How to Provide Healthcare for Contractors Worldwide

Independent contractors fuel today’s global economy—building products, scaling design sprints, handling customer queues, and delivering critical engineering work. Yet too many still pay out of pocket for healthcare coverage—or worse, go without.

Although HR and finance leaders work hard to provide benefits, it remains extremely challenging: they must navigate complex cross-border insurance laws, stay compliant with local law, and wrestle with manual processes.

That’s where Deel Contractor Health coverage comes in. With access to plans in 175+ countries, you can extend health insurance plans directly through the same workflows you already use to pay and manage contractors. It’s not just about compliance—it’s about retaining top talent, improving engagement, and giving contractors the security they deserve, wherever they work.

Why company lead beats self-service

When contractors are left to shop for their own policies, they face opaque pricing, inconsistent coverage, and hours of paperwork. Even with a stipend, the burden falls back on them: sourcing a plan, submitting proof of coverage, and chasing reimbursements when details change. What should feel like support often turns into fragmented workflows and extra admin for everyone involved.

Directly funding healthcare flips the script and delivers three clear advantages:

• Attract and retain talent: Top contractors compare clients. Providing health coverage can make your offer a more competitive and appealing option for top talent
• Save time: Coverage is embedded in the same platform you already use to manage contracts and payments, eliminating the need for reimbursements and manual reconciliations
• Reduce risk: Policies built for global contractors reduce the risk of needing to reclassify workers or statutory non‑compliance, protecting both your business and your workforce

Meet Deel Contractor Health

With Deel Contractor Health, any organization can attach group-rate medical coverage—powered by SafetyWing’s global network—to a contract in just a few clicks. Coverage follows contractors across 175+ countries, with transparent pricing, flexible tiers, and configurable co-pay options.

What’s inside the plan?

• Affordable group rates: Unlock lower premiums for both your business and contractors, with no need to negotiate across multiple vendors
• Flexible funding: Choose to fully sponsor plans or set a monthly cap to subsidize coverage
• Dependents included: Give contractors the option to add family members, with control over contributions
• Age-based policies: No pre-existing condition exclusions, underwriting hurdles, or red tape
• Truly portable coverage: Valid in 175+ countries (not including the US), so contractors can travel or relocate without losing protection or incurring extra costs

Compliance without the guesswork

We know many teams hesitate to offer health benefits to contractors, worried it could blur employment status or create compliance risks. That’s why we built compliance guardrails in partnership with SafetyWing—so you can provide competitive benefits with confidence, not concern:

• Opt-in flexibility: Choose from three vetted plans, giving contractors competitive options without overcomplicating your workflow
• Built-in documentation: All acknowledgements and policy summaries are securely stored, so you’re ready if an audit comes

Built for finance teams as much as HR

Managing global benefits shouldn’t add to your reconciliation headaches. With Deel Contractor Health, finance teams get the same simplicity as HR:

• One invoice: Premiums roll up seamlessly with contractor payments, so you manage a single vendor instead of dozens
• Smart reporting: A cost dashboard lets you filter spend by country, team, or project
• Cost control: Set a monthly cap per contractor, and Deel automatically allocates any contractor-paid portion to their side of the invoice

From contract to coverage in minutes

Adding health coverage to a contractor agreement is quick, seamless, and fully managed inside Deel. No extra portals, no manual admin:

1. Toggle “Add health coverage” when creating or editing a contractor agreement
2. Choose your funding model – set any percentage from 0 to 100
3. Contractor opt-in – they review, sign, and complete a simple flow during onboarding
4. Automatic activation – coverage begins on the contract start date; premiums sync to invoices, and your finance dashboard updates in real time
5. Effortless offboarding – when a contract ends, Deel automatically terminates the policy and reconciles the final premium.

Attract and keep the best contractors

Many companies already provide healthcare allowances—but stipends still leave contractors with the burden of finding, funding, and managing their own coverage. By offering health benefits directly through Deel, you show contractors you value their wellbeing and give them a reason to choose your project over competing gigs.

Because borderless work deserves borderless care, and the smartest way to keep top talent is to protect what matters most: their health.

• If you already use Deel, just log in, go to more in the top menu, click ‘services’, then find Contractor Health Insurance card

• New to Deel? Book a free demo today and see how easy it is to get started.