Take Aways From This Post
Health care is obviously a HUGE concern for expats and digital nomads. Even more so for those who travel with family, or have some chronic illnesses. Read this post to learn more about, SafetyWing – health insurance for digital nomads – by digital nomads.
Let’s talk about health insurance.
Living abroad without proper health coverage is a recipe for disaster – considering we are without family or any kind of social support system in a foreign land. The last thing you want is being sick stuck in a foreign hospital and having medical bills to worry about.
In this post, I will discuss some of the health care options that offer specialised services to expats and digital nomads and their families.
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Travel Health Insurance for Digital Nomads and Expats
SafetyWing: Safety Net for Digital Nomads
SafetyWing is a specialised health insurance provider dedicated to digital nomads. SafetyWing was originally founded by digital nomads for digital nomads.
Digital nomads and expats move from one country to another. Their location independence makes them more likely to fall between the cracks in the system and leaves them without proper access to insurance or national safety nets.
SafetyWing remedy this by building a global social safety net tailored to the needs of remote working freelancers, location independent entrepreneurs and remote companies.
At the time of writing this article, SafetyWing offers two products for digital nomads and any location independent worker.
Nomad Insurance: International Travel Medical Insurance
SafetyWing provides travel medical insurance fordigital nomads who travel across the world. You can get travel medical insurance while you are away from your home country. Their coverage includes:
Travel medical
Access to a qualified global network of hospitals and doctors for unexpected medical problems and accidents. The plan includes coverage for doctors, hospitals, emergency medical evacuation.
Travel Insurance
The policy covers travel delay, lost checked luggage, emergency response & natural disasters, personal liability.
Some highlights of Nomad Insurance by SafetyWing:
Young children included – You can insure 1 young child per adult, up to 2 per family, age between 14 days and 10 years old – without additional cost
Easy Recurring billing – It is almost like a Spotify or Netflix without having to decide upfront for how long you need the policy.For a worldwide coverage (excluding the US policy), you can expect to pay about $37 per month, while most comparable companies charge over $100 for a less convenient product.
Home country coverage – SafetyWing’s policy also covers you in your home country for up to 30 days per 90 days of insurance.
Covers private health care – If you are in a country where there’s much better private health care than the public ones, you can simply do so with SafetyWing.
You can also opt for a different medical provider outside of SafetyWIng’s network, however you will have to pay out of pocket and be reimbursed later.
Great value for money
At only $37 per 4 weeks gives a worldwide travel medical coverage.
Health Insurance for Digital Nomads and Expats
Health insurance is a more comprehensive policy that covers your medical expenses while you are abroad. Health insurance does not cover any costs arising from travel related incidences.
When you are in a foreign country, you can take out an expat health insurance or signup for coverage from the local health insurance provider. In this section, we will take a look at some options for health and medical insurance providers.
Remote Health:International Comprehensive Health Insurance
Remote Health is more comprehensive health insurance offered by SafetyWing. It can be used worldwide for full coverage and emergency coverage for planned trips in most country in the world. See the details of each country’s coverage here.
Remote Health is a health care net made for:
- individuals who need fully comprehensive global health care, no matter where they live or travel/move to.
- travellers and expats who have returned home and have no home country coverage.
- people who need coverage for COVID-19.
With Remote Health digital nomads can get worldwide coverage for up to 1mil USD per year.The monthly premium depends on several factors, such as – age, company size, and add-ons etc. Remote Health users can also choose to visit any public or private hospital in the world.
You can also conveniently tailor your coverage plan with add ons for
- Out-patient and prescriptions
- Dental
- $0 deductible & 0% co-pay
- Screenings & Vaccines
- USA, HK and SG coverage
With a standard Remote Health plan, you can get full coverage in 175+ countries. There are no countries in the world where you can’t at least receive emergency treatment on planned trips up to 30 days.
To see which countries might offer restricted or only travel coverage please check the excluded countries list.
Digital nomads with families can also add dependents to their healthcare plan during the application process. Or later whenever they get married or have a child after coverage starts.
Click here to check out their pricing plans.
What is not covered in SafetyWing’s Remote Health coverage?
Treatment of injuries sustained from base jumping, cliff diving, flying in an unlicensed aircraft or as a learner, martial arts, free climbing, mountaineering with or without ropes, scuba diving to a depth of more than 30 metres, trekking to a height of over 4,000 metres, bungee jumping, canyoning, hang-gliding, paragliding or micro lighting, parachuting, potholing, skiing off-piste or any other winter sports activity carried out off-piste.
What happens if you have a preexisting medical condition?
If you have a medical history, SafetyWing underwriting team will review your application within 48hrs of submission and provide you with three possible outcomes:
1) They will cover it,
2) They will either cover it at a higher price or ask if you want to exclude it,
3) Your application may be denied
The main difference between SafetyWing Nomad Insurance and Remote Health for individuals
| Nomad Insurance | Remote Health |
| A travel medical insurance and was built for Digital Nomads who have health insurance coverage in their home country but need coverage abroad while travelling. | Comprehensive health insurance for travelling digital nomads and remote workers AND also for people who still stay in one spot as expats or are in their home country. |
Have you used ever SafetyWing or any other health insurance for digital nomads? How is your experience with health and travel insurance during your travels or life abroad? Let us know in the comments below.
