Bermuda has no free public health service; the law instead requires a government-defined minimum private insurance package (the Standard Health Benefit), with care delivered mainly through the quasi-government Bermuda Hospitals Board and a government-run insurance option (HIP/FutureCare) for those without employer cover. Here is what that actually means for an American or Briton living in Bermuda: what the public system gives you, what it does not, and where private cover fits.
Can you use the public system?
- Working for a local employer: Yes, from arrival as a legal resident
- Self-employed: Yes, by paying contributions
- Retired or not working: Only in limited cases
Under the Health Insurance Act 1970 employers must enrol full-time employees (plus non-working spouse and children under 18) in Standard Health Benefit (SHB) level coverage from the start of employment, so a work-permit-holding expat is covered via the employer. Self-employed residents must arrange and pay for SHB-level cover themselves, via a private insurer or the government’s HIP plan. There is no UK NHS reciprocal arrangement covering Bermuda residents and no US Medicare coverage overseas, so US/UK expats depend entirely on the Bermuda-mandated private or government plan.
If you are retiring here
A non-working retiree has no employer to trigger enrolment and no free public fallback, so they must self-purchase HIP (reported around $459/month standard, rising steeply with age, circa $1,239/month reported for over-65s) or a private policy at age-loaded rates. FutureCare’s subsidised seniors’ cover (from 65) requires 10 of the preceding 20 years’ Bermuda residency, which a newly arrived expat retiree will not meet.
What public cover will not give you
- overseas/specialist referral care (SHB benefits not portable to other jurisdictions)
- medical evacuation
- dental
- vision
- limited outpatient mental health
So do you need private health insurance?
Legally required: employers are liable for full SHB premiums for employees and self-employed persons must maintain SHB-level cover themselves. The mandate sits in employment law rather than as an immigration condition, but in practice work-permit holders are insured from day one. Proof of health insurance is also a condition of the main residence routes here, so most expats need a policy in place before they apply.
Loading the insurance checker…
Compare expat health insurance for Bermuda · Read the full Bermuda guide
General information, not insurance, immigration or medical advice. Rules change and individual situations differ; check the official position before you commit. Researched from official sources, July 2026.