IMG Global Insurance Review

Digital nomads come in different flavors, from the 20-something freelancer who wants to visit as many countries as possible to the 60-something remote worker who has moved abroad. Even though the circumstances of these two hypothetical people might be largely different, they will both spend most of their time living and working overseas.

That’s where travel insurance can be extremely useful. The longer you spend abroad, the more likely it is that you may need some form of medical treatment. Depending on where you are in the world, that could come at a very hefty price – and the last thing anybody wants is to have to splurge money that was earmarked for a dolphin-watching cruise on medication for a severe bout of stomach fly.

Recommended insurance provider

IMG Global health insurance is one of the many options that are available to digital nomads. With their large range of different plans, they can pretty much cover most scenarios, including that 20-something freelancer and that 60-something remote worker we mentioned earlier!

What Is IMG Global Insurance?

IMG (International Medical Group) has been serving the travel insurance market since 1990. Compared to most of the competition, they have a much broader portfolio of products covering different bases, from plans that focus on health issues to plans that offer imbursement for delayed flights and lost luggage.

They even have policies designed specifically for older travelers going on multiple trips a year, as well as policies for students and outreach workers.

One of the other things that makes IMG particularly attractive is their dual system of coverage. It’s possible to opt for direct billing through IMG’s in-network providers, but you can also submit claims for reimbursement when you use out-of-network providers or if you incur out-of-pocket expenses.

Key Features & Coverage

The best digital nomad insurance from IMG Global is the Global Medical plan, which is designed for long-term expats who want solid medical coverage. The downside is that it doesn’t include trip-related coverage.

If you do want protection for things like trip interruptions and lost luggage, IMG offers an insurance package called iTravelInsured, although it has limited health coverage for emergencies.

They also have an insurance category dubbed Patriot that covers health for shorter trips abroad.

In this IMG Global insurance review, we’re going to focus on the Global Medical plan, but just keep in mind that the company does offer other options that might be more appropriate for your situation.

There are four Global Medical tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

✅ Medical Coverage

• Emergency medical treatment is covered up to a lifetime maximum of $1,000,000 (Bronze), $5,000,000 (Silver and Gold) or $8,000,000 (Platinum). This includes surgery, scans and prescriptions for inpatient treatment.
• Outpatient treatment is also available up to a limited amount for Bronze and Silver customers, while Gold and Platinum purchasers can enjoy unlimited coverage for physician examinations, diagnostics and other services.
• Mental health services are covered up to $10,000 by Silver and Gold plans after 12 months of continuous coverage, while Platinum insures you instantly up to $50,000.
• Up to $250 of preventative care such as vaccinations and prescription drugs are covered across Bronze, Silver and Gold.
• Pre-existing conditions are excluded under Bronze, but they are included up to a $50,000 lifetime maximum for Silver and Gold after 24 months of continuous coverage. Platinum will immediately cover all pre-existing conditions that aren’t explicitly excluded.
• Adventure sports are not covered by Global Medical plans, but you can purchase a policy separately to cover these activities.
• Treatment for traumatic dental injury is only included with Gold and Platinum, but these plans cover you up to your policy maximum.
• Optional riders are available for non-emergency dental and vision services across Bronze, Silver and Gold. Platinum purchasers get some dental and vision coverage included as standard.

✅ Emergency & Evacuation Coverage

• Medical evacuation is covered up to $50,000 (Bronze and Silver) or unlimited (Gold and Platinum).
• Only Platinum covers political evacuation and repatriation (up to $10,000).
• It is possible to Global Rescue membership through IMG that will cover you for all kinds of emergency evacuation scenarios, including natural disasters and civil unrest, but this costs extra.

✅ Travel-Related Benefits

• The Global Medical plans do not cover trip delays, lost luggage, flight cancellations or personal liability.

✅ COVID-19 & Pandemic Coverage

• IMG Global covers COVID-19 like any other illness, providing your policy has no pandemic exclusion. Treatment is reimbursed if it is deemed medically necessary.

Pricing & Plans

Since we’re focusing primarily on insurance for long-term digital nomads and expats, we’re going to look solely at prices for the Global Medical category. This plan is only available for a minimum term of one year, so if you only intend to be abroad for just a few months, the Patriot or iTravelInsured policies are probably going to be a better bet.

Our quotes are based on coverage excluding the US, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Singapore and Taiwan, though you can get these included for an extra cost. Just to give you a general idea of the difference in price, it would cost a 32-year-old $2,388 to go with full worldwide coverage but only $1,813 to go with worldwide coverage excluding the US, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Singapore and Taiwan. That’s a difference of $575.

Similarly, for our quotes we went with the minimal level of deductible, which is $250, though you can also opt for $500, $1,000, $2,500, $5,000 and $10,000. Again, this can make a huge difference. For example, taking our hypothetical 32-year-old, the $1,813 quotation would plummet to $1,107 with a $2,500 deductible, while selecting the maximum deductible of $10,000 would reduce the cost further to $758.

