The life of a digital nomad is unique. The person may travel from one country to another. While exploring new locations, the person has the luxury of working remotely and possibly setting up an office in a library or coffee shop one day and at the park another, obviously with the use of a hotspot.
Some people choose to stay in one location and live life there rather than their home.
However, with an eccentric lifestyle comes the need for a unique type of insurance — nomad health insurance, sometimes referred to as traveler’s insurance.
Digital Nomad Insurance Differences
First and foremost, a nomad policy isn’t like the one that you have in your home country. These types of policies consider that you’ll be traveling, so you may not have a primary care physician to help determine coverage in your home.
This type of coverage focuses on giving you access to healthcare abroad without the need for referrals.
Often, with travel insurance plans, you also have other types of coverage besides healthcare insurance coverage. For instance, you may file claims if you have any belongings that are lost or stolen while you’re abroad.
You might also have trip cancellation coverage if a trip is canceled and you’re now out the money of a ticket or reservations somewhere.
Best Health Insurance Options
When comparing long-term traveler’s insurance policies, you must take your lifestyle and needs into consideration.
For example, Some policies only cover when you’re doing remote work and won’t protect anything in your home country.
Sometimes, a policy doesn’t give you any options for extras, such as trip cancelation. Therefore, it’s essential to know which companies have policies that stand out among the rest.
And you need to consider your personal situation when choosing which one is best suited for you.
SafetyWing
It’s no wonder that the company’s slogan has to do with offering nomad insurance from nomads. They have staff that works remotely, and they accommodate other people and companies who work the same.
This company has remote worker insurance policies for companies and also offers personal nomad policies.
The prices of SafetyWing policies are based on your age. Someone who is only in their 20s or 30s will pay less for their monthly premium than someone in their 50s traveling.Â
You may apply for this policy strictly on an as-needed basis. Therefore, a person may choose to have insurance for 20 days, 90 days, or 365 days. Then, the money is only deducted from your account once every month until you’re done traveling.
They offer long-term travelers insurance plans, ideal for people who don’t have insurance in their home countries. The insurance plan will even cover you in your home country.
Plus, you receive extra benefits like trip cancellation insurance and compensation if your luggage is lost.
The only downfall is that you must be careful regarding the activities you partake in because some risky activities aren’t covered, such as mountain climbing to high elevations.
World Nomads
This particular insurance policy is for the adventurous type of traveler. You’ll have coverage for various types of accidents that could occur when you’re rock climbing or scuba diving while you’re traveling.
The company’s policies cover over 200 activities, so you can go out and enjoy your stay and partake in all the activities you love.
Let’s say you’re only supposed to be on your trip for a month but decided to extend your travels by two more months. World Nomads gives you the ability to extend your policy to 90 days while you’re on your trip. Keep in mind that they offer both short and long-term policies.
In addition to standard coverage, you’ll receive emergency health care coverage with this insurance.
Therefore, if you need to visit the emergency room or even call an ambulance, you’ll be covered in another country.
Since the company understands the time difference in different places worldwide, they’re available 24 hours per day to assist.
You’ll even receive coverage for extras like an expected cancellation and gear.
The plans through this company are highly customizable, so you can get precisely what you want out of a policy.
In addition, the expense of this policy isn’t based on age, which is excellent for older travelers.
CoverAmerica – Gold
This company only offers coverage to people outside of the US who are traveling to the US. Cover America – Gold policies are United Healthcare PPO plans, so people who opt for this particular insurance have many doctors and hospitals they may visit in the US.
Since this company can bill United Healthcare directly, you don’t have to worry about having large amounts of cash on you.
You can even receive medical emergency insurance, which covers if you need an ambulance or visit the emergency room at a hospital.
With so many urgent cares throughout the US, this particular policy considered that and offers coverage with low co-pays for urgent care centers.
Additionally, you can get a policy even if you have a pre-existing condition, such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, or sleep apnea, with this particular company.
You’ll notice with this particular policy that many vaccinations are covered, such as an annual flu shot.
When you choose a policy through this company, you receive many extra benefits, such as coverage for lost travel documents like a passport.
Emergency eye and dental care are also provided. And you can even receive compensation if you miss a connecting flight.
