SafetyWing Nomad Insurance vs Remote Health: Which Plan Do You Need?

SafetyWing offers two fundamentally different products, and choosing the wrong one is the most common insurance mistake we see digital nomads make. Nomad Insurance ($45.08/4 weeks) is travel medical insurance — a safety net for emergencies. Remote Health ($250+/month) is comprehensive health insurance — a full healthcare plan that travels with you. They share a brand name, but they solve completely different problems.

After 8 months on Nomad Insurance and extensive research into Remote Health, here is exactly how these two products compare, who each one is built for, and our recommendation on which one you actually need.

Quick Verdict

Most digital nomads should start with Nomad Insurance. It covers the catastrophic scenarios — hospital stays, emergency surgeries, medical evacuations — at a price ($45/month) that every nomad can afford. You only need Remote Health if you require routine doctor visits, ongoing prescriptions, mental health care, dental, or vision coverage while living abroad.

If your home country provides no health coverage while you are abroad (common for US citizens who drop their domestic plan), Remote Health becomes a more compelling option because it replaces — rather than supplements — your healthcare entirely.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Coverage Breakdown: What Each Plan Actually Protects

Emergency Medical: Both Plans Cover This

Both Nomad Insurance and Remote Health cover emergency medical situations — the hospital visits, urgent care, and emergency surgeries that represent catastrophic financial risk. If you break your leg in Portugal, get dengue fever in Thailand, or need emergency surgery in Mexico, both plans cover your medical bills.

The difference is in the limits. Nomad Insurance caps at $250,000 per policy period with a $250 deductible per injury or illness. Remote Health offers $1,000,000+ in coverage with deductible options as low as $0. For the vast majority of medical emergencies, $250,000 is sufficient — but for complex, extended treatments or US-based care, Remote Health’s higher limits provide more protection.

Routine and Preventive Care: Remote Health Only

This is the sharpest divide between the two products. Nomad Insurance covers nothing outside of emergencies. If you want to:

• See a doctor for a persistent cough that is not an emergency
• Get an annual physical or health screening
• Refill an ongoing prescription (birth control, blood pressure medication, etc.)
• Get a referral to a specialist for a non-urgent condition
• Receive vaccinations before visiting a new country

You need Remote Health. Nomad Insurance will not pay a cent for any of these.

For many young, healthy nomads, this is an acceptable tradeoff — you are paying $45/month for catastrophic protection and paying out-of-pocket for occasional doctor visits in countries where healthcare is affordable (a GP visit in Thailand costs $15-30, in Mexico $20-40). But if you have ongoing medical needs or prefer the security of comprehensive coverage, Remote Health closes this gap.

Mental Health: Remote Health Only

Nomad Insurance explicitly excludes mental health treatment. No therapy sessions, no psychiatrist visits, no prescribed mental health medications.

Remote Health covers mental health as part of its comprehensive plan. Given that isolation, burnout, and anxiety are well-documented challenges for digital nomads, this coverage is more valuable than many people realize when they are choosing a plan at age 25 and feeling invincible.

Dental and Vision: Remote Health Add-Ons

Nomad Insurance covers emergency dental treatment caused by accidents (up to $1,000). A fall that cracks your tooth is covered. A cavity that needs filling is not.

Remote Health offers dental and vision as optional add-ons to the base plan. Coverage includes routine cleanings, fillings, and basic vision care. These add-ons increase the monthly premium, but they provide coverage that is extremely difficult to find as a nomad without a domestic health plan.

Maternity: Remote Health Add-On

Nomad Insurance does not cover pregnancy or childbirth. Remote Health offers maternity as an optional add-on, typically with a waiting period (often 10-12 months) before benefits kick in. If you are planning to have a child while living abroad, this needs to be arranged well in advance.

Pricing Comparison

Nomad Insurance Pricing (2026)

Nomad Insurance pricing is straightforward and age-based:

Age Group	Price per 4 Weeks
10-39	$45.08
40-49	$73.24
50-59	$105.72
60-69	$149.72
Children under 10	Free (with parent)

That works out to roughly $540-1,800/year depending on your age. No health questionnaire, no application process, no waiting periods. You sign up in 2 minutes and coverage starts immediately.

Remote Health Pricing (2026)

Remote Health pricing varies based on age, coverage region, deductible choice, and optional add-ons:

Factor	Impact on Price
Base plan (excl. US)	~$150-250/month
Base plan (incl. US)	~$250-500+/month
Dental add-on	+$30-60/month
Vision add-on	+$15-30/month
Maternity add-on	+$50-100/month
Higher deductible	Reduces premium
Older age	Increases premium

A typical 30-year-old nomad excluding US coverage can expect to pay $150-250/month for the base Remote Health plan. Including US coverage roughly doubles the premium. Adding dental and vision pushes total costs to $250-350/month.

