There’s a new kid on the travel insurance block and it’s called SafetyWing. SafetyWing offers medical travel insurance both for short-term and long-term travelers. It provides a solution for those who want to sleep safely no matter how clumsy they are while on the road as well as for those living a more nomadic lifestyle.
Let’s have a closer look.
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Medical travel insurance by SafetyWing
About SafetyWing
Recognized as the world’s first international travel medical insurance provider, SafetyWing offers travel insurance and medical insurance for on the road. Their coverage caters both to the needs of leisure travelers as those of the digital nomads, entrepreneurs, and others who work remotely from locations outside of their home countries, often for extended periods of time.
SafetyWing customers have access to a worldwide network of hospitals, medical specialists, and physicians. The company’s policies are administered by one of the largest insurance companies in the world, Tokio Marine. Underwriting of the policies is done by certain underwriters at Lloyds.
SafetyWing insurance can be purchased for a specific date range, or, if there is a possibility that the trip may be extended, there is an auto-renew option available, as well. So whether you need short-term travel medical insurance or insurance for an indefinite trip, SafetyWing has got you covered.
Claims assistance is available 24/7 directly from Tokio Marine.
What’s covered
Costs for unexpected injuries or illnesses
Firstly, SafetyWing offers medical insurance for travel. This includes coverage for unexpected illnesses or injuries for individuals while traveling for work outside their home country. Examples are eligible expenses for hospitalization, treatment by a physician, treatment by specialists, and prescription drugs.
This means that if you become either ill or injured while traveling, they will cover these medical expenses. If it is deemed necessary, medical evacuation can also be covered. Provided that certain requirements are met, you may also be covered for medical repatriation expenses.
Coverage can include children traveling with you, although coverage is limited to one child for every adult, with a maximum of 2 children per group. Children’s ages can range from 14 days to 10 years.
Coverage can also protect travelers while engaged in certain specific activities on their trip.
For those traveling for pleasure or a little adventure, the SafetyWing international travel medical insurance also provides insurance for a number of sports and activities from badminton to sandboarding. Please be aware that there is no coverage available for organized athletics or professional sports or activities.
SafetyWing also offers insurance coverage to protect travelers from the added costs associated with trip delays and lost checked luggage, emergency response, and natural disasters.
If you need to return to your home country and your visit is considered “incidental”, you can still be covered during your stay for up to 30 days for every 90 days you have been covered. If your home country is the United States, your coverage will only be good for 15 days for every 90 days you are covered. If you stay past that deadline, your coverage will go into “Void” status until you leave your home country. At that point, your original coverage will resume.
Since the coverage through SafetyWing is not meant to be a primary source of health insurance but only a holiday medical insurance, certain pre-existing conditions will not be covered, nor will routine health checkups or cancer treatments. Depending on your circumstances, acute onset of pre-existing conditions may be covered, but not chronic or congenital conditions.
Covered countries
The SafetyWing travel and medical insurance covers you for travel anywhere in the world outside of your home country, with the exception of Cuba, Iran, and North Korea.
Limitations and exclusions
As mentioned before, the SafetyWing travel medical insurance is only a medical insurance for travel abroad, not a full-blown health insurance. So items not covered include cancer treatment, routine checkups, and pre-existing conditions. You may receive limited coverage for acute onset of pre-existing conditions, but not chronic or congenital conditions.
At the time of writing, SafetyWing does not include coverage of electronics but they will be adding this into a new more comprehensive product that will be launched in October as they’ve realized it’s important for so many people like myself, who need their laptops and cameras for work and always bring them along on their travels.
This new product will also include a more extensive health insurance for digital nomads.
Still, if you’d want to invest in separate electronics coverage by a different company in addition to your SafetyWing insurance, you’d still be cheaper off in total than with some other insurance providers who cover global travel, such as World Nomads.
Special benefits
The 30-out-of-90-day (or 15-day if you’re from the US) home country coverage SafetyWing provides is unique.
Another thing that’s great about SafetyWing is that you can sign up even when you don’t have residency anywhere. That can be the case for digital nomads, who can simply use a friend’s or family member’s address to have their bills sent to.
SafetyWing wants to actively create a community among their users and to do so, they organize events and meetups around the world.
How to file a claim
To file a claim, you can send by email or post (screenshots of) the original itemized bill and payment receipts, as well as the filled out Claimant’s Statement.
Who is it for?
SafetyWing provides both travel and medical insurance coverage, aimed both at “normal” travelers who make a few short trips each year and at digital nomads and others who do their jobs remotely while traveling for fairly long periods of time.
It is also ideal for those whose travel plans require flexibility as far as trip length as you can simply enter the dates of your departure and don’t worry about being covered as the auto-renew function guarantees that you are until you cancel.
And if you are planning a holiday with fixed dates, you can get insurance for just those dates as well.
SafetyWing wants to create a complete safety net for people who don’t have it – which is usually people who are living/working outside of the traditional workplaces and/or are working remotely – but as what they provide is a normal travel medical insurance, it works perfectly for short-term travelers too.
Pricing and how to order
Under one type of plan, the cost of coverage is handled using a subscription format. The coverage ($250 deductible with a $250,000 maximum limit), is for four weeks and can be extended automatically every 28 days, up to a maximum of 364 days or until you choose to cancel. After the 364 day limit, you may purchase new coverage if you will be continuing to travel. This is a very popular arrangement with those who are taking longer trips or trips which may become extended by business requirements since it conveniently auto-renews.
Travelers can also enter specific dates of travel and purchase insurance based on that, as with other insurance plans. There is an available option where you can pay upfront for your coverage with a five-day minimum and a 364-day maximum.
Pricing is based on where you’ll be traveling, the dates of travel, and your age. Another plus offered by SafetyWing is that you may purchase insurance while you are already in the midst of your trip. SafetyWing insurance can be purchased in 180 countries.
Find out more on the SafetyWing website.
Why is it so cheap?
SafetyWing is appealing to travelers because of the subscription model they use for their pricing. This makes their pricing very attractive, especially to those who are not certain exactly how long their travels may be. Since it auto-renews travelers don’t have to think about it until they are ready to cancel it.
Looking at the price and the coverage included, SafetyWing might just be the best international travel medical insurance out there right now.
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This post was brought to you in collaboration with SafetyWing.
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