I often get asked which insurance we use as a digital nomad family with two young kids. That’s why I finally wrote a blog article to share all the details with you.
In this independent, non-sponsored article, I share how I found the right travel health insurance for my family. I explain why we chose Luma, which options we ruled out, and why. At the end, I also share honest feedback on whether we’re happy with our decision in this Luma Health Insurance Review.
From Hanse Merkur to Luma Health Insurance: Our Health Insurance Coverage Journey
When we became digital nomads and left Germany in 2019, we took out a basic travel health insurance plan with Hanse Merkur. This plan covered almost everything except vaccinations and childbirth, with a €25 (about $27) deductible per claim. As a family of four, we paid €196 (about $211) per month. The coverage was valid for five years.
Aside from the fact that Hanse Merkur felt outdated—its claims form looked like it came from the 18th century—we were quite satisfied overall. Unfortunately, when the five years were up, Hanse Merkur didn’t extend our policy, so we had to look for a new insurance plan.
This meant that, in September 2024, I had to find new travel health insurance for our family. That’s when our search for the right provider began, ultimately leading to this Luma Health Insurance Review.
My Search for the Perfect Travel Health Insurance for Full-Time Traveling Families
Honestly, I felt pretty overwhelmed by the sea of insurance options out there. Catchy slogans and photos of happy travelers fill the websites of travel insurance providers. But I knew I wanted a plan that would work for our nomadic lifestyle, as I explain further in this Luma Health Insurance Review.
So, before diving into research, I first figured out what was most important for our family.
Here’s a quick snapshot of our situation:
- 2 adults
- 2 kids (ages 3 and 7)
- German nationals
- Based in Thailand, spending about 180 days a year here
- Nomadic lifestyle (we typically stay 3–6 months in one country)
- Planned travel destinations over the next three years: mainly Asia, Europe, and Africa
- No plans for more kids
- No chronic illnesses, disabilities, allergies, or other health issues
Key Factors I Considered for Choosing Travel Health Insurance
When choosing travel health insurance, here’s what mattered most to us as a nomadic family:
- Coverage in multiple regions: Asia, Europe, Africa, South, and Central America (in Germany, we’re used to excluding the USA and Canada to keep costs reasonable).
- Doctor visits: Coverage for outpatient treatments.
- Prescriptions: Doctor-prescribed medications and bandages.
- Hospital stays: Coverage for inpatient treatments.
- Emergency transport: Including transport to the nearest hospital.
- Repatriation: Medically necessary repatriation to our home country.
- Funeral and transfer costs: In case of an emergency.
- Cancer treatments: Coverage for serious illnesses.
- Modern service: A more up-to-date approach, like having an app for handling claims.
My Process for Evaluating Health Insurance Options
Once we knew what we wanted, I started contacting insurance providers one by one and requesting quotes. Honestly, it wasn’t easy because there’s a huge lack of transparency in many plans. For someone without expertise, it’s tough to figure out what’s excluded, what’s included, and how different types of deductibles work (like an annual amount you pay yourself or a small share per claim).
In some cases, I ended up getting bombarded with calls from Canada, or agents insisted on setting up Zoom calls with me. It was all pretty exhausting and far from user-friendly.
Reviewing the Competition: Why Other Insurance Providers Didn’t Make the Cut
First, I provide this handy comparison table for an overview. Afterward, I dive into detailed descriptions of each offer and explain why they didn’t make the final cut.
| Provider (Plan) | Coverage Highlights | Pricing | Reasons for Elimination |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanse Merkur (Long-Term Travel Health Insurance) | Basic travel health insurance covering most treatments | €196/month ($211) / $2,532/year | Outdated processes; policy not extended beyond five years. |
| Safety Wing (Travel Medical Insurance) | Global coverage, emergency transport, home-country visits | From $56.28 per 4 weeks / $2,701.44/year | No cancer treatment coverage. |
| Genki (Explorer) | Flexible coverage for new conditions, emergencies, medical transport | From $52/month / $2,496/year | Lack of transparency; required personal details and a call early in the process. |
| Worldnomads (Explorer Plan) | Medical coverage, repatriation, supports 150+ adventure activities | $4,946.48/year | Expensive; lacks transparency; doesn’t cover medical emergencies in the country of residence. |
| Heymondo (Long Stay Travel Insurance) | Covers medical, dental, travel disruption, and COVID-19 | $646 for 3 months / $2,584/year | No coverage for country of residence; unclear cancer treatment coverage. |
| IMG Global (Patriot Multi Trip International) | Annual medical insurance up to $1M, emergency services | $844/month / $10,128/year | High cost; inflexible trip durations; no coverage for emergencies in the country of residence. |
| HCI Group (Protector Plan Standard) | Includes cancer coverage; options for pre-existing conditions | $6,778/year | High cost. |
| Cigna Global (International Health Insurance for Global Professionals) | Comprehensive plans with cancer care, maternity, and mental health | $6,120/year (Silver Plan) | Expensive despite extensive coverage. |
| Insured Nomads (World Explorer Multi Trip) | Medical, trip protection, baggage, and adventure sports coverage | $5,335/year (275-day trip) | High cost; inflexible for nomadic families. |
| Luma Health Insurance (Hi5) | Comprehensive inpatient/outpatient, cancer treatment, digital integration | $3,457/year (no deductible) | Chosen provider: modern service, flexible plans, family discount, excellent customer support. |
Safety Wing (Travel Medical Insurance)
- Global Coverage: Continuous coverage in over 180 countries, with optional U.S. coverage.
