Top Health Insurance Providers in Colombia for Expats: 9 Best Options

The best health insurance companies for expats in Colombia include AXA, Bupa Global, Allianz Care, Cigna, William Russell, VUMI, Best Doctors, David Shield, and GeoBlue. These international providers offer comprehensive coverage options tailored to the needs of foreigners living, working, or studying in Colombia. 

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Whether you’re relocating for a job, retirement, or education, having reliable health insurance is essential. This guide highlights top-rated insurers and compares their international medical plans to help you find the right protection during your stay in Colombia. 

We will discuss these nine insurance companies in detail, and share an overview of the health insurance plans they have available. Keep reading to learn more about the top 10 insurance companies in Colombia for expats! 

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Leading Health Insurance Companies for Expats in Colombia 

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The best 9 insurance companies for expats abroad in Colombia include AXA, Bupa Global, and others. Each of these insurers offers a variety of insurance plans to suit any lifestyle and budget. 

The full list of the 9 best insurance companies are: 

We will discuss each of these insurance companies in further detail in the following sections. If you’re interested in seeing and comparing quotes from these insurers, check out Pacific Prime’s free quote generator tool. 

AXA: International Medical Coverage in Colombia 

AXA is a global health insurance provider with 55 years of experience that insures expat individuals and families in Colombia. Its health insurance plans are offered in five coverage tiers: Foundation, Standard, Comprehensive, Prestige, and Prestige Plus.

Each of these plans includes comprehensive inpatient coverage, with annual limits ranging from USD $160,000 to $8,000,000. Exact coverage benefits will vary from plan to plan.  

The core benefits included in all five plans are: 

  • Inpatient Hospital Charges and Surgeries
  • Emergency Care
  • Medical Evacuation and Repatriation
  • Wide Range of Cancer Treatments
  • Ambulance Transport
  • CT, PET, and MRI Scans

The more inclusive plans, Prestige and Prestige Plus, offer these valuable additional benefits: 

  • Routine Pregnancy Care
  • Annual Health Checks

In addition to these medical benefits, AXA offers other important services to their members with each of their five plans. This includes 24/7 personal support, claims repaid within 48 hours, second medical opinions, and virtual doctor services. 

In addition to AXA’s long-term international health insurance plans, they also offer short-term international health insurance with coverage from 3 to 11 months. Their short-term health insurance plan includes the same amount of coverage as their standard plans. 

The short-term plans also include customizable benefits, like the optional outpatient coverage add on. AXA’s customizable and extensive benefits make this short-term plan much more comprehensive than your traditional travel insurance plan. 

Bupa Global: Premium Health Plans for Expats in Colombia 

Bupa Global offers international health insurance coverage for expats in Colombia with its four plans: Major Medical, Select, Premier, and Elite. Their most affordable plan provides an annual benefit limit of USD $1,260,000.

Their plans and coverage details may vary by region, so ask your broker for more information. Below, we have compiled a short table illustrating the coverage benefits offered by Bupa Global. 

Bupa Insurance Coverage Availability for Expats in Colombia

Benefit 

Availability through Bupa

Inpatient & Outpatient Coverage Available
Emergency Evacuation and Repatriation Available on many plans
Dental Coverage Available with a 24-month waiting period for orthodontic benefits
Maternity Coverage Available with a 12-month waiting period
Coverage for Annual Health Checks Available
Vaccination Coverage Available for routine and travel vaccines

Bupa Global includes key beneficial features with each of their health insurance plans in addition to their comprehensive healthcare coverage. These features include: 

  • Direct Billing Options 
  • 24/7 Medical Help through Global Virtual Care
  • Second Medical Opinions
  • Online Access to Insurance Information
  • Extensive Network of Providers

Allianz Care: Reliable Global Insurance for Expats 

Allianz is one of the largest international health insurance providers on the market today and offers expats in Colombia excellent private health insurance coverage. The main three plans for individuals and families are Allianz Care, Allianz Care Plus, and Allianz Care Pro.

We have included the short table below to compare Allianz plan benefits. 

Allianz Plan Benefits for Expats in Colombia

Care Plan

Care Plus Plan

Care Pro Plan

Annual Limit USD $2,500,000 USD $4,000,000 USD $5,000,000
Type of Room Semi-Private Private Private
Inpatient / Day-Care Covered Covered Covered
Oncology Covered Covered Covered
Medical Evacuation Covered Covered Covered 

In addition to their core Care plans, they also offer additional add-on plans to further your coverage. These plans include their Out-Patient Plan, Dental Plan, Repatriation Plan, and 

Maternity Plan. These plans offer important additional treatment coverage for expats in Chile.

Cigna Global: Flexible Medical Coverage in Colombia 

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Expats in Colombia can purchase international health insurance from Cigna Global’s Close Care, Silver, Gold, and Platinum plans. Cigna is one of the largest international health insurance providers, with a broad global network of 1.65 million hospitals, doctors, and clinics.

