iPMI Global Digital Nomad Round Table: The Rise of the Digital Nomad

You ask, we listen.

This round table looks at the challenges and opportunities for #iPMI insurers to enter the #DigitalNomad #insurance market. This RT is the result of demand from the iPMI market, for critical iPMI market intelligence.

According to Think Remote, in 2020, 10.9 million people described themselves as Digital Nomads, but this number grew to 35 million by the end of 2022.(1) Digital Nomads contribute a global economic value of $787 billion per year.(2)

In recent years the term Digital Nomad has become a commonly used new description of a young new market in need of international health and travel insurance solutions, across borders. Yet according to iPMI Global CEO Christopher Knight , Digital Nomads are nothing new.

Knight comments, “I remember leaving my country of birth back in 2002 to pursue a new opportunity overseas in the global publishing industry. The first placement, I was headhunted for, and involved working remotely using tech, in various countries overseas. It was an excellent experience and allowed me to work in the sector I was trained for, whilst exploring new cultures, cuisines and corners of the world.

Fast forward a few years and I was ready to go it alone and start my own business. Eager to learn and expand an international business, and in my mid 20’s, I pursued a business operating in the global digital media space, that a few years later became iPMI Magazine. Social media was new – back then Myspace was the thing. Facebook and Twitter were on the horizon but didn’t exist. My passion for travel, but also cross border international business, was at an all time high.

I crossed many borders, some physical, some perceptual. They were wonderful times, and I wasn’t alone. Even back then, there were huge communities of young professionals travelling the world, whilst working on clunky laptops in internet cafes, or if you were lucky from a home office. My experience encompassed all the above, but I also recall taking important sales calls from well-known insurance industry CEOs from a luxury beach whilst organising a CEO healthcare conference in China – I did it properly. Other experiences included border jumping (editor’s note: border jumping is an old school term that refers to crossing a border legally 1 day, and recrossing back, the next) when visas or max stay ran out, and generally having a super time. There wasn’t really a term for it in the old days, and if there was, it was probably somehow connected to taking a gap year. My gap year lasted 15 years.

What is new, is the importance of cross border healthcare and emergency assistance and the awareness of that importance in the travel and expat community.

In 2023, and especially since the pandemic, working from home is apparently the new normal, yet I was doing it many moons ago. This was a great advantage when the Pandemic hit because everything was already in place, and my team and I were used to working this way.

I crossed many borders, some physical, some perceptual. They were wonderful times, and I wasn’t alone. Even back then, there were huge communities of young professionals travelling the world, whilst working on clunky laptops in internet cafes, or if you were lucky from a home office.

Nowadays media and private businesses band around the term Digital Nomad like it’s the next best new thing, but as explained, it is nothing new. What is new, is the importance of cross border healthcare and emergency assistance and the awareness of that importance in the travel and expat community.

The world has become a dangerous place, and the upcoming 20 something year old travellers maybe take more risks than we did. Adventure sports, water sports, anything to get a new video to post on social media and get a boatload of likes and go viral. In the old days, if you were serious about a long-term business, you were risk adverse. Break your arms mountain biking down Mount Etna and there goes the tools you need to do your job effectively.”

So, What Is a Digital Nomad?

Reading Ian Youngman’s iPMI Market report, International Health Insurance 2023, we find the following information:

Digital Nomad

·?????? Younger, less experienced workers with a strong drive to work abroad.

·?????? This type of role caters to employees’ desire for new experiences while having flexibility around where they work and the need to be in market.

·?????? Digital Nomads are new in the global workspace.

·?????? Companies should view these roles as part of their recruiting and retention strategies, weighing the costs and benefit.

·?????? Digital nomad roles are projected to increase and will be crucial in the war for talent.

·?????? Covid has created a new category of expat worker- the digital nomad.

·?????? Those who normally or have transferred for months or more to work from their home can now move from the crowded US or UK or European city they live into a safer location.

·?????? They are a cross between an expat and a traveller.

·?????? Modern technology allows work to be global.

·?????? Over 40 countries have created new visas for long-term but not permanent expats to allow them to move to a pleasant location.

·?????? A digital nomad is a third-country national who is employed or performs work through communication technology for a company or his own company that is not registered in the country they are temporarily in and does not perform work or provide services to employers in that country.

·?????? Temporary stay is granted for up to a year (possibly even less) and it may be extended for another year though we are yet to see what happens after the 2 years as Indonesia allows 5 years.

·?????? Most countries require Digital Nomads to have health insurance although rules are often very vague on whether PMI or IPMI is required.

·?????? Some countries require cover to include medical evacuation.

·?????? Digital Nomads do change countries and cross borders.

·?????? There is a need for medical care in country and cross borders.

·?????? Once thought to be a temporary pandemic solution, the rise of Digital Nomads saw more countries such as Portugal and Spain launch Digital Nomad visas often with a requirement to have health insurance.

What Has Changed According to iPMI Global?

Many visas require the TCN to have some type of healthcare insurance. National healthcare systems are strained, especially since the pandemic. Governments also see this as a way to stimulate business and open new markets locally. In our experience Digital Nomads also like to cross borders, some at late notice. Coverage that covers the TCN in multiple countries is important. Digital nomads today are generally younger, and in our experience take more risks, so robust cover is essential. Repat and Evac cover should be included.

How Big Is the Digital Nomad Insurance Opportunity?

Big. 35 million, mostly younger travellers. Less Pre-Existing Conditions in theory. Tech savvy and mobile so happy working with an insurer’s claims app.

The Rise of the Digital Nomad Round Table

This is an invite only, closed door exclusive round table, open to C-Level insurance executives. If you wish to apply for a position at the table please write to Christopher Knight, CEO, iPMI Global, explaining why you should be considered for a position. Include any relevant information. Deadlines are tight, positions are strictly limited, so you will need to move fast.

1 https://thinkremote.com/digital-nomad-statistics/

2 https://www.centuroglobal.com/blog/top-10-countries-offering-digital-nomad-visas/#:~:text=There%20are%20an%20estimated%2035,of%20%24787%20billion%20per%20year.

The latest information, facts and figures on iPMI and international health insurance: International Health Insurance 2023 Report

• International Private Medical Insurance (IPMI) is a key global health insurance product for many insurance companies, brokers and MGAs.
• It is a dynamic market that is seeing major new partnerships, selling and buying of insurers or business books, technological changes and much more.
• New compulsory health insurance and universal health insurance affects demand in a positive as well as negative way.
• Brokers and insurers expect strong growth in 2023 and future years.
• Employers are shifting from traditional expat models to decentralised models that incorporate more virtual assignments and in-market hiring.?
• There are more short-term and flexible assignments but the number of long-term assignments is at pre-2020 levels.
• IPMI has new markets of HNW, digital nomads, temporary foreign workers, cross-border workers, local employees, contract workers plus international students.
• The publisher has been researching and studying the IPMI market for 30 years.
• His market reports are based on a daily updated database of 177 countries-83 insurance companies-47 insurance brokers, agents and MGAs/MGUs.
• The main IPMI is report is 300 pages and as well as the latest information this edition studies the many insurer-insurer IPMI partnerships that are changing the global market.

Read the full 2023 iPMI report here: https://ipmiglobal.com/reports/international-health-insurance-2023

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