How to Offer Health Insurance to Your Remote Workers

As remote work is shifting into the mainstream, more companies are finding it challenging to offer health insurance to their remote workers, who sometimes are spread across the globe.

Finding the best providers and the most competitive plans is not an easy task. That is why we have compiled this guide on how to offer health insurance to your remote team, hoping to save you some time.

What are the benefits of offering health insurance to remote workers?

Besides the obvious reasons, health insurance is one of the many benefits that companies can offer to differentiate themselves from their competitors when it comes to attracting and retaining remote talent.

This applies not only to companies that are hiring global talent but also to companies that are contracting remote freelancers in different countries from the one where the company is based in.

When should I start offering health insurance?

If you contract remote freelancers, most countries by law do not require you to provide health insurance or other health benefits. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. 

Regardless of the size of your company, you should offer health insurance to your contractors, if you want to build a healthy work environment and keep your team happy. 

You don’t need to offer insurance from the get-go, this can be something that you can do after a certain period of time, for example after 3 or 6 months, and also depending on if you contract workers part-time or full-time.

Where to start?

The location of your remote workers will play an important role in choosing the best provider and plan. 

Many countries offer public health insurance plans for a small yearly amount. In countries where public health facilities are reliable, there is no need for private health insurance, however, this is not the case everywhere.

That is why we think the first step you need to take is to discuss this with your team. 

You should ask what their expectations are in terms of health benefits. Some might expect a comprehensive plan including dental and optical, while others might be okay with just a regular plan, therefore it’s important to have an open conversation to make sure that whatever your choice is it benefits all parties involved.

What options do I have?

Depending on the size of your team there are several options to provide health insurance to your remote workers:

Find a local health insurance provider in each country

If you are running a small team, this might be a good option as costs differ from country to country, thus helping you save money, while providing the same benefits to everyone.

While it’s time-consuming in the beginning as you need to research health providers in each country and compare plans to make sure you choose the best option both for your company and your worker, you only do this once, after which you renew the policy every year.

Provide a monthly stipend towards health care

This could be another feasible option if you run a small team. The only challenge here is that the monthly stipend needs to be adjusted individually depending on the cost of living and healthcare costs in each country where your remote workers are located. 

Similarly to option number 1, it requires investing some time in the beginning, however, many companies choose this option, as they do not want to burden themselves with having to deal with and researching different health insurance providers around the world. 

The workload falls on the worker who will decide which provider to work with and which plan is the most suitable for their needs and lifestyle.

International health insurance

Opting for an international health insurance plan is a great option if you want to keep things easy.

There are plenty of international health insurance providers for remote workers. Some benefits for companies working with one provider for the entire team instead of several providers in different countries are being able to negotiate a discount when enrolling more than one member for a plan, and saving lots of time.

The best part is that you do not need to choose just one of the options above. You can choose whatever works for your company and your remote team. For example, you could choose international health insurance for part of your team and provide a monthly stipend towards health care to the rest.

Providers of international health insurance for remote workers

Safety Wing

Title: Safety Wing / Alt: International health insurance provider for remote workers

Safety Wing took the insurance industry by storm when it launched just a few days before the pandemic hit, as a global health insurance provider that specializes in plans for remote employees and contractors. 

You can ensure your entire team is under one plan and can add or remove members through a user-friendly dashboard.

The best part is that it works in every country across the world and the plans start from $80 USD / month/member, making it extremely affordable.

Insured Nomads

Title: Insured Nomads / Alt: affordable international health insurance for digital nomads

Insured Nomads offer affordable international health insurance plans for digital nomads. If your remote workers spend extended periods of time outside of their home country, Insured Nomads might be perfect for your company. 

The premium is very competitive, with plans starting at $28.70 USD per person/month.

What other health benefits can I offer to my remote team?

There are companies that on top of health insurance offer other types of health and wellness benefits. 

These differ from company to company, however, it’s worth noting that more and more companies are looking into offering such benefits in order to attract and retain talent in today’s competitive market. 

According to a study by McKinsey 66% of surveyed companies in 2021 responded that offering health benefits are very important, compared to 55% in 2019.

Some of the optional health and wellness benefits that your company can offer are:

• Mental health day
• Gym membership
• PTO
• Well-being programs
• Mental health counseling
• Flexible work hours

Given today’s epidemic of mental health disorders, such as depression or anxiety, enrolling your team in a well-being program is something worth looking into, if building a strong company culture and attracting top talent are on your priorities list.