- Flexible Enrollment: Sign up before departure or during your travels.
- Medical Benefits: Covers hospital stays, nursing care, diagnostics, prescriptions, emergency dental (up to $1,000), and more, with a maximum limit of $250,000.
- Evacuation Coverage: Up to $100,000 for transfers to better-equipped hospitals.
- Travel Assistance: Benefits for lost checked luggage (up to $3,000), trip interruption, and delays over 12 hours.
- Home Country Visits: Coverage for trips back home—30 days for every 90 days abroad (15 days for U.S. residents).
- Affordable Pricing: Starts at $56.28 per 4 weeks for ages 18–39, with options to add adventure sports, U.S. travel, and electronics theft coverage.
- Simple Claims Process: Easy claims process with 24/7 live chat support responding in under a minute.
- ✘ Reason for elimination: No coverage for cancer treatment.
Genki (Explorer)
- Flexible Coverage: Monthly subscription model, offering coverage from one month up to two years.
- Comprehensive Medical Benefits: Covers treatments for new conditions, including hospitalizations, accidents, and emergencies.
- Global Reach: Worldwide coverage with some limitations in the home country.
- Emergency Support: Includes medical transport and repatriation services.
- Affordable Pricing: Starts at approximately $52 per month for ages 0–29, with options to adjust the deductible and coverage regions.
- ✘ Reason for elimination: No option to get an online quote or tariff overview. They immediately asked for my personal details and a call. Sorry, but I’m not willing to invest so much time so early in the process.
Worldnomads (Explorer Plan)
- Emergency Medical Coverage: Covers hospitalizations, day surgeries, outpatient treatments, visits to registered medical practitioners, prescribed medications, and ambulance services for sudden illness or injury while traveling.
- Medical Evacuation and Repatriation: Covers costs for transportation to the nearest appropriate medical facility or repatriation to your home country if necessary.
- 24/7 Multilingual Assistance: Access to a support team to help locate hospitals, arrange medical transport, set up direct payments, and assist your family during emergencies.
- Coverage for Over 150 Activities: Protects you while participating in a wide range of adventure activities.
- ✘ Reasons for elimination: Doesn’t cover medical emergencies in the country of residence. Lacked transparency in the plan details. Quite expensive: The Explorer Plan would have cost our family $4,946.48 USD per year.
Heymondo (Long Stay Travel Insurance)
- Emergency Medical and Dental Expenses: Covers up to $2,500,000 USD for medical expenses abroad due to sudden illness or accidental injury, including hospitalization, prescription drugs, and inpatient physical therapy.
- Medical Transportation and Repatriation: Includes transport or medical repatriation for injured or ill persons, companions, and the deceased.
- Baggage Protection: Up to $1,200 USD for loss or damage to luggage or personal effects caused by theft, carrier loss, or journey damage.
- Travel Disruption: Provides up to $350 USD for expenses related to delays, missed connections, or other disruptions.
- Flexible Renewal: Policies start at 90 days and can be renewed up to 275 days, with upfront renewal pricing.
- 24/7 Worldwide Assistance: Offers around-the-clock medical help, including coverage for COVID-19 infections and medically prescribed PCR tests.
- Travel Assistance App: Features 24-hour medical chat, free emergency calls, and claims management through the Heymondo app.
- Affordable Pricing: I received a quote of $646 USD for 3 months for our entire family, renewable as needed.
- ✘ Reasons for elimination: Doesn’t cover medical emergencies in the country of residence. They didn’t answer my question about coverage for cancer treatment.
IMG Global (Patriot Multi Trip International)
- Annual Coverage: Offers medical insurance for multiple trips within a 12-month period, with trip durations of 30, 45, or 60 days, depending on the plan.
- Comprehensive Medical Benefits: Covers eligible medical expenses like hospitalizations, physician visits, and emergency medical evacuations, with a maximum limit of $1,000,000.
- Emergency Services: Includes emergency medical evacuation, return of mortal remains, and emergency reunion benefits for critical situations.
- Additional Benefits: Covers accidental death and dismemberment, terrorism incidents, and natural disasters for extra protection.
