Expat Health Insurance Price Index 2026: International Health Insurance Cost by Age, Zone and Deductible

Written by Steffan Grund · Insurance specialist (Versicherungsfachmann BWV) · Updated October 28, 2026Facts checked: October 28, 2026

Key facts: the 2026 price index at a glance

This page is the raw dataset behind our international health insurance cost guide: every published premium of one long-term plan, laid out so you can check, compare and reuse it.

What is the price range for each age band and zone?

In Zone 1 the monthly premium ranges from €40 at the youngest age to €800 at 60–64, the last band open to new applicants, and Zones 2 and 3 cost more at every age. Each band spans nine prices per zone, from Basic with the €3,600 deductible at the bottom to Premium without a deductible at the top. The table shows that span for all three zones; the full breakdown follows below.

Two patterns stand out. First, age dominates: the cheapest Zone 1 price at 60–64 is 4.6 times the cheapest at 30–34. Second, for anyone who needs China and Singapore (Zone 2) or the USA (Zone 3), the zone adds between 45% and 338% to the Zone 1 price. Which countries fall into Zone 1 is explained in our Care Expat World plan review; country pages such as expat health insurance in China and in Singapore cover the Zone 2 cases.

Zone 1 premiums: every level, deductible and age band

Zone 1: worldwide except the USA, China and Singapore. Monthly premiums in euros; one row per age band, one column per level and yearly deductible. Zone 1 also pays for medical emergencies for up to 42 days per trip in the USA, China and Singapore, but never in your home country, so never in the USA for Americans.

Zone 2 premiums: every level, deductible and age band

Zone 2: worldwide including China and Singapore, without the USA. Monthly premiums in euros; one row per age band, one column per level and yearly deductible.

Zone 3 premiums: every level, deductible and age band

Zone 3: worldwide including China, Singapore and the USA. Monthly premiums in euros; one row per age band, one column per level and yearly deductible. The USA is in this zone, but Americans are never covered in the USA, because it is their declared home country.

The 65–69 and 70+ rows are prices for existing members only; a new applicant needs a start date no later than 1 December of the year they turn 64. Already 65 or older in the year cover would start? This plan is closed to you; we are preparing a comparison of plans without an entry-age limit. For the entry rule in detail, see the international health insurance age limit; for what members pay later, see expat health insurance over 65.

How much does the premium rise at each age band?

The premium rises by between 0% and 95% from one age band to the next in Zone 1, depending on level, deductible and age. The table lists every step for all nine combinations; the jump from 50–54 to 55–59 is the largest for Comfort with a €1,200 deductible (+51%).

Percentages are rounded to whole numbers and calculated from today’s table, so they describe the age effect alone. The 30–34 → 35–39 step is 0% everywhere because the insurer prints identical prices for both bands. Higher deductibles tend to show larger percentage jumps, because the same euro increase sits on a smaller base. The steps from 60–64 onwards matter even though you cannot join after 64: they are the increases an existing member will meet.

How much more do Zone 2 and Zone 3 cost than Zone 1?

Zone 2 costs 45% to 112% more than Zone 1 and Zone 3 costs 114% to 338% more, across all ages, levels and deductibles. The table shows the example of Comfort with a €1,200 deductible next to the full span for each band.

The zone is a statement of where you need full cover, not of your passport. You can move to another zone on the 1st of any month, but treatment that was already planned or recommended before the switch is excluded in the new zone, so a later upgrade does not help with a known problem. If you live in Zone 1 and only travel to the USA, China or Singapore, Zone 1’s emergency cover there is limited to 42 days per trip and never applies in your home country. Americans should read health insurance for Americans living abroad before paying for Zone 3: the plan never covers a US citizen inside the USA.

Does a higher deductible pay off?

A deductible pays off in a year when the bills that fall under it stay below the premium you save by choosing it. The table gives that yearly saving against no deductible for every level and age band in Zone 1, at standard 2026 prices for one person; a ✓ marks the choices where the saving is at least as large as the deductible itself. The conditions behind that comparison follow below the table.

Here is the break-even logic with numbers. Take Basic at 60–64 in Zone 1. The €3,600 deductible lowers the premium by €1,620 a year. If your covered bills in a year are below that amount, you pay less overall than without a deductible. If they are higher, you pay more, but never more than €1,980 extra, because the deductible caps your own share at €3,600. So the honest question is not “will I claim?” but “can I absorb a bad year of up to €3,600 in bills without stress?”

The ✓ cases work differently. For Premium at 60–64, the €1,200 deductible lowers the premium by €1,200 a year, exactly the deductible, so on standard prices a full calendar year in which you pay the whole deductible leaves you no worse off than without one. Comfort at the same age saves €1,140, less than the deductible, so a year with high bills there can cost more than having no deductible. Across the whole 2026 table, 17 of 198 deductible choices have the ✓ property (11 of 66 in Zone 1), and in 6 of them the saving only equals the deductible, so the worst case is a draw.

