Do You Really Need Travel Health Insurance Abroad?
Here Is What Most People Get Wrong.

Let me be honest with you. Before I moved to the Dominican Republic, I thought I had health figured out.

Thirty years as a registered nurse in North America. I understood deductibles, co-pays, and coverage limits better than most people understand their grocery bills. I knew how to work the system. I was confident.

And then I stepped off a plane in Santo Domingo and realized that everything I knew about health coverage was about as useful as a winter coat at the beach.

Your employer-sponsored insurance does not follow you abroad. Your U.S. Medicare does not apply overseas. And that COBRA plan you thought you might keep during your time away? It is expensive, it has geographic limitations, and it was designed for someone staying in the country.

Whether you are a healthcare professional taking a sabbatical, a retiree making a permanent move, or anyone who is planning to spend real time outside the U.S. — you need to understand travel health insurance before you pack a single bag. Not after you land. Before.

This is what I wish someone had told me.

Why Your Existing Coverage Is Not Enough

I have talked to hundreds of people who are planning a move abroad or even just an extended stay somewhere warm. Healthcare workers, retirees, remote workers, spouses making the move with their partners. And the most common thing I hear from all of them is some version of this: "I'll figure out the insurance thing when I get there."

Please do not do that.

Here is the reality. Most domestic U.S. health insurance plans either exclude coverage outside the country entirely or provide only limited emergency coverage with massive out-of-pocket costs. Even plans that claim international coverage often require you to pay everything upfront and submit claims after the fact. That means you could be sitting in a foreign hospital, sick or injured, trying to negotiate in a second language while worrying about whether you will get reimbursed.

That is not a sabbatical. That is not a retirement. That is a nightmare.

And it does not matter what your background is. A retired teacher, a traveling physical therapist, a retiree moving abroad with their spouse — everyone faces the same gap the moment they leave U.S. soil. The coverage you spent years earning simply does not cross borders.

What to Look for in Travel Health Insurance

Not all travel insurance is created equal. There is a big difference between a policy that covers you for two weeks in Cancun and one that is designed for someone living abroad long-term. Here is what actually matters when you are evaluating your options.

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  Coverage Duration. Most standard travel insurance caps out at 30 to 90 days. If you are taking a three-month trip or an extended stay, that barely covers you. If you are relocating or doing long-term travel, you need something that renews month to month without you having to reapply constantly.
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  Medical Coverage Limits. Look for a minimum of $250,000 in medical coverage. Preferably more. A serious accident or hospitalization in an unfamiliar country can rack up costs faster than you think. A bargain policy with a $50,000 cap is not real protection.
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  Emergency Medical Evacuation. This surprises most people. If something goes seriously wrong in a location where the local hospital cannot handle it, you may need to be medically evacuated. Emergency evacuations can cost $50,000 to $200,000 or more. Most basic plans do not cover this. Make sure yours does.
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  Pre-existing Conditions. Read the fine print carefully. Some policies exclude pre-existing conditions entirely. Others cover them after a waiting period. Know exactly what you are signing up for before you leave.
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  Global vs. Regional Coverage. If you plan to travel between countries, make sure your policy covers you everywhere you intend to go. Some plans are region-specific and will leave gaps if you cross borders.

Why I Recommend SafetyWing

I have looked at several options since I moved to the Dominican Republic. SafetyWing is the one I keep coming back to, and it is the one I recommend to everyone in my community — healthcare workers, retirees, and anyone else planning a serious move or extended time abroad.

SafetyWing was built specifically for people who live and work outside their home country. It is not an afterthought added onto a standard domestic plan. It is designed from the ground up for expats, long-term travelers, and remote workers — people who actually need real international coverage, not a tourist add-on.

The coverage is monthly and renewable. You are not locked into a one-year contract that does not match your timeline. You can start coverage from outside your home country, which is rare. And the pricing is genuinely affordable compared to keeping COBRA or buying a traditional expat plan.

That flexibility matters for everyone. You might plan a three-month trip and end up staying for a year. You might retire abroad with your partner and need coverage for both of you without jumping through a dozen hoops. SafetyWing works the same way for all of it.

The coverage includes hospital stays, doctor visits, emergency dental care, emergency medical evacuation, and more. It is solid, reliable protection that gives you real peace of mind while you figure out what life abroad actually looks like for you.

Read the policy details for your specific situation, especially if you have ongoing health conditions that need regular management. But for the vast majority of people making a move or taking extended time abroad? It covers what you actually need at a price that makes sense.

What Happens if You Skip the Insurance

I want to tell you a quick story.

I know someone who moved to Southeast Asia without coverage. She was young, healthy, and honestly just did not think about it. Three months in, she broke her arm. The local hospital was fine. The care was decent. But the bill was over $4,000, none of it covered, and the experience shook her enough that she cut her trip short and went home.

Four thousand dollars and a broken arm sent a healthy person running back to the country she was trying to escape.

Now imagine it was not a broken arm. A car accident. A sudden illness. A cardiac event. The costs scale up fast and the emotional chaos scales up with them.

Insurance is not just about the money. It is about being able to focus on getting better instead of figuring out how to pay for it. Get covered before you go. Give yourself the ability to actually enjoy this chapter without that fear hanging over your head.

Get Your Quote

If you are ready to get covered, I made it easy. Enter your details below and see exactly what SafetyWing will cost for your specific situation. Pricing is real-time based on your age and travel dates.

One Last Thing Before You Go

Making a move abroad — whether that is a sabbatical, a long-term stay, or a full relocation — is one of the most exciting decisions you will ever make. There is so much to figure out. Housing, visas, banking, language, community. The list is long and insurance tends to end up at the bottom of it because it feels like a detail.

It is not a detail. It is the foundation that lets you take the leap without that knot in your stomach.

You have already done the hard work of building your career, raising your family, and earning this next chapter. This part should feel like freedom, not another thing to lose sleep over.

Get covered before you go.

Coleen Huie Garcia is a Registered Nurse with 30 years of experience in North America who now lives semi-retired in the Dominican Republic with her husband Ricardo. She is the founder of Burnout to Bliss Abroad, a community for healthcare workers and anyone ready to explore life abroad.