Bear in mind that for most IMG Global Medical policies, 50% of any deductible is waived outside the US, with no coinsurance stipulations. That means that if you went with a deductible of $2,500, you’d actually only end up paying a maximum of $1,250 out of your own pocket for any treatment.

In all cases, you can choose whether to pay annually, semi-annually, quarterly or monthly, with discounts available depending on the option you select.

Age 24:

• $1,479 if paid annually, $1626.90 if paid semi-annually ($813.45 per half-year), $1,656.48 if paid quarterly ($414.12 per quarter) and $1,774.80 if paid monthly ($147.90 per month).
• $2,045 if paid annually, $2,249.50 if paid semi-annually ($1,124.75 per half-year), $2,290.40 if paid quarterly ($572.60 per quarter) and $2,454 if paid monthly ($204.50 per month).
• $3,490 if paid annually, $3,839.04 if paid semi-annually ($1,919.52 per half-year), $3,908.84 if paid quarterly ($977.21 per quarter) and $4,188 if paid monthly ($349 per month).
• $5,625.00 if paid annually, $6,187.76 if paid semi-annually ($3,093.88 per half-year), $6,300.28 if paid quarterly ($1,575.07 per quarter) and $6,750.24 if paid monthly ($562.52 per month).

Age 32:

• $1,813 if paid annually, $1994.30 if paid semi-annually ($997.15 per half-year), $2030.56 if paid quarterly ($507.64 per quarter) and $2,175.60 if paid monthly ($181.30 per month).
• $2,506 if paid annually, $2756.6 if paid semi-annually ($1,378.30 per half-year), $ 2806.72 if paid quarterly ($701.68 per quarter) and $3,007.20 if paid monthly ($250.60 per month).
• $4,294.00 if paid annually, $4723.44 if paid semi-annually ($2,361.72 per half-year), $ 4809.32 if paid quarterly ($1,202.33 per quarter) and $5152.8 if paid monthly ($429.40 per month).
• $7,190 if paid annually, $7909.26 if paid semi-annually ($3,954.63 per half-year), $8053.08 if paid quarterly ($2,013.27 per quarter) and $8628.24 if paid monthly ($719.02 per month).

Age 44:

• $2,175.00 if paid annually, $2,392.50 if paid semi-annually ($1,196.25 per half-year), $2,436 if paid quarterly ($609 per quarter) and $2,610 if paid monthly ($217.50 per month).
• $3,013 if paid annually, $3,314.30 if paid semi-annually ($1,657.15 per half-year), $3,374.56 if paid quarterly ($843.64 per quarter) and $3,615.60 if paid monthly ($301.30 per month).
• $4,939 if paid annually, $5,432.94 if paid semi-annually ($2,716.47 per half-year), $5,531.72 if paid quarterly ($1,382.93 per quarter) and $5,926.80 if paid monthly ($493.90 per month).
• $8,810.00 if paid annually, $9,691.26 if paid semi-annually ($4,845.63 per half-year), $9,867.48 if paid quarterly ($2,466.87 per quarter) and $10,572.24 if paid monthly ($881.02 per month).

Age 53:

• $2,288 if paid annually, $2,516.80 if paid semi-annually ($1,258.40 per half-year), $2,562.56 if paid quarterly ($640.64 per quarter) and $2,745.6 if paid monthly ($228.80 per month).
• $3,169 if paid annually, $3,485.90 if paid semi-annually ($1,742.95 per half-year), $3,549.28 if paid quarterly ($887.32 per quarter) and $3,802.80 if paid monthly ($316.90 per month).
• $8,867 if paid annually, $9,753.74 if paid semi-annually ($4,876.87 per half-year), $9,931.08 if paid quarterly ($2,482.77 per quarter) and $10,640.40 if paid monthly ($886.70 per month).
• $17,495 if paid annually, $19,244.76 if paid semi-annually ($9,622.38 per half-year), $19,594.68 if paid quarterly ($4,898.67 per quarter) and $20,994.24 if paid monthly ($1,749.52 per month).

Age 65:

• $9,370 if paid annually, $10,307 if paid semi-annually ($5,153.50 per half-year), $10,494.40 if paid quarterly ($2,623.60 per quarter) and $8,456.40 if paid monthly ($704.70 per month).
• $9,773 if paid annually, $10,750.30 if paid semi-annually ($5,375.15 per half-year), $10,945.76 if paid quarterly ($2,736.44 per quarter) and $11,727.60 if paid monthly ($977.30 per month).
• $24,347 if paid annually, $26,781.74 if paid semi-annually ($13,390.87 per half-year), $27,268.68 if paid quarterly ($6,817.17 per quarter) and $29,216.40 if paid monthly ($2,434.70 per month).
• $49,032 if paid annually, $53,935.46 if paid semi-annually ($26,967.73 per half-year), $54,916.12 if paid quarterly ($13,729.03 per quarter) and $58,838.64 if paid monthly ($4,903.22 per month).

