REMOTE WORKER INSURANCE
What: Safetywing is a company established in 2017, initially offering an insurance service for digital nomads, to maintain equitable benefits across the workforce no matter where an employee is based. The company has now expanded, including global health insurance for nomads, as well as remote doctors and remote pensions, and targeting services to both remote employees as well as their employers. As of June 2021, the company had 14,300 active subscribers. Other companies, such as “If”, now offer specific insurance covers for employees of large companies working from home in a hybrid setting.
So What: Investment in remote insurance has shifted from being specific to digital nomads (still seen as a very niche group within remote working) to being for entire companies, looking to allow their workers to have more flexibility. New considerations of employee insurance are crucial to allow remote work to continue safely – who is responsible for work-related accidents in a home setting, for example? Particularly interesting to this setting is the growth of these services – it is not just digital nomadism which is growing, but most particularly remote working as a whole.