Foyer Global Insurance Review

For people that rely on their home country’s healthcare system, going abroad to work can come as a rude awakening. It’s easy to forget that a lot of things that Aussies, Canadians and many Europeans take for granted, like free emergency treatment and subsidized prescriptions, can come with a hefty price tag overseas.

That’s where having a solid expat health insurance package can come in handy for digital nomads. Whether you need an urgent scan for a potential broken bone or just an annual checkup to make sure your body is in mint condition, a complete policy means you have access to the best public hospitals and private clinics that money can buy.

Recommended insurance provider

Foyer Global Health may be based out of a relatively small country, but they have a large coverage area – both in terms of their global footprint and in terms of the ailments that are included in their policies. Unlimited maximum claims limits are a key feature of their plans, which protect you in case of emergencies, cancer diagnoses and much more.

What Is Foyer Global Insurance?

Foyer Global Health is a Luxembourgish company that operates in more than 180 countries around the world. There are no restrictions when it comes to providers, so you can receive medical treatment at any private hospital you like.

Their health insurance is principally designed to cover expats and their families who have relocated abroad. The plans are also a quality option for digital nomads who want to splash out on more comprehensive care.

Aside from Foyer’s easy-to-understand insurance plans, they also help people get settled into their new country of residence by providing mini guides to living, healthcare and budgeting for most nations. That’s just a small part of their secondary services, which also include online consultations and mental health coaching.

Even Foyer’s most basic plans come with a mixture of inpatient, outpatient and dental care, as well as medical evacuation. It’s not all roses though, as they don’t cover anybody aged 66 or older.

Key Features & Coverage

Foyer Global travel insurance comes in three levels: Essential, Special and Exclusive. These can be buffed up with something called Additional Assistance, which  covers things like repatriation, compassionate family visits and return of mortal remains if worst comes to worst.

Essential is the most basic tier, although it still comes with unlimited maximum claims in many core medical areas. That said, there is quite a big leap up between Essential and Special in terms of routine care, with regular medical and dental checkups comped only under the two higher-tier plans.

✅ Medical Coverage

• All plans include a generous package of inpatient benefits, including semi-private or private accommodation, consultations with specialists, diagnostic scans like X-rays, CTs and MRIs, surgery, anesthetics and physiotherapy. These are all covered up to an unlimited amount.
• Outpatient surgery and consultations are fully funded.
• Cancer treatments like chemotherapy and oncological drugs are covered across all plans.
• Annual health checks are included up to €500 (Exclusive) or €250 (Special).
• Foyer will pay out an unlimited amount for prescribed drugs and dressings, as well as a token €100 (Exclusive), €75 (Special) or €50 (Essential) for over-the counter drugs.
• Alternative treatments like acupuncture, osteopathy and chiropractic are covered up to €5,000 (Exclusive), €2,500 (Special) or €1,000 (Essential).
• Psychiatric treatment is available subject to pre-approval and a 10-month waiting period (both inpatient and outpatient), while psychotherapy is covered under the Exclusive and Special packages.
• An unlimited number of physiotherapy and medical massage sessions are covered for Exclusive policyholders, while Special policyholders can have 20 and Essential policyholders can have 15.
• Vaccination and immunization are provided with an Exclusive plan up to an unlimited maximum, while the Special plan limits the reimbursable fees to €250.
• Dental treatment is limited under the Essential plan to pain relief, but the other two tiers of care provide for preventative checkups, X-rays, cleaning, simple fillings, extractions, root canals – a whole bunch of stuff, and all of it with an unlimited claim maximum.
• Vision aids and eye tests are reimbursed for Special (€150) and Exclusive (€250) policyholders.
• Maternity care is available for up to €20,000 for Exclusive and €5,000 for Special after a 10-month waiting period.
• Some pre-existing conditions may be covered, but this is up to the discretion of the underwriters and often means an increase in premiums.
• Foyer provides unlimited online medical consultations in English, German, French and Spanish through its Ecare service. These can help to clarify your condition without a visit to a doctor’s office.
• Ecare also includes up to three digital mental health coaching sessions. These are provided by an experienced professional who can talk you through any areas that are causing stress or anxiety, whether related to your relocation or any other circumstances.
• Finally, all policyholders can get a healthy weight loss program customized to their needs. These last 4 or 8 weeks and are created by a team of nutrition specialists.

