Why would someone need digital nomad travel insurance? Wouldn’t regular travel insurance be enough?

If you’re asking that, you might be considering a transition to the contemporary nomadic lifestyle, imagining a life free of daily commutes to the office, but always on the go to new communities, new cultures, and new horizons.

While that’s part of the experience, there is so much more to enjoy—and account for. That’s where the right travel insurance can help, which is why you need to know what nomadic travel coverage is, how it differs from other travel insurance options, and why buying a policy should be a priority on your digital nomad travel checklist.

What Is a Digital Nomad?

Before diving right into travel insurance, let’s answer the question, “What is a digital nomad?”

It seems obvious, right? Just a few sentences ago we were mentioning freedom from commutes and cubicles. We might have had you imagining sweeping views of tropical climates that you could look at whenever you needed a break from planning your business strategy or mapping out the spend for your team’s big marketing campaign.

But simply imagining those small luxuries doesn’t do the lifestyle justice. If you’re considering this independent, exhilarating lifestyle, you should also be asking yourself, “What is a digital nomad looking to get out of life?”
The answer for many is freedom. Yes, that includes the escape from everyday professional environments. However, it also encompasses the ability to make your work and life fit together. To achieve professional demands and your fitness goals. To read the boss’s memo and the history book that will expand your mind.

Together, that means being a digital nomad is about more than removing constraints. It’s also about choosing a lifestyle that helps you achieve balance in a typically stressful world.

The Lifestyle Changes, the Demands Stay the Same

Achieving that balance comes with circumstances and challenges you may be able to better prepare for with digital nomad travel insurance.

For instance, when first adopting the lifestyle, this is the typical digital nomad travel checklist of logistical priorities you’ll need to account for:

• Extended travel: Whether it’s to pace themselves or enjoy a setting as much as possible, digital nomads usually visit one destination for about three to four months. Do you have enough of everything—from clothes to insurance—to keep you covered that amount of time? If not, stock up on socks (and multi trip travel insurance) before you head out on the trail.
• Remote work: While this might be one of the lifestyle’s most obvious characteristics, it should always stay top-of-mind and high up on your digital nomad travel checklist. As you travel the world you may find yourself working in some typical non-office spaces (think coffee shops), some relaxing ones (imagine reviewing spreadsheets on the beach), and some fairly rugged settings too (taking a team call from a hiking trail is never out of the question). Do you have the right tech to stay connected and protected? Make sure you get the chargers, cables, wi-fi accessories, and protective gear you need so can get the job done anywhere you want to.
• Equipment protection: When you’re a digital nomad, you need more than a snug neoprene sleeve to keep that laptop safe. Part of the bargain with being a digital nomad means maintaining reliable access and performance from your clients or employers. That means having the ability to get back up and running as quickly as possible if your devices get damaged by the elements or stolen during your travels. Finding the right digital nomad travel insurance for your needs before your adventure begins may be able to keep you protected in those and other tricky equipment situations.
• Health needs: Depending on your unique situation, you may need to navigate chronic conditions, receive therapy, or have other regular medical consultations. For digital nomads, this can involve finding places to fill prescriptions across multiple destinations and making sure you have doctors who can accommodate virtual appointments. You’ll also need to make sure your digital nomad travel insurance covers those needs.

One more aspect of the nomadic experience that you’ll need to consider is multi trip planning. Many digital nomads find themselves staying in one spot for several months at a time before getting back on the road. Nevertheless, their travels eventually resume. When you find yourself in that situation, you’ll want to make sure you multi trip travel insurance that can keep you covered at each stop.

How Digital Nomad Insurance Makes All the Difference

Beyond making sure each part of your digital nomad travel checklist is protected, though, the question remains: why does there have to be separate insurance for nomads? Can’t digital nomads just use regular travel insurance for their needs?

You would think so, but the reality is a bit more complicated. First, regular travel insurance is more often designed for short-term, lasting only a few months, and may only be for single trips. Since you will most likely be living in one location for several months before continuing to another destination, you may want multi trip travel insurance that keeps you from having to find a new policy every time you’re preparing for your next adventure.
Health coverage is another area that may require your special attention. Depending on the policy, regular travel insurance may exclude protections for chronic or pre-existing conditions. It may also not automatically include coverage for remote or virtual medical consultations, a more typical feature of digital nomad travel insurance.

You also can’t forget to think about cost. Regular travel insurance may be more affordable for shorter trips, but constantly buying short-term policies for each new destination you live and work in could add up to a higher bill than you want to pay. On the other hand, the extended coverage that digital nomad and multi trip travel insurance provide may be more expensive upfront but provide better value for your needs in the long-term.

Introducing SoVenture

Knowing the ins and outs of digital nomad travel insurance is important. So is choosing a provider that who has your back no matter where you roam. That’s why digital nomads with a passion for adventure and a need for protection find their insurance using SoVenture. Made specifically for your globetrotting lifestyle, SoVenture is the online tool for building, comparing, and selecting the right insurance for your specific needs. Coverage options from top providers may include multi trip travel insurance, comprehensive travel medical, cancel for any reason policies, and more.

To get started, build a quote on our site today.