In the digital age, an increasing number of millennials are opting for a nomadic lifestyle, exploring places and living life on their own terms and from income earned entirely online. “Location Independent” has become the identity for a lot of social media influencers. It is fun to be traveling the world, working remotely from any location of your choice, and living an independent life. Who doesn’t want to live a life outside of the office cubicle and make the most of it?
The nomadic life sounds exciting and inviting to those who are thinking of opting for it. There are a few things to be considered though when you are not living a traditional lifestyle like others. Because you can’t plan most things in this life. But precautionary measures and careful choices can prevent an uninvited occurrence. In this case, travel and health insurance come handy.
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Why Should You Buy Travel Health Insurance?
Being a globetrotter, you tend to live a life out of your suitcase or backpack all the time. You are constantly traveling from one place to another, wandering unexplored destinations, eating street food, experimenting with new things, and meeting new people. While planning your trips, you get excited about the destination, accommodation, and shopping.
One of the most important travel preparations, however, is choosing the right travel insurance. Buying travel insurance should be your top priority when you plan to fly out of your home country and wander in foreign lands. Because misfortune never comes with prior announcement. Anything can happen. From missing luggage, falling ill, having an accident, flight delays to losing important documents like your passport. This can truly ruin your trip overseas.
Like travel insurance, health insurance is another must-have on your list and luckily, many insurance providers have combined offers to cover both health emergencies as well as lost luggage and delayed flights. When it comes to health insurance for long-term travelers, finding and picking the right kind of policy can become quite tricky.
Many travel insurance providers have pre-requisite conditions. This makes it quite difficult for digital nomads and travelers who don’t have a home base. What do you do in that situation? The good news is that there is travel medical insurance that is specially designed for people who are digital nomads, remote workers, and long-term travelers with no return ticket. More on that below!
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What Is The Difference Between Travel And Travel Medical Insurance?
Is there actually any difference between your travel insurance and travel medical insurance? Yes, there is.
Normal travel insurance is generally purchased solely for the number of days and the country you are traveling to. It usually includes medical emergencies, personal accidents, loss of luggage, flight cancellation, or delays, for the selected days only. Normal travel insurance is designed for short-term travel and one-off trips and in case of emergency, the insurance company will fly you home for treatment in your home country. So it is generally an addition to the things which your home health insurance can’t cover in a foreign location.
On the other hand, travel medical insurance will cover you for longer periods abroad. I’d vouch for the fact that travel medical insurance is extremely important for digital nomads, people who are living abroad and working from all corners of the world.
Unlike travel insurance, annual travel medical insurance takes care of medical emergencies for long periods of time. Depending on the policy, it also covers evacuation, terrorism, crisis response, natural disaster, accidental death, and a few other cases.
A few travel medical policies offer benefits like a trip interruption, travel delay, lost checked luggage, and even personal liability. If you are looking for travel medical insurance, which covers everything mentioned above, SafetyWing Insurance is your answer to that.
What is SafetyWing Insurance?
SafetyWing is the world’s first international travel medical insurance, specially developed to cater to the needs of entrepreneurs and remote workers, social influencers, and travelers, traveling or living abroad worldwide. Tokio Marine, one of the largest insurance companies in the world, administers the SafetyWing policy. It is a comprehensive travel medical insurance, designed for people like you who are location independent.
What Does SafetyWing Insurance Cover?
This is the most important question when it comes to insurance policies. SafetyWing covers eligible medical expenses for a covered injury or illness and emergency travel benefits. SafetyWing has worldwide coverage and some limited home country coverage, so you can also be insured when visiting family and friends back home.
For Travel Medical Coverage, The Following Is included:
- Unexpected injury or illness
- Ambulance and hospitalization
- Emergency room and urgent care centers
- Emergency dental treatment
- Outpatient care
- Complications of pregnancy during the first 26 weeks of gestation.
Up To The Benefit Limit
- Prescription drugs for the treatment of a covered injury or illness
- Emergency medical evacuation
- Repatriation of remains or local burial or cremation
- Accidental Death and Dismemberment
- Illness due to terrorism
For Travel Coverage, The Following Is Included:
- Trip interruption
- Travel delay
- Lost checked luggage
- Emergency response & natural disasters
- Political evacuation
- Personal liability
What Does SafetyWing NOT Cover?