✅ Emergency & Evacuation Coverage

• Medical evacuation is covered up to an unlimited amount across all three plan levels.
• Repatriation is available if you purchase the Additional Assistance add-on, limited to €3,000.

✅ Travel-Related Benefits

• Foyer’s plans are mainly about providing health coverage, but the Additional Assistance add-on will also pay out up to €3,000 to get you home if your return trip is delayed due to a medical emergency.

✅ COVID-19 & Pandemic Coverage

• Foyer Global Health covers COVID-19 like any other illness. As long as you have not tested positive before signing up for a policy, you can receive treatment up to the limit of your plan. Some preventative tests are also reimbursable for Special and Exclusive policyholders.

Pricing & Plans

The prices for a Foyer Global Health policy are pretty much the same regardless of your destination, be it Cambodia, Germany or Argentina. That’s because Foyer divides its coverage into just two zones: Region 1 (worldwide) and Region 2 (worldwide excluding the US).

Region 1 is substantially more expensive, as you can see from the example quotes below. That’s not unusual for health insurance, which often jumps substantially if you include the US in a policy.

Aside from Additional Assistance, which costs €5, Foyer doesn’t offer a lot of add-ons, which sets the company apart from most other insurers we’ve looked at. Things like dental, maternity, outpatient and prescriptions are all included in the base package.

This has its pros and cons. On the pro side, it means you get a lot of bang for your back. Plus, a lot of the premium for the Special and Exclusive tiers especially can be claimed back for things like twice-a-year dental checkups, annual medical reviews and chiropractic treatment.

On the con side, it means that even if you don’t really want dental or maternity coverage, it’s included, which inevitably nudges up the overall price. That’s probably why Foyer is more expensive than most of their competitors.

For our Foyer Global insurance review, all our sample quotes are without deductible. If you want to get a cheaper premium, however, it definitely pays to add one.

Just to give you a broad idea of the difference it can make, a 23-year-old nomad with a Region 2 plan would pay €135 for an Essential policy without any deductible. This would drop to €112 with a €250 deductible, €100 with a €500 deductible and €81 with a €1,000 deductible.

Region 2:

• Age 23. €135 for Essential, €232 for Special, €290 for Exclusive.
• Age 32. €173 for Essential, €316 for Special, €389 for Exclusive.
• Age 43. €210 for Essential, €354 for Special, €445 for Exclusive.
• Age 58. €348 for Essential, €609 for Special, €758 for Exclusive.
• Age 65 (the maximum age covered by Foyer). €596 for Essential, €1,054 for Special, €1,310 for Exclusive.

Region 1:

• Age 23. €387 for Essential, €770 for Special, €980 for Exclusive.
• Age 32. €503 for Essential, €1,048 for Special, €1,332 for Exclusive.
• Age 43. €617 for Essential, €1,204 for Special, €1,530 for Exclusive.
• Age 58. €1,018 for Essential, €2,079 for Special, €2,646 for Exclusive.
• Age 65. €1,772 for Essential, €3,627 for Special, €4,617 for Exclusive.

How does pricing compare to competitors?

On the surface of it, Foyer Global Medical is one of the more expensive insurers. However, they cover a lot of stuff as standard. Aside from the normal inpatient emergencies that most companies reimburse, they also pay out for prescriptions, physiotherapy massages and alternative treatments like acupuncture.

The price might seem steep, but they are one of the best digital nomad insurance providers if you want a lot of bases covered by one package.

Pros & Cons of Foyer Global

Pros

✅ Comprehensive expat healthcare package
✅ Covers multiple countries with no need to update location
✅ Mental, dental and vision services included as standard

Cons

❌ Plans aren’t very flexible
❌ Doesn’t cover people aged 66 and over
❌ Limited coverage for pre-existing conditions

How to Sign Up & Use Foyer Global

• Sign-up process:

1. Click the “Apply” button at the top right of the Foyer Global homepage.
2. Enter your destination, policy start date and basic personal info.
3. Select whether you want dental, vision, vaccination and health checks, and/or maternity coverage.
4. Based on your selections, Foyer will recommend a plan for you, but you can choose whichever option you like. Choose any deductible, then toggle on US coverage and/or additional assistance. This page also allows you to add other people to your policy.
5. Agree to the general terms and conditions.
6. Enter details of any previous health insurance you’ve had in the past three years, then decide whether you want to fill in a health questionnaire or choose the moratorium clause. If you choose the health questionnaire, you will need to answer 15 questions about your medical history. If you choose the moratorium clause, you can proceed directly to the next stage BUT you will not be covered for any pre-existing conditions for at least 2 years and any claims will take longer to process.
7. Select the policyholder (either you, someone else covered by the policy or an uninsured person).
8. Enter more personal details, including your profession, home address and destination city.
9. Attach a copy of your ID.
10. Go through the terms of payment – and you’re done!

• How to file a claim and get reimbursed:

Inpatient claims usually need to receive pre-approval from Foyer, while minor claims can be submitted for reimbursement without pre-notification.

1. Sign in to the Foyer Global Health portal.
2. Click on “Request a reimbursement.”
3. Fill in details about your ailment and attach the relevant documents, including the doctor’s diagnosis, proof of payment and treatment details. These need to clearly show the date of medical intervention.
4. If it’s your first time submitting a claim, you will need to enter your payment details.
5. Submit the claim. Foyer don’t provide a timeframe, simply stating they will get back to you as soon as possible.

As an alternative to the online portal, you can email your claims form and supporting material to claims@foyerglobalhealth.com.

• User experience:

The signup process is fairly straightforward, with sales reps easily reachable if you have any questions about the policy.

The claims process is also simple – perhaps too simple! Unlike some other insurers, Foyer aren’t especially clear about what kind of information and supporting documentation they require. We can see this becoming a problem down the line with requests for more information from the claims-handling team. Those kinds of delays can be extremely frustrating when you want a speedy reimbursement.

The site is mobile-friendly and easy to navigate, although there doesn’t yet appear to be an app where you can submit claims. Instead, the Foyer Global Health app is purely for online medical consultations and mental coaching.

Foyer Global vs. Competitors

*Foyer quotes prices and coverage in euros, so we’ve provided a conversion to dollars to allow for comparison with other insurance providers. Quotes vary based on age, trip duration, destinations and several other factors, so only treat this as a rough estimate.

Customer Reviews & Ratings

Foyer Global health insurance has one of the lower ratings on Trustpilot compared to its competitors. At 3.6 out of 5, it comes in for a fair bit of criticism.

Admittedly, there are just over 100 reviews, which isn’t a particularly high volume. However, only 67% of these are 4 stars or higher, while a whopping 29% of people have given the company 1 star.

What people like:

• The global coverage. There are plenty of thumbs up for Foyer’s simplified system of providing regional health insurance.
• The easy claims process. Customers have plenty of praise for the portal where users submit requests for reimbursement.

What people don’t like:

• The slow claims process. While many people are complimentary about the ease of submitting their initial claim, the follow-up has been criticized by several reviewers. A number of users have said that approval for their claims took longer than 3 months.
• The lack of responsiveness. A good chunk of the complaints are about the slow customer service and how difficult it can sometimes be to get hold of a company rep.
• There’s no direct billing. Quite a few people would prefer to have their medical fees paid upfront rather than reimbursed.

Who Should & Shouldn’t Use Foyer Global?

• Recommended for → Expats needing long-term healthcare, globe-trotting freelancers
• Not ideal for → Budget-conscious nomads, travelers with pre-existing conditions

Final Verdict: Is Foyer Global Worth It?

The obvious reason that Foyer Global Health is attractive is its broad range of benefits, with few companies matching the unlimited maximum limits for inpatient care and many outpatient treatments. Of course, these don’t come cheap – though the prices are about the same as similar packages from Allianz.

Even though the Essential plan is the most affordable, it can work out to be the worst value for money, since it doesn’t come with as much routine care.

If you’re looking for something on the budget-friendly side, SafetyWing and World Nomads are much more competitively priced, although they don’t come with quite as much coverage.

Another downside is that Foyer won’t insure anybody over aged 66 or older. For that, you’ll need to look to someone like Cigna Global.

Where Foyer excels is the simplicity of its offering. With just two coverage regions, you don’t need to worry about getting caught out hopping from country to country – something that’s always handy for a digital nomad!

Sign up for Foyer Global Health.