The true cost of being a global citizen

If you live and work across borders without a fixed residency, you've probably pieced together your safety net from scratch. A travel policy here, a health plan there, maybe some disability coverage if you’re really thinking far ahead. And you've almost certainly skipped the things that felt too complicated or too expensive, like income protection or life insurance.

Most people in this situation have no idea what they're actually spending. Worse, they don't know what they're missing.

Here’s it all laid out below. What does it actually cost to build a proper safety net as a globally mobile person: one that covers your health, your travels, your income, and your family?

…which is in fact what most people have to do. They buy separate products from separate providers, each designed for a different piece of the problem.

Where most people start. Products like World Nomads, Genki Traveler, or our own Nomad Insurance sit in this range. They cover emergency medical treatment, trip disruptions, lost luggage, and evacuation. They're good at what they do, but they're designed for emergencies, not for routine doctor visits, prescriptions, dental, vision, or mental health.

If you want something closer to what an employer would give you, like routine visits, prescriptions, specialists, hospitalization, dental, vision, you're looking at a global health plan. Providers like Cigna Global, Allianz Care, or Genki Native sit in this range depending on the tier. The lower end gets you inpatient coverage. The higher end adds outpatient, maternity, and preventive care. Perhaps fairly obviously, none of them include travel protection, income coverage, or life insurance.

If you become seriously ill or injured and can't work, this replaces a portion of your income. William Russell is one of the few providers that offers this internationally, covering up to 80% of your salary with a 3 or 6-month deferral period (time you have to wait before you get paid out). Most domestic disability products won't cover you if you live abroad, and many won't underwrite freelancers at all.

Term life for a healthy 30-something is relatively cheap, even internationally. For instance, William Russell offers portable policies up to US$2M that follow you across borders. The catch is finding a provider willing to cover someone without a fixed address or residency, which eliminates most domestic carriers.

There is no standalone unemployment insurance product for freelancers or remote workers who lead global lives. Government unemployment systems are tied to one country and often funded by employer contributions. If you don't live in one place, pay into one system, and work for one employer, you're probably not covered for either benefit, and there are no private options (there’s one exception, which we'll get to).

Same story as above. Parental leave is either provided by your employer or your government. If you're a freelancer working across borders, you get neither. There is no standalone product you can buy to give yourself paid parental leave as an independent worker.

Every time you move to a new country, you're likely paying an agency or immigration lawyer to handle the application if you don’t feel like wading through the bureaucracy yourself. Not even including the government fees, service fees on top of that range from a few hundred dollars for basic document prep to over US$1,000 for full-service handling. 

The social infrastructure of a location-independent life certainly exists, but it's mainly self-organized and very fragmented: coworking memberships, nomad meetups, conferences, dinners. There's no built-in community that comes with your health plan.

The DIY route costs anywhere from US$350 for the absolute minimum to over US$1,000 per month. Even at the top of that range, you're still missing unemployment coverage, sick leave and parental leave. You manage claims across three or four different providers in different jurisdictions, each with their own website or app, their own process, and their own customer support team. On top of monthly expenses, you pay for visa support every time you move.

This is exactly why we created Nomad Citizen. It's a single membership that includes global health coverage (up to US$1.5M annually), travel protection, income protection for both salaried and freelance workers (up to US$4,000/month), sick leave, parental leave, term life insurance, long-term disability support, visa assistance, and access to member events and community.

The pricing comparison is illustrative, but the real story is what you literally cannot replicate through the DIY approach.

Employment insurance or sick leave for freelancers and contractors. No other product on the market offers unemployment coverage or sick leave for globally mobile freelancers. Government systems won't cover you because you’re not a resident there (or maybe anywhere). Private insurers haven't figured out how to underwrite the risk. This benefit alone fills a gap that the rest of the market hasn't even attempted to address.

Parental leave without an employer. If you're a freelancer or founder, you don’t have an employer to give you this, and you won’t get it from any government if you don't live in their country.

Long-term support to age 75. If something catastrophic happens and you permanently lose the ability to work, Nomad Citizen pays out until age 75. Most international disability products stop at 65.

Nomad Citizen isn't for everyone. If you're backpacking for a few months on a budget, travel medical insurance makes the most sense. If you live in one country with a strong social system and rarely leave, your domestic coverage probably has you covered.

But if your life crosses borders as a default as a freelancer, founder, contractor, or remote professional who spends more than half the year outside your home country, the DIY approach is costing you more than you think, covering less than you need, and leaving the biggest risks completely unprotected.

If you’re curious to learn more about who actually are Nomad Citizens, check out some of their profiles here: [Juan] [Katie] [Casey]