Pros & Cons of IMG Global

???? Pros

✅ Lots of options to choose from
✅ Cover multiple countries with no need to update location
✅ Offer plans for both younger and older individuals
✅ Good price-to-maximum ratio

???? Cons

❌ Limited coverage for pre-existing conditions
❌ Doesn’t cover high-risk sports or extreme adventures
❌ Policies mostly cover either health or trips but not both

How to Sign Up & Use IMG Global

• Sign-up process:

1. On the IMG Global homepage, there’s a box smack bang in the middle that encourages you to get a quote. Click any of the fields in this box to begin.
2. Enter the start date and end date of your policy.
3. Enter your primary destination. This is the country where you will be spending the most amount of time abroad but will not limit your policy to this one location. If you are spending equal amounts of time in multiple places, just enter the first one you’re travelling to.
4. Enter your age, citizenship and place of residence.
5. Choose your plan from the list of available options and click “Buy Now.”
6. Confirm your coverage start date and coverage area, then fill in your personal details and answer a few questions about your nationality.
7. Select your coverage level (Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum), then choose the amount of deductible you are happy to pay ($250 to $10,000). Below this, decide whether to pay annually, semi-annually, quarterly or monthly.
8. Provide your address at your primary destination, then select whether you want to receive your insurance details and associated paperwork electronically or by post.
9. Complete the medical questionnaire (2 sections).
10. List any medication that you have been prescribed or surgeries that you have received in the past 12 months.
11. Provide your doctor’s details where necessary (e.g., if you need to supply supporting info about previous medical treatment).
12. Review all the information you have submitted so far, then proceed to payment.

• How to file a claim and get reimbursed:

1. Log into the MyIMG customer portal. If you haven’t used the portal before, you’ll first need to create an account using your policy number.
2. Click “Claims” from the menu bar, then select “Submit a Claim” from the dropdown menu.
3. Review the materials you will need, then click “Yes, Start My Claim.”
4. Select the reason for your claim (e.g., medical, dental, vision).
5. Enter your payment details.
6. Describe the reason you visited a medical practitioner.
7. Attach supporting documentation, including receipts and medical reports.
8. Submit your claim. IMG does not provide a timeline for claims processing, but you can check the status through the MyIMG portal.

• User experience:

The website is extremely easy to navigate on both a laptop and a smartphone. The initial quote process is quite fast, but it does quite a lot longer to actually apply for the insurance. It’s not the most laborious travel insurance form we’ve ever filled out, but it’s certainly not the simplest either.

IMG Global vs. Competitors

*To provide a more direct comparison, we’ve scaled all prices to be equal to roughly 1 month of coverage. Quotes vary based on age, trip duration, destinations and several other factors, so only treat this as a rough estimate.

Customer Reviews & Ratings

IMG Global has one of the highest ratings of all the travel insurance providers we’ve tried. With a whopping 4.6 out of 5 on Trustpilot, its services were awarded either 4 or 5 stars by an impressive 90% of customers.

What people like:

• The website. People who purchase IMG Global travel insurance praised the simple-to-navigate user interface and the ease of securing a policy.
• The plan options. There were plenty of thumbs up for both the range of policies and the clarity of what each policy had to offer.

What people don’t like:

• The renewal process. Several return customers have noted that there’s no obvious way to renew a policy after its initial expiry or to purchase a new policy using an existing member account. This meant that they were forced to re-enter all their details from scratch, even when nothing had changed.
• The chat function. Both the speed and quality of IMG’s customer service on the online chat hub have received negative feedback from some customers.

Who Should & Shouldn’t Use IMG Global?

• Recommended for → Long-term digital nomads and expats, country hoppers
• Not ideal for → Adventure sport enthusiasts, travelers who need trip-interruption coverage

Final Verdict: Is IMG Global Worth It?

IMG is one of the more expensive options on the market, but it also offers higher maximum limits to go with the price tag. For people who plan to travel to multiple foreign countries over the course of a year, it’s got a good level of medical coverage and a good network of treatment providers, even with its basic Bronze tier.

On the flipside, we probably wouldn’t go with IMG if you want protection for adventure sports, since they don’t even cover things like skiing and scuba diving that many other insurers take for granted.

If you want an all-singing, all-dancing policy, Faye is a good alternative on the more expensive end of the spectrum, while SafetyWing will cover both medical and trip-related issues at a more affordable price.

If your main focus is just on getting good medical coverage, however, IMG is a well-reviewed provider with decades of experience.

Sign up for IMG Global.