Travelex
Travelex offers medical coverage and various other types of protection, so you can easily customize a policy for your needs.Â
Fortunately, they offer policies for people in various countries who are traveling or working remotely.
In addition, they have a particular policy if you’re planning on traveling to America.
The plans are highly customizable in terms of dates, and you can add time to the policy remotely if your plans should happen to change and you need more coverage.
The plans cover in the event you require expensive medical treatment while traveling. You can also receive the benefit of filing a claim if your baggage is lost or damaged.
In addition, hey offer car collision coverage if you’re driving a rental vehicle while out of the country.
You may even choose a plan that covers your children if they’re coming with you on your excursion. Plus, there’s protection in the event your bags are delayed.
Atlas Travel Insurance
Atlas Travel Insurance is a product of Visitor Travel Insurance, LLC. They have policies for people who are traveling to the US and those who are traveling to other countries from the US.
The company even offers a policy for students who are part of a foreign exchange program.
If a person chooses to stay for longer, they can extend the policy on a month-to-month basis, making it easily customizable.
The health insurance covered by one of these policies includes emergency coverage. You’ll need to read specifics about what’s covered in terms of adventurous and risky activities.
However, if you’re traveling abroad, this insurance is even helpful in covering natural disasters and acts of terrorism.
You’ll even notice that with this policy that you can get pre-existing condition coverage as long as you’re under 80 years old.
One policy even provides coverage to send your children back on a return trip if a medical emergency should happen that causes you not to be able to take care of them for 36 hours or more.
Plus, you’ll find policies that offer coverage for lost or stolen luggage.
True Traveler
This is another company started by people who took frequent trips, so the policies include a variety of services that benefit travelers.
For Example, one benefit of a policy from this company is that you can visit home frequently with this policy and still be covered, which isn’t available with all policies and even through all companies.
The policies available through this insurer are best suited for backpackers and last-minute travelers.
In addition, the policies available from this company are more for travelers under the age of 40.
All policies are based on a 30-day plan, making it ideal if your travel plans should happen to change and you need to extend the length of time you’ll be traveling.
Policies through this company give you both healthcare coverage as well as protection for your belongings.
When you choose a policy through True Traveler, you’ll be covered in the event of an accident during adventurous activities, such as parachuting.
The company offers different levels of excursion coverage to ensure you receive insurance that will most benefit you. Policies can include over 92 risky activities.
These are some of the companies that offer policies that cover a variety of events. They’re also policies that are easy to change whenever your travel plans change, such as you decided you’re not ready to come home yet.
FAQs About Digital Nomad Health Insurance
Some policies do offer coverage for when you’re at home. However, this isn’t a standard part of all policies. Therefore, you’ll want to read your coverage, even the fine lines, so you know what type of coverage you have.
This coverage is hit or miss. Specific policies will cover extreme activities. On the other hand, you’ll notice that only some policies cover a large number of high-risk activities. When comparing, you’ll want to read carefully to determine which activities your policy covers, if any.
Some policies won’t let you change your policy once you purchase one. So you’ll need to read carefully before agreeing to any agreement to ensure you don’t lose money if you should happen to need to change your plan. With most policies, you’ll be able to extend your coverage, so you can stay on your trip for longer and still have the coverage you need. Often, you can sign up for a monthly plan, so you’re not completely locked into an agreement.
In many cases, a nomad policy will cover pre-existing conditions. However, you should always read the policy information thoroughly before signing up for a policy to avoid not having coverage that you absolutely need.
If you’re pregnant and planning on traveling, you’ll have coverage for routine visits as well as emergency care.
Some companies will let you have a primary policy through them as well. However, a nomad policy is a secondary policy, meaning you should still have a primary policy when you’re at home. In many cases, you’ll need to file with your primary policy first.
There isn’t a simple answer to this question. It varies based on your budget, your health, your age, and your desires. It also depends on where you’re going to travel to and what types of activities you plan on partaking in while you’re away. Keep in mind that some policies are for people traveling to a particular place only and offer no other types of policies.
Fortunately, you can receive coverage for COVID with most policies if you should happen to contract this illness and need medical attention for it while you’re away. This is also something you’ll want to look into before you choose a policy because not all policies are the same.
