If you’re a digital nomad or just working remotely for a while, your insurance needs will be different than those of a tourist.

Firstly, you are likely to be away for much longer than the average person on a holiday. Secondly, your requirements for coverage and policy costs will also be affected by your unique situation.

For example, for your medical insurance, you may be a bit more concerned with regular medical care than, say, an accident during a tourist activity — though both are important. You might also be travelling with more gear (such as your travel laptop), so you may wish for good theft insurance. 

Here I will review two options that have worked well for me.

Important: normal travel insurance is designed to be complementary to any primary medical insurance you might have in your home country. If you go fully nomadic and no longer pay for any (state or private) medical insurance at home, you will need some full medical insurance with worldwide coverage, such as SafetyWing’s Remote Health policy.

Travel insurance for part-time nomads

If you plan to work remotely for part of the year or during specific remote work trips, then I recommend looking at travel insurance that simply supports long trips.

This is not true of most travel insurance. Often, regular travel insurance policies have a restrictive individual trip length limit (e.g. maximum 30 days).

If you’re going to be working remotely for, say, the winter season, or if you plan to take several long remote work trips throughout the year, then such policies may not be right for you.

In this case, I recommend the Heymondo Annual Multi-Trip policy. It provides travel insurance for an entire year and comes with an individual trip limit of 60 days, which lets you easily move base every now and then.

This is the policy I use myself as a full-time travel blogger. Since I spend part of the year living at home, but also take remote trips at different times of the year, this has been the perfect insurance for me. If you travel longer than 60 days, but not full-time, then you can also consider the Heymondo Long Stay Insurance

Heymondo is an insurance provider backed by AXA, the world’s third-largest insurance company.

Their policies have somehow better coverage than SafetyWing’s Nomad Insurance, which is discussed below. For example, with Heymondo Annual Multi-Trip you have a much higher limit on medical expenses abroad. There are also no copayments, deductibles, or excess with Heymondo.

I’ve been really pleased with the value you get; I think providers like Heymondo are counting on most customers of these plans not really travelling that much in a year, because the costs are quite low.

The maximum trip length under the annual policy is 60 days. But after coming back home for a while, you can go on another 60-day trip and still be fully covered. So, this plan can also work for permanent digital nomads who revisit their home country at least every couple of months.

 

Heymondo Annual Multi-Trip

 

60-day maximum trip length
The policy is valid for a whole year. Within this year, any individual trip can be no longer than 60 days.

 

Easy to use app
The Heymondo app lets you easily manage your policy, make claims, and get 24/7 travel assistance. You can also contact Heymondo through Whatsapp. This is much nicer than using clunky online forms or filling out PDFs.

 

No copayments, deductibles, or excess
This means there isn’t a part you have to pay first before your insurance starts to pay.

 

Strong coverage
Medical expenses up to $10,000,000 USD; Luggage theft and damage up to $2,500 USD

 

Insurance for digital nomads (full time)

If you are a digital nomad with no end date for your travels, then you will likely want a different type of insurance.

As a long-term nomad, it makes more sense to get a somewhat cheaper nomad insurance. This way you might get slightly fewer benefits, but it’s also easier to afford over a longer period.

After all, travel insurance for tourists can be expensive, as it’s designed for people who are on their precious holiday and want maximum coverage for every possible eventuality. As a digital nomad, you are typically living more of a regular life, just in different places, so your needs and risks are likely a bit different. You probably also don’t want expensive travel insurance to be a constant drag on your monthly finances.

If this applies to you, then I recommend SafetyWing. This company specializes in digital nomad insurance, with policies tailored exactly to the needs of remote workers around the world.

Here’s a thing most blogs don’t tell you though: the coverage you get with SafetyWing isn’t quite as good as with most other travel insurance. Firstly, there is a $250 deductible (the part you have to pay before they start paying you). Secondly, the maximum coverage for things like medical is quite a bit lower than with your typical travel insurance.

However, that’s by design. SafetyWing is meant to be used on a continuous month-by-month basis, so it’s less expensive. It covers you mainly for big unexpected costs, not the smaller things you could more easily pay for yourself. 

What I like about SafetyWing is that they are truly focused on digital nomad travel insurance. Their future products will include nomad pension plans and remote doctor consultations via video, so it looks like they’ll become a one-stop-shop kind of provider for nomads.

With SafetyWing’s Nomad Insurance policy, you will be covered even if you come back home for a brief visit. This is a unique perk you don’t get with normal travel insurance.

 

SafetyWing Nomad Insurance

 

Subscription-based insurance for nomads
By default SafetyWing works on a month-to-month basis. It’s tailored to digital nomads and remote workers who travel year-round or for extended periods.

 

Home country coverage
After being abroad for 90 days, you can keep using medical coverage for up to 30 days in your home country if something happens while you’re there. This unique feature is ideal for nomads making occasional home visits.

 

Cheaper if you’re young
The standard policy is just $40 per month if you’re under 40. But this goes up to $64 for age 40-49, $101.64 for age 50-59, and $137.76 for age 60-69.

 

Deductibles & lower maximums
With low prices, there has to be a catch. Well, the coverages are a bit lower and there is also a $250 deductible. This means in the case of any incident you’ll have to pay out of pocket up to $250 before SafetyWing will start compensating you.

By the way, the Nomad Insurance is still meant to be a travel medical insurance, so it won’t cover you for pre-existing conditions or serious chronic issues or things like cancer. For that, you could consider SafetyWing’s Remote Health policy, which is full medical insurance that can be used anywhere in the world, including your home country. This beefier policy costs more but also has fewer deductibles.


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