When the world turned upside down in March last year, SafetyWing was one of the only global insurance companies to continue to offer coverage for nomads and travelers worldwide. Shortly after the virus hit, they were able to add COVID-19 specific coverage to the policy.
Now, as the world slowly reopens to travelers, SafetyWing is introducing coverage for unexpected quarantines, along with the already existing coverage for Covid-19 treatment.
SafetyWing treats its insurance products as if they were software products with periodic updates. That means the policies and what’s covered are constantly being improved. Think of it like downloading an update for an app on your phone.
This news comes as GitLab, in their Remote Work Report 2021, stated that 1 in 3 remote workers are planning to relocate or work from abroad after lockdowns are lifted, whether it be for a lifestyle change or to move somewhere with a lower cost of living.
This addition to SafetyWing’s insurance policy means that from the 15th of April, 2021, their Nomad Insurance product began covering quarantine outside of traveler’s home country, of up to $50/day for up to ten days. The only stipulation is that an individual must be covered by Nomad Insurance for a minimum of 28 days, and the quarantine must have been mandated because of a positive test result for COVID-19 or because an individual is already symptomatic, and waiting for a test result.
The coverage is active for policies purchased after that date, but existing members can simply cancel and repurchase to get the coverage. “We added the coverage entirely due to feedback from our members”, explains Sondre Rasch, CEO, and co-founder of SafetyWing. “Our members alerted us that they were being forced into expensive quarantines in certain countries, even if they showed no symptoms. It’s these kinds of unforeseen instances that we don’t want our members to have to worry about, and is the reason we put so much effort into improving our policies.”
COVID-19 has been a catalyst for change in the global workforce, and SafetyWing continues to develop its products in line with these significant changes. As more international businesses begin to embrace the concept of distributed teams, we will see digital nomadism rise to levels unseen before the pandemic.
But traveling around the world comes with an added responsibility: to keep yourself and others safe. By implementing quarantine coverage, SafetyWing is hoping to play its part in keeping the global digital nomad community, along with the local communities they encounter, safe.