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International health
insurance

Purchase insurance with William Russell, and join thousands of expats enjoying excellent customer service. In fact, 95% of our members renew every year. That’s pretty good for an insurance provider! We think you’ll love it too, and—if you don’t—we’ll give you your money back under our 30-day money back guarantee.

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International Health Insurance
avatar - Lee Doran

Lee Doran

Underwriting Manager

lee.doran@william-russell.com
Authored by

Lee Doran

Underwriting Manager

Getting started

What is international health insurance?

International health insurance is a type of insurance that covers private healthcare for people living, working, or studying outside their home country for a prolonged period (usually more than one year). Basic international health insurance covers you for serious health conditions which require admission to hospital, such as cancer treatment and organ transplants, and for emergency medical evacuations. More comprehensive international health insurance also covers you for everyday medical costs, such as doctor visits, consultations with specialists, and well-being care. Some international health insurance will have cover for pregnancy and childbirth, dental care, and optional extras such as personal accident cover and travel insurance. The more an international health insurance policy covers, the more expensive it will be.

Benefits

What’s included

Unleash the power of international health insurance with William Russell. Beyond peace of mind, discover a world of benefits.

Select the doctor/hospital of your choice within your coverage zone.

Cover for doctor visits and physio on the Silver and Gold plans. On Bronze, you have cover for post-hospital physio only.

We’ll arrange your evacuation if the urgent hospital treatment for a life or limb-threatening condition isn’t available locally.

Cover for when you’re admitted to hospital (including doctor fees, surgery, nursing care, theatre charges, and diagnostic tests).

Full cover for cancer treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and genome testing of cancer cells.

When you become a member, you’ll have a dedicated contact to help you with your policy.

If you have an emergency that requires immediate assistance, call our 24-hour helpline.

Get near real-time security alerts for natural disasters and public safety incidents near your current location.

How does international health insurance work?

Step 1

Buy a policy

Before you can use your health insurance, you must first buy a policy. You can get a quick quote for a policy using our online quote tool. We’ll ask you a few details (your age, your location), and then we’ll show you prices. It only takes a few minutes. A couple of days after your quote, someone from our team will email or call you to talk you through your quote. Once you’ve applied, we can normally set up your policy within 48 hours.

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Women completing the international health insurance online quote form
Step 2

When you need medical treatment

When you need treatment for a medical condition, call us on+44 1276 486 460 or email claims@william-russell.com. We’ll confirm your coverage and help you find a suitable hospital or clinic for your treatment. If you need to stay overnight in hospital, we’ll arrange your admission and sort out all the admin with the hospital.

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Settle your medical bill directly with the hospital or doctor providing treatment
Step 3

Undergo your course of treatment

Our goal is to minimise the time you spend on admin and paperwork so you can focus on your treatment and your recovery. So while you’re staying in hospital, we’ll handle everything with the hospital and check in with you to make sure everything is going well.

Arranging hospital admission
Step 4

Paying your bills

When you’re admitted to hospital, we’ll settle your bills with the hospital directly. In most cases, you won’t even see a bill! If you received everyday medical treatment that didn’t require you to be admitted, you pay the bills and we’ll reimburse you later. Typically, bills for everyday medical care don’t exceed a few hundred US dollars.

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Costs

How much does international health insurance cost?

How much you pay for an international health insurance policy depends on many factors. The most important factors are your age, where you live, and your level of cover. We’ve put together a few examples in the table below:

EMPTY
Example
Country of residence
Coverage outside country of residence
Excess
Monthly premium

Bronze

Example
30-year-old from the United Kingdom
Country of residence
Vietnam
Coverage outside country of residence
South East Asia only
Excess
US$250 per annum
Monthly premium
US$82

SilverLite

Example
A South African couple, aged 45 and 40
Country of residence
Botswana
Coverage outside country of residence
Africa & Indian Subcontinent
Excess
US$50 per claim
Monthly premium
US$299

Silver

Example
Single professional American citizen, aged 50
Country of residence
China
Coverage outside country of residence
Worldwide
Excess
US$250 per annum
Monthly premium
US$653

Gold

Example
Young French family with 2 children
Country of residence
The Philippines
Coverage outside country of residence
International (with limited cover in regions like Europe & Oceania)
Excess
US$800 per claim
Monthly premium
US$906

Who we cover

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Individuals

If it’s just you moving abroad for work or family reasons, you can take out an individual policy.

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Best Insurance for Working Abroad

Digital nomads

If you’re moving abroad to work remotely or your planning to hop between countries, you can take out an individual policy—no problem.

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William Russell International Life Insurance

Families

If you want to include your spouse, partner or children, you can take out a family policy. If you’re planning children, you can add them to your policy once they come along.

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Female student presenting work in front of other students

Students

If you’re moving abroad for undergraduate or postgraduate university studies, you can take out an individual policy.

Coverage zones

Where do I have cover?

Our international health insurance policies give you international cover. That means you’ll have cover in the country where you’re living and working, cover on trips in your region for business or leisure, and usually cover for trips home. When you purchase a policy, you have a few different coverage options. These range from worldwide cover to cover in just one region. Generally speaking, the wider your coverage the more expensive your premium.

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Full international health insurance cover where you're living, cover on trips in your region, and usually cover for trips at home
Our plans

Which plan is right for me?