That arithmetic holds only under these conditions:

• Standard premiums. After the video health interview the insurer can add a surcharge; the documents don’t say how a surcharge affects each deductible level, so your own saving can differ from the table.
• Today’s prices. The yearly review (AVB §5) can change the gap between deductible levels from 1 January of any year.
• First year. If cover starts during the year, the deductible for that first calendar year is pro-rated in full months from the start month (AVB §7 IV), and you also save premium only for the months you are insured. Check the first-year amount in your insurance confirmation.
• Families. The documents don’t say whether the deductible applies per person or per contract on a family policy; the table compares one person’s saving with one deductible. Ask Care Concept in writing.

Check-ups, dental treatment and vaccinations are paid without touching the deductible where your level covers them (AVB §7 IV). The table describes the insurer’s prices; it does not tell you which deductible suits you, which depends on your savings, your health and how much risk you are willing to carry. The cost guide covers the wider budgeting question.

What do couples and families pay?

Couples and families pay the sum of each person’s own price; the table has no couple or family discount. Children are priced in the 0–24 band until the year they turn 25.

Two details change real family budgets. Partners and children can be co-insured only if they go abroad with the main insured person or live there together, and newborns join without a waiting period if they are registered within two months and the parent’s contract has run for at least three months. Pregnancy and birth are covered from Comfort upwards after a 10-month waiting period. Our international family health insurance guide explains those rules; the calculator above adds a partner and up to four children.

What do 10 years of cover cost at today’s prices?

Ten years of cover from age 60 cost €96,600 in Zone 1 Comfort with a €1,200 deductible at today’s prices, excluding the annual repricing (AVB §5) and any surcharge. The table assumes ten full calendar years from 1 January of the year you reach a band’s first age: five years in that band and five in the next, with the step on 1 January of the year of the birthday.

What this projection leaves out. It excludes the yearly premium review under AVB §5, which can raise or lower prices from 1 January of any year, and any surcharge from the health interview. It includes only the age-band steps, which happen on 1 January of the year your birthday falls in, not on the birthday itself. Joining mid-band shortens the time at the lower price. Treat the totals as a rough planning figure, not a quote: repricing can move them either way, and the deductible you actually pay comes on top.

When does your premium move to the next age band?

Your premium moves to the next age band on 1 January of the calendar year in which you reach that band’s first age. The insurer counts age as the current calendar year minus your year of birth, so the month of your birthday makes no difference to the price.

The same calendar-year rule decides the entry deadline: you count as 65 from 1 January of the year of your 65th birthday, so the latest start date is 1 December of the year you turn 64. The written terms (AVB) phrase the entry limit as “65th birthday not yet reached”, but the application form and FAQ use the calendar-year rule; plan with the stricter one. Our age-limit guide has a deadline calculator.

How do other insurers’ prices compare?

We have no verified price data for other insurers, so this index does not compare them. Other international health insurers set their own age bands, zones, deductibles and benefit limits. We hold partner data for Care Expat World alone, so this index contains no figures for any other plan, and a comparison would mean inventing numbers. If you compare quotes yourself, match the zone, the deductible, the annual and lifetime limits, the exit age and the rules on pre-existing conditions before you compare the monthly price. For public alternatives by destination, see healthcare systems by country; for budgets beyond insurance, see the cheapest countries to retire.

How was this price index built?

We transcribed the insurer’s own published premium table and checked every one of the 297 figures against the original document. The details:

The German terms are the legally binding text; English documents are offered as a service. Where documents conflict (the entry-age wording, for example), we say so on the page. We do not adjust, smooth or round the insurer’s prices.

Can I download and reuse the data?

Yes: the full table is a free CSV file, and you may quote it with a source. The file care-expat-world-premiums-2026.csv has one header row and 99 data rows with the columns zone, tier, band, deductible_0, deductible_1200 and deductible_3600; each price is a whole number of euros per month.

The cards above show Zone 1 prices. Home-country cover applies only to EU or Schengen home countries, so US and UK citizens are not covered on visits home. Already 65 or older in the year cover would start? This plan is closed to you; we are preparing a comparison of plans without an entry-age limit.

Where these facts come from

• Care Concept AG: Care Expat World all-premiums table, English PDF (Zones 1–3, monthly premiums, age-band footnote), read 27 and 28 October 2026
• Care Concept AG / Barmenia: consumer information pack (Verbraucherinformationen) with the German premium overview, age-band rule and payment details, read 27–28 October 2026
• Care Expat World insurance terms (AVB VB-KV 2026_05): zones (§6), premium review (§5), deductible incl. first-year pro rata (§7 IV), entry age (§1), read 27–28 October 2026
• Care Concept English product page and FAQ: calendar-year age rule, zone and level changes, read 27 October 2026
• Our own calculations from the price registry: ranges, percentages, yearly sums, deductible break-even and 10-year projections (28 October 2026)

Prices can change; the insurer’s current documents always prevail. Related: expat health insurance guide, expat health insurance for retirees, pre-existing conditions.