The Cost-Benefit Math

The pricing gap is significant: Nomad Insurance costs roughly $45/month while Remote Health starts around $250/month — a 5x difference.

The question is whether the additional coverage justifies the cost. Here is how we think about it:

Nomad Insurance is the better value if:

• You are generally healthy with no ongoing medical needs
• You are traveling in countries with affordable out-of-pocket healthcare
• You can self-fund occasional doctor visits ($20-50 in most of Asia and Latin America)
• Your primary concern is catastrophic protection

Remote Health is the better value if:

• You have ongoing prescriptions or chronic conditions needing regular management
• You need mental health care (therapy, psychiatry, medications)
• You want dental and vision coverage
• You are in a country with expensive healthcare (US, Europe, Australia)
• You have dropped your domestic health plan and need a full replacement

Enrollment Differences

Nomad Insurance: Instant and Simple

Signing up for Nomad Insurance takes about 2 minutes. You enter your name, age, email, and payment information. No health questionnaire, no medical history, no underwriting. Coverage starts on your selected date with no waiting period.

You can buy Nomad Insurance from anywhere in the world, even if you are already abroad. You can cancel anytime, and coverage stops at the end of your current 4-week period. This frictionless process is one of Nomad Insurance’s strongest selling points.

Remote Health: Application and Underwriting

Remote Health requires a health questionnaire during enrollment. You disclose your medical history, current conditions, medications, and recent treatments. SafetyWing’s underwriting team reviews your application and may:

• Approve you at standard rates
• Approve you with exclusions for specific pre-existing conditions
• Approve you with a loading (higher premium) for certain risk factors
• Decline your application

This process takes a few business days. Coverage includes waiting periods for certain benefits — typically 30 days for general coverage and longer for maternity and dental. If you have significant pre-existing conditions, they may be excluded from coverage or subject to a waiting period.

Our advice: Apply for Remote Health while you are healthy. Waiting until you have a condition that needs coverage means that condition will likely be excluded.

Claims Experience

Both products use SafetyWing’s claims infrastructure, but the experience differs:

Nomad Insurance claims: You pay upfront for medical care, then submit receipts and documentation through SafetyWing’s online portal for reimbursement. Claims typically take 2-4 weeks to process. For large hospital bills, SafetyWing can sometimes arrange direct billing, but this is not guaranteed. Our own experience with a Nomad Insurance claim (detailed in our SafetyWing review) took 18 days from submission to payment.

Remote Health claims: The process is similar — submit documentation through the portal — but Remote Health also offers direct billing with a wider network of hospitals and clinics. For routine care, you may be able to use in-network providers and pay only your deductible at the time of service, depending on your location.

Who Should Choose Each Plan

Choose Nomad Insurance If You Are:

• A budget-conscious nomad who wants catastrophic protection without breaking the bank
• Young and healthy with no ongoing medical needs or prescriptions
• Traveling through affordable healthcare countries (Thailand, Mexico, Vietnam, Colombia, Portugal) where out-of-pocket costs for minor care are low
• Already covered domestically and need supplemental international coverage
• New to nomad life and testing the lifestyle before committing to comprehensive coverage

Choose Remote Health If You Are:

• A long-term expat settled in one country without access to local public healthcare
• Managing ongoing health conditions requiring regular doctor visits and prescriptions
• A US citizen who has dropped domestic health insurance and needs a full replacement
• Planning a family while living abroad (with the maternity add-on)
• Prioritizing mental health care and want covered therapy and psychiatry sessions
• Willing to invest $250+/month for genuine peace of mind and comprehensive protection

Consider a Hybrid Approach

Some nomads use Nomad Insurance as their base coverage and supplement with local healthcare options or short-term private consultations paid out of pocket. This hybrid approach costs less than Remote Health while providing more access to care than Nomad Insurance alone.

Another option: pair SafetyWing Nomad Insurance with a provider like Genki World Explorer for comprehensive health coverage. Genki offers routine care, mental health, and basic dental starting around 35 EUR/month — potentially a more affordable path to comprehensive coverage than Remote Health for some nomads.

Our Recommendation

For the majority of digital nomads reading this, Start with SafetyWing Nomad Insurance ($45/mo) is the right first step. It provides the catastrophic financial protection you genuinely need at a price you will not hesitate to pay.

If you find yourself paying out-of-pocket for doctor visits more than a few times a year, if you need regular prescriptions managed, or if you drop your domestic health plan entirely, upgrade to Remote Health or consider Genki World Explorer as a comprehensive alternative.

The worst decision is no insurance at all. At $45/month, Nomad Insurance removes the financial catastrophe scenario from your travel equation entirely. Start there, then upgrade if your needs demand it.

Read our full SafetyWing review for an in-depth look at 8 months of real-world testing, including our claims experience and performance across 10 countries.