How it works
How Nomadsurance actually works
I'm Lukas, the founder. This page explains exactly what happens when you use Nomadsurance, what we do with your answers, and what we are — and aren't — legally and practically.
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The 3-step process
- 01
You tell us what you need
A short questionnaire with reason behind every question — where you're from, where you're heading, how long, US coverage, age, family, adventure activities, budget, deductible tolerance, pre-existing conditions. ~3-5 minutes.
- 02
We match you with options
Your answers go into our matching engine. It compares your inputs against the product rules of every carrier on our panel and produces a shortlist with plain-language reasoning per option. Decision-supportive, not solely automated.
- 03
You sign up directly with the carrier
The insurance contract is between you and the carrier — not between you and us. We don't underwrite. At claim time you deal with the carrier's system; we'll help you find the right form and chase if things stall.
Behind the curtain
What the AI does and doesn't do
The AI does the boring parts well: parsing your inputs, cross-referencing them against a structured database of product rules, filtering out plans that wouldn't accept you or wouldn't pay out in your situation, and writing the first draft of the "why this plan" explanation you see in your shortlist.
The AI does not invent products, does not decide eligibility (the carrier does that during their own application), does not bind cover, and does not assess medical risk. If your case is genuinely complex — pre-existing conditions, unusual jurisdictions, expat status with a return-home requirement — the engine flags it and a human picks it up.
We log every recommendation, the inputs that led to it, and the model version. If anything is ever disputed, we can show our work.
How we keep recommendations based on fit, not commission
Three things stop us from chasing the highest-paying product:
- Commission rates are flattened in the engine. The matching logic doesn't see what we earn. It sees product attributes vs. your inputs.
- Our review queue is human-curated. When a new plan enters the panel, we score it on coverage quality and claims reputation before it's allowed into the recommendation pool.
- We publish what we earn. See "How we make money" below. If we recommended garbage products, you'd notice on review sites within a month and we'd be done.
This isn't a moral claim, it's a structural one. The incentive to be honest is stronger than the incentive to push high-commission junk, because the niche is small and reputation compounds.
Carriers we work with
Currently {{CARRIERLISTSHORT}} — Passportcard and April International are the two anchors of the panel as of this update, and we add or remove carriers as products change. The full live panel is shown to you at the matching step.
We're a curated panel, not a comparison aggregator. We've turned down carriers whose policy wordings we couldn't get comfortable with, and we'll keep doing that.
Editorial oversight — human in the loop
Every product description, exclusion summary, and "best for" line on the platform is written or reviewed by a human (usually me or one of two colleagues). The AI drafts, humans approve. We don't ship product copy that hasn't been read by someone who can be held responsible for it.
What we are not
We are not an insurer. We do not underwrite policies, we do not hold premium, we do not pay claims. If a claim is denied, that's a decision by the carrier, not by us. We can help you understand it and dispute it — we can't reverse it.
We are not a regulated insurance broker offering personal advice. Nomad Insurance Broker OÜ is an Estonian entity operating an information and matching platform. The name contains the word "broker" for historical and search reasons, but we are not currently registered as a regulated insurance intermediary in any jurisdiction, and nothing on this site constitutes personal financial or insurance advice within the meaning of the EU Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) or comparable regimes. If you need regulated advice — for example because you're an expat with a complex tax-and-cover situation — talk to a licensed broker in your country of residence.
We are not a comparison aggregator. Sites like Squaremouth or InsureMyTrip list every product they can scrape. We don't. We work with a curated panel of carriers we've vetted, and we will tell you when none of them fit your case. If that happens, we'll point you elsewhere rather than push you into something marginal.
How we make money
We are paid commission by the insurance carrier when you sign up to one of their plans through us. The commission is paid by the carrier out of the premium you would pay them anyway — you do not pay more by going through Nomadsurance than by going to the carrier directly. In most cases the price is identical; occasionally we have access to a co-branded rate that's marginally better.
Commission rates vary by carrier and product, typically in the range of 5% to 20% of the first-year premium, sometimes with a smaller renewal commission in later years. The exact rates are negotiated with each carrier and are confidential to that relationship, but the structure is standard insurance distribution.
We do not receive volume bonuses tied to specific products being pushed above others, we do not receive payment for placement in the matching results, and we do not sell your data to anyone. Carriers cannot pay to be ranked higher in your shortlist.
If you don't sign up to anything, we earn nothing from your visit. That's the entire business model.
Who we built this for
Long-term nomads — people on the road for 12+ months at a time, often without a fixed residence. Standard travel insurance breaks down past a few months; you need products designed for sustained absence from your home country.
Slowmads — slower travelers spending 1–3 months per location. You need cover that doesn't reset every time you change country and doesn't punish you for being abroad longer than a holiday.
Remote employees — salaried workers whose employer's group plan doesn't extend to the country they're actually living in. We help bridge the gap, often alongside the employer policy rather than replacing it.
Expats — people who've moved abroad with intent to stay. International health insurance, not travel insurance, is usually what you need. The products are different and we'll route you accordingly.
Perpetual travelers — people deliberately without a tax residence anywhere. This is the hardest case and not every carrier will accept you. We know which ones will.
Families — partners and children on the same plan. Family pricing is rarely a flat multiple, so the right plan is often not the same one a solo nomad would pick.
If you're going on a 10-day holiday, you're not who we built this for. Buy a standard travel policy from a comparison site and save yourself the form.