The FIRST Travel Medical Insurance Just for Nomads!

“What do you do about medical insurance if you’re nomadic?” It’s a question I’ve been asked numerous times, including by my own self. 

My answer is usually “I get travel insurance when I’m abroad, and I try not to do anything when I’m home”. And it’s because after getting in 4 serious accidents, 3 of which required hospital visits, I know better than to not travel without insurance…And I don’t get regular insurance at home because of how ridiculously overpriced it is, especially when I’m never there. 

For freelancers, entrepreneurs, and online businesses like me/mine who are location independent, it’s an issue that hasn’t always been easy to crack. It doesn’t make sense for us to have regular medical insurance if we’re never in our home country, and constantly paying for pricey travel insurance (that doesn’t even include standard medical coverage) can start to add up.

That’s why I was beyond excited and intrigued when I heard of SafetyWing. It’s a new travel medical insurance company created by nomads for nomads. It’s drastically more affordable than any travel insurance I’ve ever seen, and includes medical coverage you’d get from a regular insurance plan, for those of us whose “regular schedule” happens to be all over the world.

It also can cover you for a certain amount of days in your home country, and you can pay more for it to cover you during U.S. travels (that should say something about how ridiculously high medical costs are there).

Travel insurance (and insurance in general) can seem like there’s always a catch, or it’s too good to be true, so I’ll explain below what exactly Safety Wing covers and how much it is!

Less Than $40 Per Month for Travel AND Medical Insurance

I’ve been traveling full time for six years now, and I can honestly say that I’ve never seen cheaper travel insurance rates than SafetyWing has. Add that it includes medical coverage and it almost seems like it’s too good to be true! 

But it is. And if you pay extra, it will cover your U.S. travels too! Here’s the two fee options:

• $37 for 4 weeks traveling outside your home country
• $68 for 4 weeks including travel in the U.S. (if U.S. is NOT your home country)

I’ll get to when and for how long SafetyWing covers you IN your home country, as well as all the details about what’s covered, but first I must talk about the technical stuff like:

Deductibles, Limits, and All That Fun Stuff

Ah yes, words I never want to hear or talk about but alas, I must. I’ll try to make it as painless as possible though! So with either of those two rates above, there are certain “rules” and fine print that apply. Such as:

• $250 Deductible: This means that unless otherwise stated, you still need to pay $250 out of pocket for certain services, like emergency room visits. After the $250, the travel medical insurance covers the rest BUT up to…
• $250,000 Maximum Limit: If your fees go over $250,000, first of all I really hope you’re Ok because that’s one hell of a bill! But also, you’ll have to pay anything over that amount.
• 10-39 in Age: All insurance companies factor in your age, so this is just the set range they have for the set rate they give. If you’re outside that range, you can select your age range when purchasing the insurance, or you can also use the price calculator before purchasing to know the exact cost for your age range and if traveling in US or not. 

There’s also a whole long super fun list of what injuries and illnesses qualify for coverage and reimbursement that you should check out. Especially if you’re the type of person who thinks they need to go to the hospital for things like bug bites or gassiness.

Medical Coverage from Safety Wing

As I mentioned in the beginning, this is the first travel MEDICAL insurance I’ve seen that includes some standard medical coverage. Most travel insurance only covers emergencies, but since this one is meant to be an ongoing monthly coverage for nomads, they’ve made close to what you’d use at home. 

Here’s the medical coverage included in a standard plan:

• Hospital: Room and nursing services
• Intensive Care: Up to the overall limit of $250,000
• Ambulance: Usual, reasonable, and customary charges when a covered illness or injury results in hospitalization
• Urgent Care: $50 co-payment (instead of a $250 deductible). Sidenote: I always use Urgent Care instead of going to a doctor or hospital for illnesses and injuries that aren’t emergencies. You save a lot of money!
• Physical Therapy and Chiropractic Care: Up to $50 per day, must be ordered in advance by a physician.
• Emergency Dental: Up to $1000. AKA, you don’t need to pay the deductible, but you do have to pay anything over $1000

They also include other eligible medical expenses if they meet their requirements for what is eligible. 

Coverage in Your Home Country

I’ve never heard of a travel insurance that would cover me while in my home country so this was extra exciting to hear about! As nomads, we’re typically not in our home country often, but when we are, it can be slightly nerve-wrecking to think about what would happen if we were in an accident.

At least it is for me, since medical costs in the U.S. are ABSURD. Like, I always say that if I were injured in the U.S., I might as well buy a flight to Mexico to get treated and it would still be cheaper.

Anyway! Here’s some fine print that will allow at least some coverage in your home country with Safety Wing:

• NON-U.S. Citizens: 30 days of coverage every 90 day period
• U.S. Citizens: 15 days of coverage every 90 day period

The fine print is you can’t start it while you’re there; you need to pre-select the dates you’ll be there and want to use your allotted coverage.

What is EXCLUDED from Medical Coverage

This is an important one because many people try to sneakily get things covered for less that end up being WAY more expensive than a standard medical bill.

For example: 

• High risk activities: I learned about this exclusion when my former travel insurance company (and one of the biggest ones out there) refused to cover me during my Kilimanjaro trek. They flat out said it was “too high risk” and they wouldn’t cover it. For things like this you’ll need to get specific additional coverage for.
• Pre-existing disease or injury: Should be a given…you can’t get hurt and then buy insurance to cover it. Just doesn’t work that way.
• Cancer treatment
• Standard Health Care: Your annual gynecology appointment or dental cleaning is not included…but I hear Safety Wing is working on a plan for that!

Emergency Coverage with SafetyWing

As I mentioned, most regular travel insurance plans only include emergency coverage as opposed to medical plus emergency like SafetyWing does.

So in addition to the medical coverage benefits I listed above, here are the emergency coverages as well:

• Emergency Medical Evacuation: Up to $100,000 lifetime maximum (Ex. if you get a finger bit off by a monkey on a deserted island and need to be flown to a hospital)
• Natural Disaster: $100 per day for up to 5 days for a new place to stay (Ex. if your villa crumbles after an earthquake)
• Political Evacuation: Up to $10,000 lifetime maximum (Ex. if a political war suddenly happens where you are and you need to leave ASAP)

Travel Fail Related Coverage

Alright now let’s talk about some less terrifying reasons why you need travel insurance. Things like travel delays and lost luggage are standard things that are covered, and will keep you calm and re-assured before and during your trip.

SafetyWing covers:

• Trip Interruption: If during your trip it gets cancelled or you HAVE to leave for one of the qualified reasons, you’ll be covered up to $5000.
• Travel Delay: If your travels or transport is delayed longer than 12 hours, you’ll get up to $100 a day for a maximum of 2 days.
• Lost Checked Luggage: If the airline loses your checked bag and won’t do anything about it, Safety Wing will cover up to $3,000 per certificate period; $500 per item; with a $6,000 lifetime limit. DOES NOT include electronics like laptops, cameras, or phones, which shouldn’t be in your checked bag anyway!

If I haven’t already sold you on trying SafetyWing for #nomadlife insurance, be sure to check out their website! You can find additional information there as well about their Personal Liability Coverage, Death & Dismemberment Coverage, and the FREE coverage they offer for kids under 10 on your plan!

Disclaimer: This post is in collaboration with SafetyWing, however all writing, opinions, and photos are my own. This post also contains ads by MediaVine.