Cigna’s health insurance plans offer comprehensive coverage for inpatient and outpatient services and more. The core benefits shared by these plans are: 

  • Inpatient and day patient coverage
  • Full cancer care 
  • Newborn care coverage
  • Private hospital rooms
  • Hospital stays and treatments 

Some additional coverage that can be added to these plans are: 

  • Dental and vision benefits
  • Evacuation and Crisis Assistance Plus™
  • Outpatient services
  • Health and wellbeing services

The Silver, Gold, and Platinum plans all offer international coverage, while the Close Care plan only offers coverage in Colombia and the member’s home country. 

William Russell: Customizable Health Insurance Plans for Expats in Colombia

William Russell is a popular international health insurance provider with expats in Colombia because of their comprehensive health insurance. They offer health insurance through four standard plans: Bronze, SilverLite, Silver, and Gold. Each plan varies in coverage limits and benefits. 

William Russell offers its members extensive benefits and enhanced member services, with personal account managers for their clients. They designed these unique features to help members get the most out of their policies. 

We will compare the Bronze, SilverLite, Silver, and Gold plans and their benefits in the table below. 

William Russell Plan Benefits for Expats in Colombia

Bronze

SilverLite Silver

Gold

Annual Benefit Limit USD $1,500,000 USD $1,500,000 USD $2,500,000 USD $5,000,000
Hospital Accommodations Semi-private room (option to upgrade to a private room) Semi-private room (option to upgrade to a private room) Private room Private room
Hospital Treatment Full coverage Full coverage Full coverage Full coverage
Annual Limit for Out-patient Treatment No limit Up to USD $5,000  No limit No limit
Primary Medical Care Post-hospital treatment only USD $1,500 (option to extend to USD $2,500 or USD $3,500) Full coverage Full coverage

VUMI: VIP Health Plans for Expats in Colombia

VIP Universal Medical Insurance Group (VUMI) Insurance offers comprehensive health and travel insurance for expats in Colombia. VUMI offers individual health insurance through its Global Flex VIP Plans, which are available as Basic, Standard, Superior, Ultra, and Total. 

Each plan has different coverage limits, but all five plans include some core benefits like standard private hospital room coverage and fully covered ICU stays. 

We will share more about the Global Flex VIP Plans below. 

  • Global Flex VIP Basic Plan: The VIP Basic plan offers the most affordable insurance option to expats in Colombia. It provides inpatient coverage, with outpatient services only being covered before and after surgery.
  • Global Flex VIP Standard Plan: This plan offers a step-up in coverage from the Basic plan, with optional wellness and optical benefits.
  • Global Flex VIP Superior Plan: The Superior plan has options for additional optical and maternity benefits and also includes coverage for outpatient benefits like complementary therapies.
  • Global Flex VIP Ultra Plan: The Ultra plan is the second most comprehensive health insurance plan VUMI offers. This plan includes routine dental coverage and maternity benefits. Optical benefits can be added as well.
  • Global Flex VIP Total Plan: The most comprehensive of VUMI’s health insurance policies. This plan includes the highest benefit limits and includes high coverage for dental and maternity benefits. 

Best Doctors Insurance: Elite Medical Solutions for Expats in Colombia

Best Doctors Insurance is a Bermuda-based insurance company that is a popular choice with expats and locals alike in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada. Best Doctors offers the best service to its members in Columbia with comprehensive insurance solutions. 

With Best Doctors Insurance plans, members can have access to over 53,000 world-leading doctors in more than 450 specialities. In addition to this wide network, members can access other services such as: 

  • InterConsultation: An in-depth review of a member’s medical records by an experienced team of specialists. This review will also include a comprehensive report with treatment recommendations.
  • Concierge Services: A VIP service that can help you coordinate and organize your travel itinerary, such as hotel bookings, medical appointments, and other plans.
  • Elite Navigator: Included in Best Doctor’s most comprehensive plan, this service allows you access to a personal physician advocate. 

Best Doctors Insurance offers medical insurance plans for individuals, families, and corporations. They offer worldwide plans, plans that only cover Brazil, and plans that only cover Latin America and exclude Brazil, the US, and Canada. 

We have included some of their health insurance plans and their annual limits below:

  • Medical Elite: USD $10,000,000 per year per insured 
  • Premier Plus: USD $7,000,000 per year per insured 
  • Premier Care: USD $7,000,000 per year per insured 
  • Global Care: USD $5,000,000 per year per insured 
  • Medical Care: USD $3,000,000 per year per insured 
  • Medical Select: USD $1,000,000 per year per insured 
  • Ultimate Care: USD $1,000,000 per year per insured 

These plans vary in coverage, with Medical Elite offering the most comprehensive outpatient and inpatient coverage, while Ultimate Care offers the most basic and standard inpatient coverage. Each plan offers hospitalization and private room coverage. 

