Yes, you can buy international medical insurance online: the big international insurers each run a quote tool on their own website, and a first quote can take only minutes. The harder part is getting prices you can compare, because every tool asks you to pick a cover level, an area of the world and a deductible, and two quotes mean little unless those match. If you would rather have one set of choices priced at several international insurers, the form on this page has an FCA-authorised broker phone you about it, at no cost.
Living abroad, moving soon, or based in the UK: who these plans are sold to
Cigna Global says: "Our international health insurance plans protect those living, working, retiring or studying abroad." AXA Global Healthcare markets its plans to expat professionals, retirees, families and digital nomads. Yet AXA's guide-price tool lists the United Kingdom among the places you might spend most of your time, so living here does not by itself rule an international plan out. What separates the products is where you expect to be treated. If all of it will be in the UK, alongside the NHS, a UK private medical policy is the natural comparison, and health insurance for foreigners in the UK deals with people who have just arrived. A holiday is a matter for cover while travelling.
For a stay of uncertain length, AXA Global Healthcare also sells short-term cover, at the level of its Foundation or Standard plans: "Choose any time period from 3 to 11 months and only pay for the cover you need." A UK insurer's brand on an international quote does not make it the same contract as that insurer's UK policy; AXA Health international cover and Bupa Global quotes explain the split for those two names.
What an online international quote asks, field by field
AXA's guide-price tool asks three things, in this order: a cover level, on a slider from lowest to highest; an age band, from under 30 to 76 and over; and where you spend most of your time, with eight choices from the United Kingdom to "Rest of world". Its estimates assume zero excess. A full quote on any insurer's site then pins down the settings below.
- Level of cover. AXA offers five levels, from Foundation to Prestige Plus, and its cost page says: "You may have the option to include dental care or outpatient treatment on top of your chosen healthcare plan." Cigna's levels are Close Care, Silver, Gold and Platinum; its optional outpatient, wellbeing, and vision and dental benefits each carry the note that a waiting period applies. The layers are described on international health insurance for expats.
- Who is on the plan. Each person's age goes in. AXA's expat page says that as you age your premium will usually rise.
- Area of cover, and the United States. AXA's cost page explains: "Due to the nature of their healthcare system, the only country that makes a big difference to the cost of healthcare is the US." Cigna's benefit table pays a separate out-of-area emergency hospital benefit, for inpatient and daypatient costs only, to members whose cover does not include the USA. Leaving the US out generally lowers the premium but narrows where the plan pays; the guide to expat health insurance costs goes further.
- Deductible and cost share. Cigna's plans-in-detail page defines it: "A deductible is the amount which you must pay before any claims are covered by your plan." Its choices are $0, $375, $750, $1,500, $3,000, $7,500 or $10,000 on every level. You then pick a cost share of 0%, 10%, 20% or 30%, which it calls "the percentage of each claim not covered by your plan", and an out-of-pocket maximum of $2,000 or $5,000. That table applies to annual policies starting or renewing on or after 15 February 2026 (read 22 October 2026). AXA's excess, by contrast, is paid once per member per policy year if you claim. A bigger deductible generally brings the premium down; the quote shows by how much.
Set those four the same way on every tool you try, or the prices on your screen will not be measuring the same thing.
What the insurers' own sites say about price
The indicative ranges this site uses are built from UK policies, so no market range for international cover appears here. AXA Global Healthcare does print figures of its own on its cost page. Its guide-price tool uses "representative quotes, modelled in May 2026", and the page adds: "You may not be able to purchase a plan at these prices." The examples below are AXA's illustrations, dated March 2026 on that page:
| AXA Global Healthcare's own illustration (cost page, read 22 October 2026) | Figure AXA prints |
|---|---|
| A 20-year-old who spends most of their time in France, Foundation plan, quote modelled by AXA's sales team | approximately £903 a year (rounded to the nearest pound) |
| Average paid by AXA Global Healthcare's new individual/direct customers in 2026 | £3,072, with a median of £2,010 (rounded) |
| An 80-year-old taking out a new Prestige Plus plan, primary country of residence for example the UK, modelled quotes | more than £40,000 a year |
These illustrate AXA's own plans and are not prices to expect from AXA or anyone else. What they do show is how far age, plan level and country can move a premium, so your own figure has to come from a quote on your details.
