expats top up with proper international cover for anything more than minor treatment.

Also, keep in mind here: Allianz's international plan can't be sold to UAE residents. Cigna or Bupa Global are the usual top-up choices instead.

Portugal - D7 and D8 visas

Portugal's D7 (passive income / retirement) and D8 (digital nomad) visas work in two stages, and you need different cover for each.

Stage one - at the consulate: A Schengen-compliant travel/medical policy. Minimum €30,000 cover, repatriation included, valid across the whole Schengen zone. Some US consulates and VFS centres now ask for 12 months of cover at this stage, not the old 4-month minimum - so check with your specific consulate before you buy.

Stage two - once you arrive: Portuguese health insurance for the AIMA appointment.

Once your residence permit is issued, you can register with the Serviço Nacional de Saúde at your local Centro de Saúde and use the Portuguese public system. Most expats keep private cover too - trust us, public-system waiting times for non-urgent appointments are not why you moved to the Algarve!

Australia - Reciprocal Health Care Agreement

Australia is a special case for UK passport holders.

Thanks to the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement between the UK and Australia, Brits can enrol in Medicare as soon as they arrive. You'll get a yellow Medicare card - which is a more limited version than the green one given to permanent residents.

The yellow card covers "medically necessary" treatment only. It doesn't cover dental, optical, ambulance services in most states, or private hospital - so most Brits will choose to supplement it with private cover anyway.

If you're moving on a 482 skilled-worker visa, things get pickier.

The visa demands "adequate health insurance," and the Department of Home Affairs only approves a handful of Australian funds for this - Bupa, Medibank, IMAN, HCF, HBF and Australian Unity. An international IPMI policy on its own won't satisfy the 482 at application.

One thing that softens the blow: if you earn over A$80,000 (single) or A$160,000 (family), you'll pay an extra 1-1.5% in tax (the Medicare Levy Surcharge) unless you hold private hospital cover.

For higher earners, private cover effectively pays for itself.

Travel insurance is NOT IPMI

Please… don’t make this mistake.

If you've got an annual multi-trip travel policy from the UK, you might be tempted to think you're sorted. You're not.

Annual multi-trip policies cap each trip at 30-90 days, and the moment you become a resident abroad, the policy quietly becomes worthless. It hasn't formally been cancelled - it's just no longer valid for the situation you're now in. You'd find that out the hard way at a hospital admissions desk.

Travel insurance is for emergencies on a trip. Broken leg in Bali, sudden appendicitis in Athens, that kind of thing. It gets you patched up and home.

IPMI (international private medical insurance) is for the whole shape of your medical life when you live abroad. Routine check-ups, chronic conditions, planned surgery, maternity, mental health, dental… plus the emergencies.

They look similar at a glance, and there's some overlap on the emergency side. But you can't swap one in for the other, and no consulate processing a long-stay visa will accept a travel policy as proof of cover.

If you're moving abroad, you need IPMI.

Underwriting types

When you apply for IPMI, you'll be offered one of three underwriting setups. Knowing which one you've signed up to changes how you should approach a claim - and how worried you should be about how that claim might be handled.

It's certainly worth understanding the different terminology here.

Full Medical Underwriting (FMU)

You fill in a detailed medical questionnaire - every condition, every prescription, every doctor's visit. The insurer then comes back with a decision: accept you on standard terms, charge you a bit extra, exclude a specific condition, or in rare cases, decline you altogether.

The upside is total clarity from day one. You know exactly what's covered and what isn't, and when you eventually claim, there's no rummaging through your medical history.

The downside is a longer application process and the possibility of permanent exclusions or a higher premium.

Moratorium underwriting

No long questionnaire here - usually just a short health declaration.

The insurer takes a different approach: anything you've had symptoms, advice, treatment, medication or tests for in the previous 5 years is excluded for the first 2 years of your policy. Get through 2 years symptom-free and treatment-free, and those conditions become eligible.

It's faster to set up and the form is simpler.

The only issue is that claims get investigated when you actually need them, not when you applied.

If you've got a condition you forgot to think about - or didn't realise had been flagged in your medical records - that's where it surfaces.

Continuous PMI / Continuous Moratorium (CPME)

This one matters when you switch insurers, and almost nobody talks about it.

When you move from one IPMI provider to another, the new insurer can honour the waiting-period clock you've already served with the old one - so you don't restart from scratch.

It sounds like basic paperwork, right? But the difference is enormous.

Without it, you reset the 2-year moratorium clock every time you switch.

Conditions you'd already cleared the waiting period on are suddenly excluded again for another 2 years. This is one of the most expensive mistakes we see British expats make at renewal time - usually because the broker didn't mention it, and most people don’t remember/know to ask.

Always ask the new insurer for continuity of cover. Always.

To our knowledge, from the list above, Allianz Care is the only top-tier insurer that gives you a clean choice between moratorium and FMU when you sign up.

Most others pick one and stick with it. If you've got minor medical history and want to weigh up which approach suits you, Allianz is the place you can actually do that without changing providers.

Key things to avoid

• Relying on a UK travel policy as your IPMI. This is not a “calculated risk” - it’s a recipe for disaster. It won't cover routine care, won't satisfy any long-stay visa, and becomes void once you become resident overseas…
• Letting your existing IPMI lapse at switch-time. Always ask the new insurer for "continuity" or "continuous PMI moratorium" terms. Otherwise the 2-year exclusion clock restarts.
• Non-disclosure on a medical questionnaire. The single most common reason claims are denied or policies voided. Don’t try and be smart or coy here. Always declare!