Digital nomads can work from anywhere. But as the movement matures and expands to incorporate a wider range of demographics, the stereotype of intrepid young travelers seeking out far-flung climes is being supplemented with a new cohort remote working a little closer to home.
‘Domestic digital nomadism’ means working remotely while staying within your own country’s national borders. And it shares a lot of similarities with its global counterpart. Whether the digital nomad is an employee or an entrepreneur, they rely on a steady internet connection as well as physical amenities such as short-term rental accommodation, hotels, co-working spaces and cafes.
They also require travel insurance that can protect them against some of the most common pitfalls facing those on the road: cancelled flights, lost baggage, illness or injury – to name just a few.
But unlike the nomads pitching up on the other side of the world, they’re not hampered by having to navigate vast time-zone differences which can mean scheduling meetings at hair-raising hours.
Domestic digital nomads often also benefit from a ‘home base’ they can return to in between periods of travel, meaning they avoid the familiar headaches of global nomads such as having to put belongings into storage or suddenly finding themselves entering winter with a summer wardrobe.
Business or leisure?
Staying in your home country also makes ‘hybrid working’ – the middle-ground between location-based and remote work – much more feasible. If your boss wants you in the New York office once a month for a team meeting, you’re much more likely to make it from Boston, than Barbados.
The lifestyle also fits surprisingly well with the typical routines of business travel. Incorporating conferences, exhibitions and client meetings into your leisure travel itinerary is a breeze once you’re already set up to work on the road and arrive in a new destination with everything you need to shine.
Unexpected challenges
But what about the challenges of working remotely within your own national borders? Many travel insurance policies are designed around one-time trips, meaning frequent travelers are forced to constantly acquire new policies to cover their semi-nomadic lifestyles. Of course, this can all-too easily lead to lapsed cover and the ensuing crisis when disaster strikes.
Purchasing multiple, individual policies over the space of 12 months, meanwhile, also carries a significant financial burden – and one which may not be covered by an employee’s company insurance policy.
Multiple trips, one policy
That’s why battleface developed its Multi-Trip Annual Plan to cater to the types of travelers who take multiple trips in a single year, whether internationally or domestically.
Rather than having to purchase a single policy for each trip, the plan allows spontaneous travelers, those taking drive trips, staying in multiple vacation rentals, or combining business and leisure travel to ensure they’re covered for trips up to 40 days, as long as each trip is at least 100 miles from their home.
This plan is also available via partner distribution, and a great fit for Insurtechs, Fintechs, OTA’s, Corporate Travel Managers and leisure travel partners such as travel agents.
