We surveyed 433 digital nomads to better understand the current state of travel insurance companies.
In this new report you’ll learn:
- How travel insurance companies operate as resellers.
- Why people don’t read the fine print on the Insurance plan detail.
- Why people choose one travel insurance over another.
- Why people decide to leave their current travel insurance providers.
- Lots more.
Without further ado, let’s get into our findings.
A Summary of Our Highlights and Key Statistics is as Follows:
1. 85% of travel insurance companies for digital nomads are not the actual company that provides health insurance, they are resellers or intermediaries.
2. 79% of travel insurance companies take more than 3 months to refund claims.
3. Most travel insurance claim forms have lots of unrelated questions to fill out.
4. 78% of digital nomads recommend Geo Blue as the best travel insurance company that offers single-trip medical coverage abroad.
5. 23% of travel insurance companies are helpful in an emergency overseas and payout quickly.
6. 68% of digital nomads prefer having a direct relationship with an insurer rather than a reseller.
7. 53% of digital nomads recommend Cigna for health insurance, for both living abroad and US coverage.
8. 93% of digital nomads use World Nomads! They have great coverage and are perfect for digital nomads and long-term travelers.
9. 45% of digital nomads don’t insure the trip for costs, they only insure for medical, delays, and lost luggage.
10. 93% of digital nomads don’t read the plan details for things like coverage, trip cancellation, and refund policy.
Below is detailed data and information on our findings.
85% of Travel Insurance Companies Are Resellers
We asked our respondents to rate their current travel insurance company (or the last travel insurance provider they worked with).
The results were interesting.
First off, we found that only 23% of digital nomads would recommend their current travel insurance providers while 77% would not recommend their current providers.
When we deeply analyzed the 77% of respondents who would not recommend their current travel insurance company, we discovered that the reason for not recommending was the majority of travel insurance companies are not the actual company that provides travel insurance products, they are resellers or intermediaries.
From the data below you can see 85% of travel insurance are resellers while 15% said they are legit companies.
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Most respondents mentioned that Safetywing insurance company is a reseller of WorldTrips and this can be confirmed in this post but interestingly 80% of respondents use SafetyWing for basic coverage.
79% of Travel Insurance Companies Take More Than 3 Months to Refund Claims
Likely due to making losses, we found high levels of non-payment of claims in the travel insurance industry.
Specifically, we found that 79% of travel insurance companies take more than 3 months to refund claims.
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Most Travel Insurance Claims Forms Have Lots of Unrelated Questions to Fill Out
We did discover a large number of travel insurance companies have claim forms that have a lot of unrelated questions to fill out.
We found out that 88% of travel insurance companies issue claim forms that have lots of unrelated questions to fill out while 12% of travel insurance providers have fewer unrelated questions to fill out.
Half of our respondents reported that this was a major factor in them leaving their current travel insurance providers.
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GEO Blue Travel Insurance Company Has The Best Offer for a Single Trip Medical Coverage Abroad Compared to Other Travel Insurance Providers
When it comes to single-trip medical coverage abroad, do you “get what you pay for”?
According to our data, yes.
Specifically, we discovered that 78% of respondents who are using Geo Blue travel insurance are extremely satisfied compared to people using other travel insurance companies.
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23% of Travel Insurance Companies Are Super Responsive When It Comes To Emergency Cases Overseas
Speaking of overseas emergencies, we found a low number of travel insurance companies that are helpful in emergency cases that happen abroad and they pay out quickly as compared to local emergency cases.
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68% of Respondents Cite That “Having a Direct Relationship With Travel Insurance” is Important to Them
Most digital nomads expect the actual travel insurance company to help them address their needs faster than insurance agents (Middle Men).
Specifically, 68% of our respondents stated that dealing directly with travel insurance is important and extremely helpful”.
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93% of Digital Nomads Don’t Read The Plan Details
Most digital nomads don’t seem to value or read the travel insurance plan details for things like trip cancellation, coverage, and reimbursement policy.
In fact, only 7% of respondents stated that they value the plan details before they signup while a whopping 93% of respondents said they don’t have time to read the fine print.
93% of Respondents Use World Nomads Because of Its Great Coverage
Coverage and affordability are key factors when choosing the best travel insurance company. Only 7% would recommend their current travel insurance provider to a friend or colleague.
However, we found that client satisfaction among travel insurance companies was higher and 93% of digital nomads use World Nomads because of its great coverage.
53% of Digital Nomads Recommend Cigna for Health Insurance, for Both Living Abroad and US coverage
When it comes to choosing a provider that covers the US and abroad, 53% of respondents consider Cigna for health insurance.
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They cite Cigna as the best provider that covers health and travels both in the US and abroad.
45% of Digital Nomads Don’t Insure The Trip for Costs
When it comes to choosing the type of coverage, 45% of respondents don’t insure the trip for costs, and only 55% insure for medical, delays, and lost luggage.
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Methodology
Methodology: On Nov. 15-18 2022 we sent a survey to 518 digital nomads and in total, we received 433 responses. We analyzed the feedback in spreadsheets and chats. The data analysis also considered external resources so as to reinforce the analysis. The external resources can be found in the above infographic.
Conclusion
I hope this survey helped you get a better feel for the travel insurance industry.
I’d like to thank my team for helping me design and conduct this survey.
And now I’d like to hear from you:
What’s your main lesson from today’s survey?
Or maybe you have a question about something you read. Either way, go ahead and leave a comment below with your thoughts.
