Yupwego review: the ideal travel insurance for digital nomads?
Although we are employees of our own French company and contribute to the French national health insurance fund, we still need to take out private travel insurance. Indeed, as soon as you go abroad, any reimbursement from the French healthcare system (CPAM) will only be considered on a case-by-case basis, at a flat rate, and after you’ve paid the costs upfront… In an emergency, the national health insurance won’t be much help.
We were first insured by Chapka. We were very happy with their services and all our medical expenses were reimbursed without any hassle. Unfortunately, Chapka only covers you for two consecutive years.
After that, we were insured by Truetraveller. Communication was a bit less smooth than with Chapka, but we did get reimbursed for dental expenses in Italy. Unfortunately, Truetraveller is a British company and can no longer cover us due to Brexit.
We could have gone back to Chapka for another two years, but I started looking for an insurance that:
- Can cover us with no time limit: we’ve been traveling for almost 5 years now and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. If I can avoid switching every two years, that’s better.
- Covers any emergency care related to COVID: it’s more reassuring for us and it’s mandatory to enter some countries anyway.
- Can cover us even though we’re already on the road: some insurance companies won’t cover you if you’ve already left France.
- Bonus: an insurance policy that you can temporarily pause whenever you want. We actually go back to France for about a month each year, where we’re covered by the national health insurance. We can then be covered by our credit card insurance for 3 months when we leave France. It’s a shame to pay extra for insurance during those periods.
The requirements were challenging, but I found one! It’s Yupwego insurance!
Who is Yupwego?
Yupwego is a French company created by and for travelers.
Behind Yupwego, the insurance coverage is provided by AIG, one of the world’s leading insurance companies.
The assistance aspect is handled by AVA Assurance, which has been in business for 35 years.
So these are solid and serious players who aren’t likely to disappear in 6 months, which is a very important point for something as serious as health insurance.
What makes Yupwego unique?
First of all, Yupwego offers insurance with no time limit, which is quite rare in the world of travel insurance and particularly relevant for digital nomads like us.
But the point that really won me over: Yupwego offers day-to-day flexibility!
Indeed, when you sign up for Yupwego, you provide your start date without specifying an end date. If you go back to France and no longer need insurance, you just need to indicate it with a couple of clicks on your dashboard.
Yupwego will charge your bank account each week based on the number of days you were covered.
For me, this is a huge plus because in the almost 5 years we’ve been traveling, there’s always at least one month a year we’re in France (and even more due to lockdown…) and we were paying for insurance “for nothing.” Over several years, that adds up to a significant amount that Yupwego will allow us to save.
What is Yupwego’s coverage level?
Insurance is a wonderful world where everything is complicated, and you often have to tear your hair out to fully understand what situations you’re covered for.
What’s nice about Yupwego is that there’s a real effort to simplify what doesn’t need to be complicated.
In short, Yupwego covers you for:
- Medical expenses (not just serious cases: you can see a doctor if you’re sick, and you’ll be reimbursed).
- Repatriation: that’s mainly why you get travel insurance. In case of a serious accident, Yupwego will cover repatriation based on actual costs. Once you’re back in France, you’re covered for up to one million euros in hospitalization costs.
- Liability
- Lost / stolen / damaged baggage
- COVID (important these days)
Very nice point: medical expenses are not subject to a deductible, except in the most expensive countries (USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, etc.) where there’s a 30-euro deductible per procedure. Our previous insurance had such a high deductible that minor medical care was de facto not covered.
Regarding sports, some sports are not covered by the basic insurance (mountaineering, scuba diving, canyoning, etc.). You’ll need to add an option at 10 € per month if you want coverage for those sports. Some sports considered the most extreme are not covered even with the option.
How much does it cost?
EDIT January 2022 : As of January 1, 2022, Yupwego has increased its rates. For example, Zone B went from 1.5 € per day to 1.8 € and then to 2.5 € in just a few months! That’s a 66% increase! Additionally, Yupwego now requires a minimum premium equivalent to two months. Not only is Yupwego no longer competitive in terms of pricing compared to its competitors, but you lose the flexibility advantage that was the great appeal of this insurance. Yupwego told me that this new pricing structure was imposed by their insurance partner and that they are looking for a solution. As it stands, I don’t really see the point of going with Yupwego anymore.
It’s hard to find anything simpler than Yupwego when it comes to straightforward pricing.
You pay a daily rate that depends on the country you’re in (rates as of November 2021)
- Zone A: 1.2 € per day
- Zone B: 1.8 € per day
- Zone C: 2.4 € per day
When you change countries, just indicate it in 3 clicks on the website.
For days when you pass through multiple countries, the rate of the most expensive country applies.
Each week, Yupwego bills you for the amount actually used.
Note that the rate increases sharply once you’re over 50, and you can no longer be covered from age 65.
The sign-up process
I was blown away by the sign-up process, which takes literally 5 minutes. Yupwego asks for the minimum amount of information, which is very much appreciated.
Important note: if you’re already traveling when you sign up (as we were), Yupwego requires a minimum premium of 200 euros per person. Future weekly deductions will be taken from this amount. However, you won’t be refunded if you finish your trip before using up that 200 euros. So Yupwego isn’t worth it if you’re already abroad and have only 2 or 3 months left before returning to France.
Top-notch support
Support responds quickly by email.
Having had some issues getting an insurance certificate before leaving for Thailand (essential for the visa application), I called support and got straight through to Gilles, the founder. He offered a solution and, since he had to step out, even gave me his WhatsApp number so I could reach him if needed.
That kind of support in the insurance world is unheard of!
In case of medical issues
For a doctor’s visit, just have a medical form provided by Yupwego filled out (remember to print some in advance!), scan the invoice for the consultation and any medication, and email everything along with your bank details (RIB) to get reimbursed. No phone calls, no snail mail—it’s very convenient! That last point applies only to claims under 800 €; anything above that requires mailing the original invoices.
For serious problems, you call a French assistance number available 24/7.
A few hiccups
While the Yupwego team is super responsive, the same can’t quite be said (or maybe it can?) for AIG, which handles the reimbursements.
When you send a claim by email, you get no confirmation—not even an acknowledgment of receipt—that it’s been received. In practice, I always had to follow up by email to move things along, and I really got the impression they wait for the nudge before doing anything.
When we were in Thailand, I had 3 different claims in a short period of time. One of them was completely forgotten; I had to get them on the phone, give them a full recap, and resend the email for them to find it.
When reimbursing an expense from Turkey, they made a currency conversion error and reimbursed me three times less than they should have (they admitted the mistake and corrected it).
From the outside, it gives an impression of disorganization, even improvisation. The fact that you receive no summary email, just the reimbursement payment, reinforces that impression.
In the end, I always got the reimbursements I was entitled to, within reasonable delays, but it took tracking and energy. On that front, Chapka Assurance provides much better service.
A few extras
After sharing this article with Gilles, the founder of Yupwego, he provided some additional information.
He spent a year and a half studying all 193 countries in the world to find the best insurance plan for a traveler.
He gives the example of Brazil and India, which at first glance aren’t countries where healthcare is expensive, but where the wealthy and Western tourists get treated in high-end facilities that cost a lot. In those two countries, Chapka, for example, only covers up to 300,000 euros, which he thinks is insufficient for serious cases. He knew of a person who had 800,000 euros in medical bills and had to mortgage their house. That’s why Yupwego places India and Brazil in Zone C, with maximum coverage of up to one million euros.