- Flexible Renewability: Renewable for up to 36 months, making it suitable for long-term travelers.
- ✘ Reasons for elimination: Not flexible enough for our travel style (some of our trips last longer than 60 days). Doesn’t cover medical emergencies in the country of residence. Very expensive: They quoted me $844 USD per month for our family.
HCI Group (Protector Plan Standard)
- Comprehensive Cancer Coverage: Includes inpatient and outpatient cancer treatments without financial limits.
- Pre-existing Conditions: Offers options to include or exclude coverage for pre-existing medical conditions.
- Visa Compliance: Meets the medical insurance requirements often necessary for securing international visas.
- Extensive Hospital Network: Allows selection from a wide range of private hospitals within their network.
- 24/7 Medical Assistance: Ensures round-the-clock support for medical emergencies and inquiries.
- ✘ Reasons for elimination: Very expensive: They quoted me an annual fee of $6,778 USD.
Cigna Global (International Health Insurance for Global Professionals)
- Flexible Coverage Options: Choose from Silver, Gold, or Platinum plans, each offering different levels of inpatient and daypatient treatment coverage.
- Comprehensive Medical Benefits: Covers inpatient and daypatient care, full cancer care, medical imaging, rehabilitation services, emergency room treatment, and mental health care (Platinum plan).
- Maternity and Newborn Care: Gold and Platinum plans include coverage for maternity and newborn care, with higher limits in the Platinum plan.
- Global Coverage with Local Expertise: Access to a worldwide network of healthcare providers, ensuring quality care wherever you are, with the option to include the USA.
- No Upper Age Limit: Available for individuals aged 18 and above, with no maximum age restrictions.
- Dedicated Customer Support: Offers assistance from advisors, nurses, and doctors for healthcare needs.
- ✘ Reasons for elimination: Very expensive: They quoted me an annual fee of $6,120 USD (no deductibles, Silver Plan).
Insured Nomads (World Explorer Multi Trip)
- Comprehensive Medical Coverage: Covers emergency medical expenses, including hospitalizations, outpatient care, and emergency dental treatment.
- Emergency Assistance and Evacuation: Includes emergency medical evacuation, repatriation, and 24/7 emergency assistance services.
- Trip Protection: Covers trip cancellations, interruptions, and delays to safeguard your travel plans.
- Baggage and Personal Belongings: Protects against loss, theft, or damage to luggage and personal items during your trip.
- Adventure and Sports Coverage: Offers optional coverage for various adventure activities and sports, perfect for active travelers.
- Global Reach: Provides worldwide coverage for confident travel across different countries.
- Flexible Plans: Includes single-trip and multi-trip options to match different travel durations and needs.
- ✘ Reasons for elimination: Very expensive: They quoted me an annual fee of $5,335 USD (no deductibles, 275-day trip).
Why We Chose Luma as a Digital Nomad Family
Here are the main advantages of the insurance we ultimately decided on:
Luma (Hi5)
- Comprehensive Inpatient Coverage: Covers diagnostic exams, hospital stays, professional fees, surgery, and intensive care, with most expenses paid in full.
- Outpatient Benefits: Includes follow-up treatments within 45 days of inpatient care, emergency outpatient care within 24 hours of an accident, and minor surgeries.
- Rehabilitation Services: Covers rehabilitation after inpatient stays.
- Cancer and Chronic Illness Treatment: Covers cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy, outpatient care, and dialysis for chronic kidney disease.
- Emergency Medical Assistance: Provides medical evacuation, repatriation, transportation for one accompanying person, and ambulance services.
- Global Coverage Options: Offers coverage plans for different zones, including worldwide coverage with certain exclusions based on the selected zone.
- Maternity and Neonatal Care: Optional coverage for maternity and neonatal care within 25 days of birth (specific plans only).
- Dental and Vision Benefits: Optional coverage for routine dental care, orthodontics, and vision care, including glasses and contact lenses.
- Customizable Plans: Flexible options to choose coverage areas, deductible amounts, and additional benefits.
- Eligibility: New applicants must be under 70 years old (69 years and 364 days). Policies are renewable annually up to age 99. Individuals must be residing at least 180 days a year in the primary coverage area.
We pay $3,457 USD annually (no deductible) for our entire family.
What Convinced Me to Choose Luma Health Insurance
Unlike other insurance providers, I was immediately in contact with a real person via email. The insurance agent, Nina, responded within minutes of me submitting my information on their website and sent a personalized quote right away.
She addressed all my questions in detail and walked me through everything step by step.
What I found especially helpful: Nina even sent comparison tables that showed how Luma stacks up against other providers, like AXA. In some cases, the other options were even cheaper. But this comparison gave me a clear overview of what services are available at which price point.
We also received a family discount and were able to set up a flexible payment plan—monthly, annually, or spread over four consecutive months.