Bronze

US$1.5m

Annual benefit limit

  • Hospital treatment & follow up appointments
  • Cancer treatment
  • Ambulances
  • Medical evacuations
  • Advanced imaging, such as MRI and CT scans

SilverLite

US$1.5m

Annual benefit limit

  • Hospital treatment (with semi-private accommodation)
  • Cancer treatment
  • Ambulances
  • Chronic conditions
  • Medical evacuations
  • Advanced imaging, such as MRI and CT scans
  • Doctor and specialist visits

Silver

US$2.5m

Annual benefit limit

  • All the benefits of Bronze
  • Private hospital accommodation
  • Mental health treatment
  • Outpatient treatment
  • Chronic conditions
  • Physiotherapy
  • Well-being

Gold

US$5m

Annual benefit limit

  • All the benefits of Silver
  • Cash benefit upon diagnosis with cancer
  • Highest benefit limits
  • Routine dental treatment
  • Pregnancy & childbirth

Some of the benefits have waiting periods. For full information, visit our comparison page.

Frequently asked questions

In most cases, we can only provide insurance to expats. By expat, we mean people living and working outside of their country of nationality (e.g., a Dutch national living in Taiwan or a Canadian national living in India).

We can provide plans to people of all nationalities in most countries around the world. You must be living or working in a country different from your country of nationality.

Typically, our members reside permanently in a foreign country. But we can sometimes provide cover to people expecting to spend at least 6 months of the year living or traveling abroad. In certain countries, we can cover people living in the same country that issues their passport. These countries are Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria, Mauritius, Estonia, and Malawi.

Typically, policies do not cover pre-existing medical conditions. Having a pre-existing condition doesn’t mean you can’t take out international health insurance. It just means you won’t be covered for that condition unless it has been agreed.

A pre-existing condition is an illness or injury you’ve already received medications, advice or treatment, or for which you have experienced symptoms of—or tests, medication, treatment or advice for—before taking out your health insurance policy.

You can pay annually, half-yearly, quarterly or monthly. Paying your premium annually is the cheapest option.

No, you can take out international health insurance once you’ve already relocated to your new country of residence.

You must be under age 76 when your policy starts, but you can renew for as long as you need it.

As soon as you purchase your international health insurance policy, you will be able to receive medical treatment. However some benefits have a waiting period. For example, you will be covered for hospitalisation from the day your plan starts whereas for maternity costs there is a 12-month waiting period.

No, we do not.

International health insurance is designed for expats moving abroad whereas travel insurance is designed for holiday-makers going on a short trip abroad. It can be quite confusing so we’ve created a guide which explains the differences between international, domestic and travel insurance.

Whilst international health insurance prices vary a lot, they are generally more expensive than domestic or travel policies. This is because international health plans cover you in multiple (or even all) countries. They’re great for people who live and work abroad, or who spend lots of time traveling. Some international health plans also include emergency medical evacuation cover so you can access urgent treatment even if it’s not available in your location.

There are many reasons as to why having international health insurance abroad is important. Not having international health insurance could lead to unexpected, expensive costs if you need medical treatment. For example, according to our research the average claim value for medical evacuation is $13,470. The costs of getting ill abroad without health insurance can be huge.

There are different phrases to describe international health insurance such as global medical insurance, worldwide health insurance, international medical insurance etc. They all mean the same thing. There’s lots of jargon that can be confusing so we’ve created a glossary that explains the key terms.

It takes less than 2 minutes to fill in our online quote for international health insurance. Once we have your completed digital application form, it usually takes 2 days to get your policy started. Our dedicated onboarding team is on hand to help you choose the right plan and guide you through the medical questionnaire.

Why trust us?

William Russell was one of the first insurance providers to cover people living abroad, and we’ve earned a reputation for outstanding customer experience.

Why it matters
Family in the beach wonderful international insurance customer service

Financial stability

When you purchase a policy from William Russell, you can be sure there’ll always be money to pay your claims. The insurer behind our health insurance is a company in the Allianz group, one of the largest financial services companies in the world.

Find out what our members think
Your own dedicated advisor when you join

Outstanding customer service

We have independently verified reviews from over 1,000 of our members, and we win prestigious awards for our outstanding customer service. When you purchase a policy, you’ll be assigned your own dedicated policy manager as your main point of contact at William Russell.

Learn more about seeking treatment
Choose where you receive treatment, ultrasound scan

Get treatment on your terms

Unlike other providers, we don’t tell you where you have to go for medical treatment. You can choose any doctor at any hospital in your coverage zone. And if you don’t know where to go, we’ll help you find a suitable hospital for your treatment.

What our members say about us

William Russell member, Andrew, sitting in front of the sea
Andrew

William Russell have always been very sympathetic and extremely helpful. I never had any issues with William Russell – Reimbursements/Letters of Guarantee were always prompt. It was an excellent service – no issues, no questions and no delays.

Yvonne - William Russell Member
Yvonne & Roger

I felt really, really supported, being able to write an email and knowing the person I sent it to was the one who would read and reply to it. I feel appreciated for being a member for so many years. And now that I’ve retired, I’ve even been given a discount on my health insurance package, which I’m grateful for.

Member Stories - Faisal
Faisal

What comes across strongest is the humanitarian aspect of William Russell…. always looking for the best treatment options for its members and not being too concerned with the cost issues. Had I not been air evacuated to the Nairobi Hospital when I was, I very likely would not have been around today. Thank you William Russell.

Cheerful man reading emails on his laptop working remotely in a cafe in Spain
Edan

I liked that I could speak to a human being at the end of the phone. I just prefer dealing with someone directly. For me, in particular, it was very important to deal with someone regulated by a regulator as recognised and reputable as the FCA (the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK).

William Russell member, Chris
Chris

What makes William Russell stand out from other providers is their great service, international coverage, and the ability to pick the plan that fit our lifestyle. When we first signed up we were dating and traveling the world, then married and pregnant, and now have two beautiful boys and we have been able to pick plans that best suit our needs.