In addition to these plans, they also offer optional riders that can be added to plans to extend their coverage. These riders are: 

  • Organ Transplant Coverage: Covers the transplant procedure, tests, medical care before and after the transplant, medications, and complications related to the transplant up to USD $500,000 lifetime per organ, per member. It also covers living donor related expenses.
  • Complications of Maternity and Birth Coverage: Coverage during pregnancy and delivery of newborn baby for up to USD$500,000 lifetime, not subject to deductible.
  • Critical Select™ Coverage: Cash payment of USD $25,000 or $50,000 to cover immediate or unexpected expenses, existing debts, and lifestyle changes you might need to make if faced with a critical illness.

David Shield: PassportCard and Worldwide Coverage for Expats in Colombia 

David Shield is one of the top insurance companies in Colombia due to their unique health insurance solutions and excellent customer service. They offer their members access to quality healthcare in Chile and across the world. They are also known for their product PassportCard. 

David Shield offers individuals the option of health insurance plans with worldwide coverage including USA or excluding USA coverage. Expats looking to save money on their premiums can choose the excluding USA coverage plan. 

Some key benefits included in David Shield plans are: 

  • Hospitalization
  • Surgery
  • Physician Visits
  • Maternity and Infant Care

David Shield also offers maximum flexibility for its members by allowing them to select the medical service provider of their choice from their extensive network. 

GeoBlue: Comprehensive U.S.-Friendly Plans for Expats in Colombia 

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GeoBlue is a global insurance company offering travel and health insurance plans for individuals, families, students, and groups in Colombia and worldwide. They provide their members in Colombia access to an extensive provider network and offer customizable, comprehensive plans.

GeoBlue offers expat health insurance through their plans Xplorer Premier and Xplorer Essential. The Xplorer Premier plan comes with United States coverage, while Xplorer Essential can have US coverage added at a fee. 

These plans come with benefits like: 

  • Inpatient and Outpatient Coverage
  • Emergency Evacuation and Repatriation
  • Dental Coverage (With a 3-month Waiting Period)
  • Maternity Coverage (With a 12-month Waiting Period)
  • Coverage for Annual Health Checks
  • Vaccination Coverage

The Xplorer plans come with different choices of deductibles, and each annual maximum limit will depend on the deductible chosen. GeoBlue plans are especially popular with expats moving to Colombia from the US due to the Xplorer Premier’s built-in US coverage. 

Using an Insurance Broker to Secure Insurance in Colombia

Expats who use an insurance broker to secure health insurance for their time in Colombia can count on a simplified and streamlined process, with free and unbiased advice and support. Global insurance brokers like Pacific Prime can save you money on expat health insurance for your time abroad. 

Insurance brokers save you money by negotiating with the insurance coverage provider on the client’s behalf, comparing plans to find the best deals and customizing plans. Additionally, they will support and advocate for clients on their insurance journey.

If you’re interested in using an insurance broker to secure a health insurance policy for Colombia, consider the experts at Pacific Prime

Frequently Asked Questions: 

Is healthcare high quality in Colombia? 

Healthcare is generally considered to be high quality in Colombia, but this will depend on the region. Healthcare facilities in cities will have more staff and updated equipment than in rural areas, and expats and locals in rural areas may have a harder time finding care. 

Is healthcare affordable in Colombia? 

Healthcare is affordable in Colombia, especially when you compare it to other countries with higher cost of healthcare such as the US or Canada. However, certain treatments and services may still be costly which can make health insurance a valuable option for expats. 

Why is health insurance necessary for expats in Colombia?

Health insurance is necessary for expats in Colombia to protect them from medical bills incurred by unexpected illnesses and accidents. Medical services can be expensive, especially for serious illnesses and complicated treatments. Health insurance can protect your finances while in Colombia. 

Conclusion: 

Expats living in Colombia can choose from any of these nine insurance companies to insure them and their loved ones. Backed by glowing customer reviews and years of experience, these insurance companies can protect your health and your finances while abroad in South America.

If you’d like help comparing plans, contact the insurance experts at Pacific Prime! We can help you understand insurance quotes and plans and offer our unbiased advice. If you’d like to compare plans on your own, feel free to use our free quote generator

If you’d like to read more about the top insurance companies in other countries, check out our articles on Chile and Panama

Head of Content at Pacific Prime
Serena Fung is the Head of Content at Pacific Prime, a global insurance brokerage and employee specialist serving over 1.5 million clients in 15 offices across the world. With 6+ years of experience writing about the subject, she aims to demystify the world of insurance for readers with the latest updates, guides and articles on the blog.

Serena earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, Canada. As such, she is an avid advocate of mental health and is fascinated by all things psychology (especially if it’s cognitive psychology!).

Her previous work experience includes teaching toddlers to read, writing for a travel/wellness online magazine, and then a business news blog. These combined experiences give her the skills and insights she needs to explain complex ideas in a succinct way. Being the daughter of an immigrant and a traveler herself, she is passionate about educating expats and digital nomads on travel and international health insurance.
Serena Fung
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