Best Travel Insurances for Digital Nomads and Long-term Travelers
If passport is digital nomads’ travel essential, then travel insurance is our personal safety essential. Digital nomads have a very different insurance profile than most people, and most traditional travel insurances deny/exclude coverage for long term travelers who typically spend an extended period of time outside their home country, therefore it’s important to ensure that you are actually eligible to be insured under a specific policy.
I’ve personally sourced the top digital nomad insurance, and tried to navigate through their main terms & conditions. Now I’d like to share with you the pros and cons of each option. The below mentions are all digital nomad friendly.
SafetyWing is a Y Combinator-backed company, one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capitals that have backed companies such as Airbnb and Stripe. It’s founded and managed by digital nomads who intimately understand the needs of remote workers.
I’ve been SafetyWing’s Nomad Insurance since day 1 of becoming a digital nomad, and below is my review of SafetyWing based on my personal experience.
Pros of SafetyWing:
1. Covers trips booked on a one-way ticket
Have you ever read into the terms & conditions of your travel insurance? Did you know that many traditional insurance plans don’t cover travels on a one-way ticket? The silver lining for nomads is that, SafetyWing is built by nomads for nomads, and you can pay monthly, travel indefinitely, and explore anywhere in the world without needing to specify your next destination.
2. Leading market share
SafeyWing has a leading market share, and chances are most of your nomad friends are probably using SafetyWing, so you can validate the experience with them.
3. Affordable pricing
Despite having a solid suite of products, SafetyWing is also one of the cheapest nomad insurance options out there! There was a price hike in early 2024, but it’s still one of the cheapest in the market.
As of mid 2024, it’s 56.28 USD for every 28 days for a typical package, and insurance companies typically adjust their price once a year.
4. $0 deductible
New clients onboarding SafetyWing now will have the $0 deductible policy, which means you don’t have to pay out of pocket at all for eligible claims! Except that you may have to pay by yourself first and get reimbursed later.
5. Flexible policy
Tailored for the nomadic lifestyle, SafetyWing offers unparalleled flexibility, allowing coverage initiation mid-trip and the freedom to cancel coverage at your convenience. if you cancel before the 28-day cycle concludes, they will refund you the prorated unused part. I have personally canceled coverage mid month temporarily and was able to get the refund very shortly.
6. Prompt customer support
SafetyWing has 24/7 live chat support with reply time between 1-10 minutes typically. Most of time I got my answers within 2 minutes, or shortly by email if I accidentally closed the chat page.
7. Home country coverage
For every three-month period during which you are covered, eligible medical expenses incurred in your home country are covered up to a maximum of 30 days.
Insured customers from the U.S. are covered up to a maximum of 15 days of eligible medical expenses incurred in their home country for every three-month period during which they are covered.
8. Global coverage
With coverage in over 180 countries, SafetyWing provides extensive global coverage, ensuring protection wherever your nomadic adventures take you.
9. Additional travel coverage
SafetyWing offers trip interruption reimbursement, personal liability coverage, lost passport replacement, and coverage for lost checked luggage.
Cons of SafetyWing:
1. Coverage limits
The overall maximum coverage limit for SafetyWing Nomad Insurance is 250,000 USD for people under 65. I would say it’s in the middle of the road among its competitors.
2. Pre-existing conditions
Like many insurance plans, pre-existing conditions are not covered at SafetyWing, but note that it’s extremely difficult to find an insurance policy that does not exclude pre-existing conditions.
3. Upfront payments
Unlike PassportCard, you may have to pay upfront for the cost and then get reimbursed later.
For more details about SafetyWing’s Nomad Insurance as well as the other product: Remote Health, follow this link to their official website.
For adrenaline junkies who are into extreme sports and activities, World Nomads might be your best bet, although it comes with a higher price tag.
Pros of World Nomads:
1. Multiple pricing plans
Different from SafetyWing, World Nomads have multiple pricing plans, so you can choose your pricing plan based on the amount and the extent of coverage you’d like to have.
