A Deep Dive into the SafetyWing’s Latest Nomad Insurance Updates
You never expect to need travel insurance, but when you do you’ll be grateful for the safety net it provides. Life on the road as a digital nomad is a thrilling adventure, yet it comes with plenty of uncertainties.
Whether it’s a sudden illness or the unfortunate loss of belongings, travel insurance steps in as your guardian angel, offering financial support and peace of mind when you least anticipate it.
SafetyWing is one of the top travel insurance companies on the market and they’ve recently upgraded. Read on to discover the new features available with SafetyWing Nomad Insurance (latest add-on’s not yet available for US residents).
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Understanding the Basics of Travel Insurance
For digital nomads travel insurance is not just a safety net; it’s a vital companion. The unpredictable nature of nomadic living brings a spectrum of uncertainties—health emergencies, unexpected trip cancellations, or the loss of valuable possessions.
Travel insurance serves as a financial shield, providing coverage for medical expenses and unforeseen liabilities. Beyond the monetary aspect, it offers a peace of mind that is invaluable for those navigating the globe.
As a digital nomad, having travel insurance is not just a precautionary measure; it’s a strategic necessity that ensures a smoother journey, allowing you to focus on your work and experiences without the burden of potential setbacks.
SafetyWing Nomad Insurance
SafetyWing prides itself on being a travel insurance provider created with digital nomads in mind. And with this latest update, they hope to set themselves apart from the competition even farther.
Recent Updates and Enhancements
If you didn’t love SafetyWing Nomad Insurance already, these recent updates will have you catching feels in no time. They have added two new add-ons, each one is available for an additional $10 per month, as well as an more user-friendly claims experience. Each one is explained in detail below.
More Adventure Sports
If you’ve been around here before, you know I love adventure sports. And with SafetyWing’s previous insurance coverage, the lack of adventure sports (or sports in general) that were covered was pretty disappointing.
However, with this latest update you can now add coverage for 30+ adventure sports like cave diving, quad biking and scuba diving in addition to all the other activities they already cover. There are even many sports previously excluded that are now covered!
Adventure Sports Add-on
Included Activities
American football, Aussie rules football, Aviation, Bobsleigh, Boxing, Cave diving, Free-style skiing, Hang gliding, High diving, Ice hockey, Karting, Kite-surfing, Martial arts, Luge, Motorbiking, Motorized dirt bikes, Mountaineering (at elevations under 6000 meters altitude), Parachuting, Parasailing, Paragliding, Quad biking, Rugby, Ski / snowboard jumping, Ski-flying, Skiing / snowboard acrobatics, Skydiving, Skeleton, Snow mobile, Spelunking, Scuba diving (accompanied by an instructor certified by PADI/NAUI/SSI/BSAC), Tandem skydiving, Tobogganing, Whitewater rafting, Wrestling
Excluded Activities
Any sport not specifically included.
ATV’s, base jumping, big game hunting, heli-skiing, jousting, modern pentathlon, powerlifting, running with the bulls, and tractors are some that were previously specifically excluded.
This list is a huge improvement from SafetyWing’s previous coverage. Although sadly it looks like my beloved sport, Freediving, is not included.
It is important to point out that this is an add-on to their base coverage, meaning it will cost you about $10 extra per month to include these activities to your insurance plan. In my opinion it is worth it to include the add-on, especially if you are active and like trying new things like me.
World Nomad’s upgraded plan covers these activities and more, however it is extremely expensive in comparison. But if you are from the USA, I would still suggest World Nomads Explorer Plan as SafetyWing Nomad 2.0 insurance is not available for us yet.
Here is another thing to note about sports coverage directly from SafetyWing’s website:
We do not cover organized athletics or professional sports or activities. What we mean by this is that the sport or activity cannot involve regular or schedule practice and/or games or be performed in a professional capacity or for any wage, reward, or profit.
We do cover you for classes you yourself sign up for at the gym, or lessons with a personal trainer, and also if you regularly get together with friends to perform a sports activity, as long as it is not organized athletics.
If you are a professional athlete or instructor, you are not covered while practicing your sport.
Electronic Theft Coverage
With SafetyWing’s new theft coverage add-on, you can now get reimbursed up to $1000 USD per item if your laptop, phone, camera or other electronic device is stolen.
I believe the base coverage doesn’t include any theft coverage so this is a great addition, allowing them to be even more competitive with World Nomads who offer reimbursement for lost or damaged luggage (including tech).
This add-on costs an additional $10 per month but could really be a life-saver, especially as a digital nomad. Our laptops might be the most important thing in our suitcases and to have it stolen would be extremely detrimental to our livelihood. With theft coverage, at least you know you don’t have to hand all your hard-earned money over for a new computer.
Redesigned Claims Experience
Speaking of having your laptop stolen… SafetyWing has also redesigned their insurance claims experience. With your feedback in mind, they completely revamped their claims process to make the turnaround faster and the form more user-friendly.
UX designers everywhere rejoice!
Nothing is worse that having to actually use your travel insurance. And having a bad claims experience only adds insult to injury. Luckily the improved interface and turnaround time will make filing a claim as simple as possible so you don’t have to spend any extra time dealing with this that you have to.
Comparisons with Other Travel Insurance Options
The updated SafetyWing Nomad insurance is a great addition, making SafetyWing even more competitive. However, it is worth exploring how these add-ons compare to other top travel insurance companies like World Nomads and Genki.
Although the adventure sports add-on is a huge improvement with 30+ activities now included, it really only brings SafetyWing up to the same level that World Nomads and Genki were already playing. If you are going with SafetyWing insurance, I think paying the extra $10 a month is totally worth it to include these additional sports. However keep in mind that cost of this add-on makes SafetyWing the same price as Genki.
The other add-on, theft of electronics, is also a great addition. Genki does not offer this feature in their coverage, but adding an additional $10 now puts SafetyWing at a higher price-point that Genki. World Nomads has always included theft reimbursement in their coverage, but even with SafetyWing’s add-on cost, they are still much lower than World Nomads.
As always, be sure to read the fine print before going with any travel insurance provider! The last thing you want is to be surprised by something when you’re expecting to be covered.
Read a full comparison of World Nomads, Genki, and SafetyWing travel insurance.
Get SafetyWing Nomad Insurance today!
I thrive on adventure, but when it comes to my well-being, I don’t compromise. SafetyWing’s Nomad Insurance provides coverage in 175+ countries, and I have complete control over when my policy starts and stops at any time.
