An employer health plan built for one country often stops working when you move abroad. These are the five gaps remote workers hit most, and how to close them.
Your work plan was built for one country
Most employer health plans are designed around the country where the company is based. If you keep your job but move abroad to work remotely, the plan may cover you only for emergencies, only through telehealth, or not at all. Read the area of cover in your plan documents before you move, not after you need a doctor.
Gap 1: Where you are covered
A domestic group plan usually pays for treatment in its home country and treats everything else as travel. If you are living in Portugal or Thailand on a plan written for the UK or the US, routine visits there are often not covered. International health insurance is sold by area of cover instead, for example worldwide or worldwide excluding the USA, so it follows you when you move.
Gap 2: Evacuation and repatriation
If you are somewhere with limited hospitals and need to be moved for treatment, the transport alone can be the largest bill. Employer plans rarely include it. International plans differ here too: Allianz Care includes evacuation and repatriation in full on every plan, while on Cigna Global it is an optional module. Check which you have.
Gap 3: Mental health
Outpatient therapy is often limited even on good plans, and a domestic plan may not pay a therapist abroad at all. On international plans the limits vary a lot: Allianz Care allows 5, 15 or 30 outpatient therapy visits depending on the plan, and Cigna Global pays up to US$5,000, US$10,000 or in full. See our mental health guide for more.
Gap 4: Visa rules
Many residence and nomad visas ask for health insurance that meets local rules, and an employer letter is not always enough. Spain, for example, wants cover from an insurer authorised to operate in Spain for its telework visa and does not accept travel insurance. Our visa insurance guide lists the rules for 21 visas, each with its official source.
Gap 5: Dental and optical
Dental and optical benefits on a work plan are usually tied to providers at home. International plans often sell them as an add-on: Cigna Global's vision and dental module has a 3-month wait, and Allianz Care offers an optional dental plan.
What you can do
Ask HR in writing whether the plan covers you where you will live, and for what. If it does not, a personal international health plan can sit alongside it or replace it. Our insurer comparisons show how the main plans differ, and you can compare prices for your age and country.