It is also imperative to check what Travel Medical insurance doesn’t cover. SafetyWing medical insurance doesn’t cover the below-mentioned things:
- Electronics such as phones, laptops, cameras
- Cancer treatment
- Routine check-ups
- Pre-existing conditions (Limited coverage for acute onset of pre-existing conditions, but not chronic or congenital conditions)
- Adventure sports (Amateur sports injuries are covered, which would apply to most travelers. However, if you do any sports activities professionally, SafetyWing doesn’t cover those)
For a complete list of exclusions and limitations, please refer to the full Description of Coverage.
Where Can I Travel With SafetyWing Insurance?
SafetyWing Insurance covers you worldwide and has limited home country coverage. It covers 180 countries with the exception of Cuba, Iran, and North Korea.
How Much Does It Cost & How To Buy It?
The SafetyWing Insurance will cost you only 37 per 4 weeks and give you worldwide travel medical coverage (Ages 18-39, other ages available). If you are traveling to the USA, it adds $31 per 4 weeks.
You can buy the policy right from their website. You have to be above 18 years old to buy the insurance. You can choose the start date and it automatically extends until you cancel, unless you choose an end date.
Once you sign up for automatic monthly renewal, SafetyWing coverage will automatically extend every 4-weeks until you cancel or for a maximum of 364 days. It is like a subscription, such as Netflix or Spotify, really handy, because this way the insurance will never run out without you knowing.
You have to re-purchase new coverage after 364 days, in case you will be away from your home country for longer. There’s no limit to how many years you can keep re-purchasing (other than the age limit of 69 years of age). You can cancel the coverage at any time by contacting me in writing to MIS Group. You will be eligible for a full refund of the premium up to the certificate effective date. The best part of the insurance is that you can also purchase insurance on behalf of a whole group traveling with you.
Why SafetyWing is The Right International Travel Medical Insurance For Digital Nomads
Well, let me conclude with the reasons:
- SafetyWing is a great travel medical insurance that automatically renews and can be taken out for many years.
- You do not need a (registered) residence in your home country or anywhere else to purchase the insurance.
- You just need a postal address for them to send you the last bill.
- If you are an entrepreneur, long-term traveler, or digital nomad, SafetyWing Insurance is most likely the most flexible option for you.
- This is inexpensive in comparison to other providers with similar coverage.
- It has extensive risk coverage abroad and will even cover travel delays and lost checked luggage.
- Hassle-free purchase online. There is no third party involved.
- SafetyWing covers you even in your own home country. You can stay (and be covered for) up to 30 days at home for every 90 days of coverage purchased. But if your home country is the US, then you will have coverage for 15 days for every 90 days of coverage.
- You can buy the insurance while you’re already traveling.
Do you need more reasons? Visit the SafetyWing website to find out more and register for your upcoming trip.
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Great Blog…thanks for sharing
Great article keep it up the good work
very interesting blogs.
Travel Medical Insurance is highly required because the medical costs without insurance at foreign locations can be very steep. Safety wing insurance provides coverage to many things like out-patient, like other companies, I have seen covers only in-patient charges. It is good that you shared what it covers and what it doesn’t cover.
Thank you for this wonderful post, I’ve literally spent months browsing the web to find a medical insurance which suits my life as a digital nomad and your article has been very helpful and informative.
For most people, getting an insurance policy is unnecessary. But it pays to be prepared. Having a policy with an extensive coverage is a sure win. Safety wing seems to be a great option to check out for digital nomads.
Having medical insurance while traveling is extremely important. Before getting one, I suggest everyone should research their options. This seems like one good suggestion, I might check it too. Thank you for sharing
This sounds ideal for those living a nomadic lifestyle. As an expat, it frustrates me that I have to spend so much on travel insurance when all I am really looking for is long-term medical insurance. It’s great that they have thought of this idea to target a particular group of people. I will definitely look into this.
Nikki Godwin recently posted…What Living as an Expat in Tanzania is Really Like
Many of my travel blogger friends doesn’t gets travel insurance as they believe its an additional expenses, however if you look at it deeper, travel insurance eases our travel worries. I will take a look more of this travel insurance you’ve recommend. It is worth investing to this one.
This was quite an informative article. It’s interesting to note that you do not need a registered residence in your home country to access this cover, and that I can buy insurance while I’m already travelling. I think it’s something worth looking into. Thanks for sharing!
This is quite an informative article. It’s interesting to note that you do not need a registered residence in your home country to access this cover, and that I can buy insurance while I’m already travelling. I think it’s something worth looking into. Thanks for sharing!
It’s really important to have travel medical insurance and I would not advise to step out without it. Thanks for such an important share as now my head seems sorted about my medical insurance after reading this. It is always important to know what exactly it covers and what it does not, and you have nicely summed up the points here.
nice post thanks
i am totally satisfied about my health insurance after reading this article.nice work.