Overall, the customer service was fantastic—quick, digital, and friendly.
On top of that, we now have digital insurance cards that we can carry with us at all times. There’s also a modern app where all policy details are stored, and claims can be submitted directly through it.
Get your individual LUMA quote here.
What I Don’t Love About Luma
With our previous insurance, we were used to submitting everything—doctor visits for the kids’ colds, check-ups, and other small issues. That’s no longer the case, as outpatient care is now limited to essential treatments. I find this a bit disappointing.
However, during my search for the right insurance, I quickly realized that meeting this particular wish would come with significantly higher costs—something I wasn’t willing to pay.
Honest Feedback: Are We Happy with Luma Health Insurance?
To be honest, it’s too early to say. We’ve only had the policy for 1.5 months (as of November 2024) and haven’t needed to submit any claims yet. I’ll update this Luma Health Insurance review after we’ve had to submit our first claim.
Lessons Learned and Tips for Other Nomadic Families
My biggest takeaway is this: Every full-time traveler is different, and there’s no single “best” insurance for everyone.
Our situation is quite unique—we spend half the year living in Thailand and want coverage here as well. The other half, we’re traveling, but the length of each trip is unpredictable.
My advice? Create a short list of your essential questions and send it to every provider you’re considering. This way, you can quickly get the information you need without having to sift through hundreds of pages filled with complicated jargon.
This approach will help you get a clear and effective overview, making it easier to compare insurance options and find what works best for your family.
Final Thoughts on Finding Suitable Health Insurance
Finding the right health insurance as a nomadic family isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s about choosing a partner you can trust. The process can feel overwhelming, but it’s also a chance to reflect on what truly matters for your unique situation.
No insurance plan will ever be perfect, but the key is to focus on what works best for your family and lifestyle.
I hope my honest Luma Health Insurance review has been helpful! Do you have any questions? What’s been your experience so far in searching for insurance? Let me know in the comments—I’d love to hear from you!
Thank you for reading and for making me part of your day! Yours, Lulu
FAQ: Travel Health Insurance for Digital Nomad Families
Why do I need travel health insurance as a digital nomad?
Travel health insurance is essential for protecting yourself and your family against unexpected medical costs while abroad. It ensures you can access quality healthcare, whether for routine doctor visits, hospital stays, or emergencies like evacuation or repatriation.
Is it possible to get global coverage with travel health insurance?
Yes, many providers offer global coverage with region-specific options. You can often exclude high-cost regions like the United States to keep premiums lower, depending on your travel plans.
How do travel health insurance plans handle emergency evacuation?
Comprehensive plans typically include emergency evacuation to the nearest appropriate facility, with optional repatriation. Some plans even cover a family member’s transportation to support your care journey, enhancing the overall patient experience.
How does travel health insurance differ from standard health insurance?
Unlike standard plans tied to one country, travel health insurance supports nomads with global or multi-regional coverage. It offers flexibility for unique operational workflows, such as moving between continents while managing medical needs.
Are pre-existing conditions covered?
Coverage for pre-existing conditions depends on the insurance company. Some exclude them outright, while others offer limited coverage at a higher cost. Check the policy details and applicable law to ensure you meet all requirements.
What role do interactive notifications or apps play in travel health insurance?
Modern travel health insurance integrates apps for submitting claims, accessing EHR systems, and scheduling appointments. These tools streamline operational workflows and enhance patient engagement, providing a smoother experience for families on the go.
How can I ensure my insurance is valid across multiple regions?
Look for policies with worldwide coverage or regional customization options. Providers often allow you to select coverage zones, ensuring you’re protected in your planned destinations.
What happens if I stay in one country for an extended period?
Some plans enforce residency requirements to maintain nomadic status, while others offer flexibility for longer stays. It’s essential to confirm the terms with the insurance company, including payment terms and coverage limits.
What’s the difference between inpatient and outpatient coverage?
Inpatient coverage applies to hospital stays and procedures requiring admission. Outpatient coverage includes doctor visits, minor treatments, and follow-up care without hospitalization. Make sure both are included if they’re important to you.
How can I avoid hidden costs in my insurance plan?
Carefully review policies for deductibles, co-pays, and exclusions. Insurance companies may list costs in small print, so asking for complete forms or using tools like ChatGPT to analyze documents can save surprises.
Can travel health insurance cover me in my home country?
Some plans offer limited home-country coverage for short periods. Verify the policy details and applicable laws to ensure your plan aligns with your patient engagement goals.
How do I find the best plan for my family?
Start by creating a list of your priorities (e.g., regions of travel, family-specific needs, or budget). Then, request quotes and compare providers based on coverage, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness.
Is digital integration important in travel health insurance?
Digital tools like apps for claims submissions, EHR schedules, and patient communications simplify the process and improve the overall experience, especially for families managing multiple policies.
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