Health insurance as a perpetual nomad — what actually covers you?

I moved off patchy travel insurance to a proper international health plan built for people without a fixed home base. More expensive monthly, but it actually covers ongoing care rather than just 'emergencies while on holiday', which is the trap of travel cover.

The thing I learned the hard way: many travel policies quietly assume you have a home country you'll return to for real treatment. If you genuinely don't, read the residency and 'trip length' clauses very carefully before you rely on it.

When I slowed down to three-month stays, I found some countries let me get onto a local plan even without permanent residency, which was cheaper and better than nomad insurance. Worth checking per country rather than assuming you're stuck with global cover.

Don't forget the boring stuff insurance won't fix — a dentist, a repeat prescription, a check-up. I now plan those into wherever I'll be longest that year rather than hoping a policy covers routine care. It usually doesn't.

Pre-existing conditions are the clause that catches people. Declare everything honestly up front — a cheaper policy that voids itself the moment you actually need it is worse than no policy at all.

As a younger, healthier person I was tempted to just wing it. A friend's scooter accident abroad and the bill that followed cured me of that instantly. Being uninsured isn't saving money, it's betting money you don't have.

OP — seconding the 'read the return-home assumption' warning. Mine had a 90-day-per-trip cap I never noticed because I never read past the price. Nomad-specific policies exist for exactly this reason.

Also worth saying: whatever you pick, keep a small self-insurance buffer in savings for the excess and the things no policy covers. Insurance reduces the risk, it doesn't remove it.