Lismore Lighthouse, Scotland // I’m currently on a three-month trip to Europe and bought my insurance policy through SafetyWing.
I live a very unconventional life—I travel most of the year for either work or fun. I am part vagabond, nomad and business traveler. Often, I’m gone for months and never quite know exactly when I’ll be flying back to the U.S. My life is a series of one-way flights, which makes it difficult to find flexible travel insurance since I never really know when my trip will end exactly. I’m a huge fan of SafetyWing’s flexible policies and monthly travel insurance options.
Why do you need travel insurance?
Travel insurance covers all the worst-case scenarios—the flight delay that left you stranded in Istanbul for the night or the bout of food poisoning that hits a few hours before your flight home from Mongolia. Both are true stories from my travel adventures and not fun memories. Both of which I claimed on travel insurance and were covered by my plan. I ALWAYS buy travel insurance for every trip, which usually runs $56-100/month depending on your age.
Who is SafetyWing?
SafetyWing is a fully remote Norwegian startup based in California. It is run by nomads and expats providing insurance for budget travelers and nomads since 2018. (You don’t have to be a nomad or a budget traveler to use their insurance. It’s available to everyone under age 69.)
Why is flexible travel insurance important?
Travel in general requires a lot of planning. Thankfully, SafetyWing’s insurance policies help make things easier. Not all travel insurance companies cover one-way flights. If I don’t have a return flight booked, I always buy a recurring plan. SafetyWing offers reoccurring plans that renew monthly and can be stopped at any time. Then, the minute I get back in the U.S., I cancel the plan, and they provide a pro-rated refund. (Please note they currently offer U.S. coverage on plans for non-U.S. residents only. The reason I wait until I return to the U.S. to cancel is to ensure all my travel is completed with no delays.) SafetyWing’s customer service is 24/7, and you ALWAYS get a real human. It just takes a couple of minutes to cancel, and the refund shows up quickly.
If I know my set travel dates, I often just buy a policy for the entire time and pay upfront in full. I’m currently in Europe for three months mostly for work with a bit of personal travel. Since my travel dates are set, I paid in advance for the entire plan. If there’s even a chance I might extend my travel, then I’ll opt for a monthly travel insurance plan, which is what I’m doing for the fall. (In August, I’m heading to Asia for five months. I know I’ll be back in late February or March but will not book my return flight before I leave.)
Forget to buy travel insurance before you depart for your trip? One of the other great perks of SafetyWing policies is that you can buy it while you are traveling. Since I work for a travel company that covers me when I’m working. When I have a few days in between contracts, I’ll wait to buy policies until the eleventh hour. They offer same-day start dates. You can even buy policies if you’re already abroad and don’t know exactly where you are traveling.
SafetyWing Travel Insurance Options
SafetyWing offers two different times of travel insurance with global coverage. Their Nomad Insurance is travel medical insurance for people outside their home country. For non-U.S. residents, extra coverage options include adventure sports coverage, electronics theft, and U.S. coverage. One of the best benefits of SafetyWing is that they have 24/7 customer support with a REAL human! (I can vouch that they are excellent at assisting and will follow up with you afterward!) You can pay monthly or in full for policies. You can even set policies to auto-renew. When you cancel a policy you’ve paid for, they will give you a pro-rated refund.
For remote workers, SafetyWing offers Nomad Health, global health insurance policies with worldwide coverage in 175 countries, including your home country. (Home country coverage currently does not include the U.S., but they are working to add this coverage in the future.) Benefits of this policy include choosing any doctor you want and fast and easy claims with 24/7 human customer support. Check out the full details here!
What do they cover?
While it’s important to always read the full insurance policy, these are covered by SafetyWing. Each policy has a $250,000 USD max limit and a $100,000 USD max limit for US residents over 65.
- Emergency Accident & Sickness Expenses.
- Emergency Evacuation & Repatriation. (Evacuation to a better-equipped hospital when needed is included with a $100,000 USD lifetime max.)
- Trip Cancelation, Delay or Interruption. (Benefits kick in usually for delays after 12 hours. $100/day for two days)
- Baggage Delay & Damage. ($500/item with a $3,000 policy maximum)
- Injuries from leisure sports and activities.
- Motor Accidents. You must be properly licensed, not intoxicated and wearing safety equipment to be covered. ($250,000 US max limit)
- Continued coverage in your home country after 90 days abroad. (30 days for non-U.S. residents and 15 for U.S. residents.)
- For more details, read the full policy on their website.
What’s not covered?
SafetyWing doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions, cancer treatment, lost or stolen personal belongings, trips that were canceled before you left and high-risk or professional sports activities.
Does SafetyWing offer U.S. Coverage?
SafetyWing currently offers U.S. coverage for non-U.S. residents as a policy add-on. (In addition, they also offer electronics theft and adventure sports coverage for non-U.S. residents.) They are working to extend these coverage options for U.S. residents.
SafetyWing Pricing
Plans start at $56.28 for people aged 18-39. That’s only $1.87 per day, which is one of the most affordable brands of travel insurance. U.S. coverage is extra along with adventure sports and electronics theft.
Other pricing ranges for four weeks of coverage include:
- Ages 10-39: $56.28
- Ages 40-49: $92.40
- Ages 50-59: $145.04
- Ages 60-69: $196.84
Purchasing Process with SafetyWing
It just takes minutes to fill out the form online including your age, home address and countries you’ll be visiting. Their chat box makes it easy to ask questions and talk to a real human 24/7. Their customer service can easily answer any questions quickly. They are also great about following up when needed.
Safe Travels!
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