The latest new product from Feather;
Feather, the digital insurance platform for expats, has launched a new international health insurance policy. The insurance provides real BaFin-regulated cover, designed for the millions of expats who have long been underserved in a market dominated by travel insurance that falls short of what expats actually need.
As countries tighten the health cover they demand from people applying for long-stay and residency visas, that gap is getting harder to ignore: travel insurance increasingly isn’t accepted as proof of cover, and many expats only discover at the visa stage that the policy they bought doesn’t qualify.
The policy covers expats worldwide, including in their home country for up to 180 days per year, with US emergency and accident coverage included for up to 60 days per year, with no separate policy needed. Deductibles apply per calendar year, not per claim, with coverage running to age 74, well above the 64–69 caps common among other policies.
Two plans are available:
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Essential – €300,000 annual limit, choice of €0, €500 or €1,000 deductible
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Plus – €2,500,000 annual limit, choice of €0, €500 or €1,000 deductible
For expats navigating visa applications, residency requirements or university enrolment, the gap between health insurance and travel insurance isn’t just technical. Most international expat health products are underwritten by Puerto Rico-domiciled insurers and classified as travel insurance, meaning authorities routinely reject them as proof of cover. Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, for one, states that travel insurance is not sufficient for any long-stay national visa, requiring cover that matches the standard of the country’s statutory health system.
Feather’s policy is underwritten by Barmenia, an established German insurer regulated by BaFin, making it recognised health insurance in the eyes of governments and institutions worldwide.
Rob Schumacher, CEO and co-founder of Feather, says: “Insurance is meant to be the thing you don’t have to think about, but for expats, it’s usually the opposite. Most ‘international health’ policies are travel cover in disguise, so they exclude your home country, stop at your sixties, and hand off your claims to another company. For Feather, this new launch is the latest step in a broader effort to make expat life simpler, taking the stress out of the admin so people can get on with building their new life.”
Feather sells directly at the same price as through brokers, handles claims in-house and offers English-language support via WhatsApp. For more information on policy visit: feather-insurance.com/en-ww/health-insurance/international
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