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When we quit our jobs to become digital nomads, we discovered that if you are not a full-time employee, you're pretty much on your own. You lose stable income and most benefits when you earn money as a freelancer or entrepreneur, and lose the rest of your safety nets by being abroad. We decided to do something about this, and the result is SafetyWing.
We're three Norwegians: Sondre is also founder of freelancer platform Konsus.com (YC W16). Sarah is CTO, former lead engineer of ad-network Tapdaq & she’s also a musician. Hans a is lawyer and former head of legal at Auka, which is like white-label Venmo.
Our first product is $37 per month (4 weeks) for worldwide travel and medical insurance ($30 add-on for US, since US healthcare is much more expensive). It only works when you’re outside your home country, although there is 30 days home country coverage every 3 months so you can visit home (15 for U.S. residents). Covers hospital, doctor, prescription, etc.
The hardest thing about making the product has been licensing and getting trust from an insurer. To do that we hired two senior insurance experts who have been in the industry for 30 years. They helped us design it, and get the deal with insurance giant Tokio Marine.
Why is it so cheap? 1. Three major exclusions: preventive care, long-term cancer treatment and pre-existing conditions. Acute onset of pre-existing conditions is covered though; 2. The price is for ages 18-39. Other ages can buy though at higher prices—sorry, it’s the way this industry works; 3. Lower commissions compared to insurance sold via agents.
This is the first step in a plan to build a global safety net for online freelancers and entrepreneurs.
Look forward to getting feedback and hearing ideas from HN. We know there are digital nomads frequenting here, and we’d also be really interested in hearing about your experiences with health care or safety nets in general.