Health history: what an online tool cannot settle for you
A tool can give a first price, but what happens to an illness you already have is for underwriting to decide. AXA Global Healthcare's expat page says: "As a rule of thumb we don’t cover pre-existing medical conditions." Its plans are designed for conditions arising after you join. The cost page adds: "If you’re thinking of shopping around, it’s worth bearing in mind that moving to another provider may result in your pre-existing conditions being excluded from your cover." Cigna’s optional outpatient module lists pre-existing condition care as its own benefit for two age groups, with sums that vary by plan; for 40 to 59-year-olds only Platinum shows a sum, of $2,000. How Bupa Global treats your history is on its own page.
The same history can therefore land differently from one insurer to the next, and a lower first price may simply leave your condition out. Write down every condition, medicine and symptom from the last few years before you start. An FCA-authorised broker can ask how your particular condition would be handled at several international insurers, on the call-back you request with this page's form.
Going direct to one insurer, or having a broker ask several
A broker is the other route. The one this page introduces is FCA-authorised and can put the same details to more than one international insurer, so you are not retyping your history into each site. An insurer being named on this page says nothing about whether the broker can arrange cover with it. The two routes are not exclusive, and either way the policy is the insurer’s.
Going direct means one insurer, its plans and its price. It suits you if you already know which insurer you want, and the insurer pays your claims whichever route you take. Direct is not always one click: for some plans the Bupa Global tool says online purchase is not available and gives an adviser's number instead, as Bupa Global quotes describes.
Four checks before you pay
- Which company is the insurer, and who regulates it? Cigna’s pages, for example, name Cigna Global Insurance Company Limited, a company under Guernsey law that the Guernsey Financial Services Commission regulates for insurance business in Guernsey, as the underwriter. Find the equivalent line in your own documents.
- Is the area printed on the quote? Worldwide with the US, worldwide without it, and a single region are different products.
- Are deductible and cost share identical on every quote you compare? A lower price may just mean you pay a larger first slice of each claim.
- Which options are in, and when do they start? Cigna’s plan pages call themselves a representation of the benefits and point to its Customer Guide for the full terms. Ask any insurer for that document, and for any waiting periods, before you pay.
Currency, cancellation and what happens if you move country also vary, so put them to whoever sells the plan and keep the replies.
Paying, renewing and the follow-up call
Is IPMI just travel insurance that lasts longer?
No. International private medical insurance (IPMI) is health cover for people who live in another country or travel between countries often. AXA Global Healthcare puts the difference this way: travel cover stabilises you after an emergency, while its international plans protect your general health too, so a covered broken leg is treated until it heals, not just until you get home.
Can I pay for international cover monthly?
AXA Global Healthcare takes payment monthly, quarterly or annually, and its cost page says paying yearly gives a 5% discount on the premium. Ask each insurer you compare which payment options it offers.
Will making a claim push up my renewal price?
AXA Global Healthcare’s cost page says: "While we won't increase your renewal premium as a result of your claims activity, your annual premium may still increase in line with medical inflation and age." For any other insurer, ask for its renewal terms in writing.
Will someone phone me after an online quote?
Quite possibly. Cigna advertises a two-minute online quote and also offers a call back; AXA puts a call-back button beside its online quote; and the Bupa Global tool asks for a phone number and email address, as its quote page explains.
Settle where you will live, how much of the world you want covered and what deductible you could live with, jot down your medical history, and then use this page's enquiry form: the broker who rings you back will talk international plans through with you, free of charge.