2. Extensive adventure sports coverage
World Nomads provides travel insurance for more than 150 activities, sports and experiences, but it doesn’t cover everything so don’t assume every activity is included and covered.
World Nomads has categorized all the adventure activities that they would cover into 3 levels based on the activity’s inherent risk level, and you can choose your plan based on the coverage. There are some activities that World Nomads will not cover regardless of the pricing plan such as base jumping, wingsuit flying, cliff diving, martial arts competitions, piloting an aircraft, stunt flying/aerobatics, rodeo, bull riding/Running of the Bulls.
Click here to view all the 150 activities that World Nomads covers and the activities that it would exclude.
· The Standard Plan includes all level 1 activities.
· The Explorer Plan includes all level 1 and 2 activities.
Note that, these adventure activities must be added at the time of purchase at World Nomads, and they can not be added later. If a sport or activity is not listed, you should check with World Nomads before trying it.
Cons of World Nomads: Price
Everything comes at a cost. World Nomads’ comprehensive coverage is provided at a considerably higher price tag.
Pros of Genki:
1. Low Deductible
Genki has a very low deductible, between 0 and 50 EUR deductible based on the plan you choose.
2. Covered in every country (except for the special coverage in your home country)
Genki states that you’re covered in every country worldwide.
3. No Maximum Limits for inpatient and outpatient treatments
Unlike the majority of insurance providers, Genki does not impose a maximum cover limit on many incidents such as inpatient and outpatient treatments.
4.Competitive Pricing
The price is competitive too. It’s from 40 EUR/month for up to 29 year-olds, 55.6 EUR/month for 30-39 year-olds, 60 EUR/month for 40-49 year-olds, 78 EUR/month for 50-59 year-olds.
5. Established underwriting partner
The risk is covered by Allianz, a fairly established global insurance company based in Germany.
6. Fast Reimbursement
Genki commits that the reimbursement for doctor’s visits will be paid within one month, which is considered pretty fast in the insurance industry.
Cons of Genki: Limited home country coverage
Coverage in your home country will be limited to six weeks per 180 days.
Best choice if you decide to venture into war zones such as Ukraine, where most insurances would exclude.
Pros of Insured Nomads:
1. Warzone coverage
What makes Insured Nomads stand out is that they have a warzone coverage option, which is rare to find, where majority of insurance policies will clearly exclude war-related incidents.
Insured Nomads partner with the company “Hotspot Cover” to provide these warzone plans, so if you plan to go to hotspots of conflict such as Afghanistan, Sudan & Ukraine, Insured Nomads is a good choice.
2. A wide range of coverage amounts
Insured Nomads provides medical coverage ranging from $ 250,000 to $ 2,000,000.
Cons of Insured Nomads: Pricy
For example, with a $ 250,000 coverage plan with a $500 deductible (which is really high), a typical plan costs around $ 92 for 30 days (depending on your age).
Pros of PassportCard:
1. Real-time payout
No more waiting on reimbursing the claims, which could take even months to settle. PassportCard is the first travel insurance in the world that offers real-time payout. PassportCard issues you a Master Card, and offers real-time payouts, so that you don’t have to pay out of pocket at all.
2. Multiple pricing plans to choose from
You have three plans to choose from, premium, comfort and compact, and you can get a quote online based on your specific situation.
Cons of PassportCard
Cost wise, I didn’t find much about the pricing range of PassportCard, as I need to submit my personal information in order to get a quote.
Allianz is one of the world’s largest insurance companies. My prior impression was that they are really good at providing comprehensive healthcare plans for expats, but not necessarily for digital nomads, but I just found out that they actually have a nomad healthcare insurance plan.
Pros of Allianz: Backed by a well-established company
A renowned insurance company with a solid reputation.
Cons of Allianz: Pricy
The cost tends to be on the more expensive side.
Note:
Insurance policies could change from time to time, the above content is subject to the author’s personal interpretation. For the most up to date and accurate information, please follow the links to the provider’s official page to review the coverage policy.
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