SafetyWing Review 2026: 8 Months of Real-World Testing

SafetyWing Nomad Insurance is the most widely used travel medical insurance among digital nomads — and after 8 months of continuous coverage across 10 countries, we think it deserves that reputation. We’re rating it 4.3 out of 5: an affordable, flexible subscription-based policy that handles emergency medical coverage well, even if it falls short on claims speed and adventure sports. For the majority of remote workers and long-term travelers who need reliable coverage without the hassle of annual policies or fixed return dates, SafetyWing is the insurance we reach for first.

SafetyWing at a Glance

Detail	Info
Company	SafetyWing (San Francisco, est. 2018, Y Combinator-backed)
Product	Nomad Insurance (travel medical)
Plans	Nomad Insurance ($45.08/4 weeks) and Remote Health ($250+/month)
Coverage Limit	$250,000 per policy period
Deductible	$250 per injury/illness
Countries Covered	185+ worldwide
Home Country	Up to 30 days per 90-day period (15 for US residents)
Age Range	10-69 (children under 10 free with parent)
Billing	Auto-renewing every 4 weeks
Cancel Policy	Anytime, effective end of current period
Underwriter	Tokio Marine HCC
Best For	Digital nomads, remote workers, long-term travelers

Try SafetyWing -- From $45.08/Month

What Is SafetyWing Nomad Insurance?

SafetyWing is a travel medical insurance company founded in 2018 by a team of Norwegian entrepreneurs who saw a gap in the market: there was no insurance product built specifically for people who work remotely and travel continuously. Traditional travel insurance demands fixed trip dates, departure points, and return flights — none of which apply to the average digital nomad bouncing between Lisbon, Chiang Mai, and Mexico City.

Their solution was Nomad Insurance, a subscription-based travel medical policy that works like Netflix for insurance. You pay every 4 weeks, coverage auto-renews, and you can cancel anytime. No trip end dates. No annual commitments. No penalties for pausing.

The company has insured over 500,000 travelers since launch. Their policies are underwritten by Tokio Marine HCC, a subsidiary of Tokio Marine Holdings — one of the largest insurance groups in the world with $50+ billion in assets. This isn’t a startup writing policies on a napkin; your claims are backed by institutional underwriting capacity.

SafetyWing now offers two main products:

• Nomad Insurance — Travel medical insurance for people on the move ($45.08/4 weeks for ages 10-39)
• Remote Health — Comprehensive health insurance for remote workers who need routine care, dental, and vision ($250+/month)

This review focuses on Nomad Insurance, which is what the vast majority of digital nomads purchase.

Plans and Pricing

Pricing is one of SafetyWing’s strongest selling points and the primary reason it dominates the nomad insurance space. At $45.08 per 4 weeks for the base plan (ages 10-39), that works out to approximately $1.61 per day. Cheaper than a drip coffee in most countries you’d want to work from.

Pricing by Age Group

Age Group	Price / 4 Weeks	Daily Cost	Annual Equivalent
10-39	$45.08	$1.61	~$586
40-49	$73.24	$2.62	~$952
50-59	$105.72	$3.78	~$1,374
60-69	$184.24	$6.58	~$2,395
Under 10	Free (with insured parent)	$0	$0

The free coverage for children under 10 traveling with an insured parent is a standout feature. For nomad families, this saves hundreds of dollars per year compared to competitors that charge per person regardless of age.

How SafetyWing Compares on Price

To put these numbers in context against the alternatives we recommend:

• SafetyWing: ~$586/year (ages 10-39)
• Genki Explorer: ~$576/year (basic) to ~$1,260/year (premium)
• World Nomads Standard: ~$1,200-1,800/year (varies by trip)
• Heymondo Long Stay: ~$900-1,400/year

SafetyWing and Genki’s basic plan are nearly identical in price, but SafetyWing pulls ahead on value when you factor in the included home country coverage, trip interruption protection, and lost luggage benefits that Genki’s medical-only plans don’t provide.

Remote Health

SafetyWing’s Remote Health is a separate product entirely — comprehensive health insurance (not just travel medical) designed for people who live and work abroad permanently. It starts around $250/month and includes routine doctor visits, prescriptions, preventive care, dental, and vision. If you’re settling in one country for 6+ months and need complete health coverage beyond emergencies, Remote Health is worth evaluating against local insurance options.

What SafetyWing Covers (and What It Doesn’t)

Understanding the actual coverage — not the marketing bullet points — is critical when choosing travel insurance. We’ve read the full policy documents cover to cover. Here’s what you’re actually getting.

What’s Covered

Coverage Type	Limit	Deductible
Emergency medical treatment	$250,000	$250 per injury/illness
Hospitalization	Included in medical limit	$250
Emergency dental	$1,000	$250
Prescriptions	Included in medical limit	$250
Medical evacuation	$100,000	$0
Emergency reunion	$5,000	$0
Trip interruption	$5,000	$0
Lost checked luggage	$3,000	$250
Travel delay (6+ hours)	$100/day (max $500)	$0
Natural disaster response	$5,000 for new accommodation	$0
Home country visits	30 days per 90 days (15 for US)	Same deductibles

What’s NOT Covered

This list is equally important. SafetyWing Nomad Insurance excludes:

• Pre-existing conditions — Anything diagnosed or treated within 6 months before enrollment
• Routine/preventive care — Checkups, vaccinations, annual physicals, dental cleanings
• Adventure sports — Surfing, skiing, scuba diving, bungee jumping, rock climbing
• Mental health — Therapy, counseling, psychiatric treatment
• Pregnancy and childbirth — Standard exclusion (complications before week 26 are covered)
• Elective procedures — Cosmetic surgery, LASIK, non-emergency procedures
• Dental (beyond emergency) — Cleanings, fillings, crowns are excluded
• Vision — Eye exams, glasses, contacts
• War zones and sanctioned countries — North Korea, Syria, Crimea, etc.
• Alcohol/drug-related incidents — Claims arising from substance abuse

Our take: The Nomad Insurance plan is adequate for most digital nomads who live relatively low-risk lifestyles — coworking spaces, cafes, and apartments rather than cliff diving and paragliding. If you’re an active adventure traveler, the lack of sports coverage is a dealbreaker unless you pair SafetyWing with a supplemental adventure policy or switch to World Nomads , which covers 200+ activities on all plans.

Our Claims Experience: A Hospital Visit in Chiang Mai

Claims are where insurance promises either hold up or fall apart. Here’s what happened when we actually needed to use SafetyWing during month four of our coverage.

What Happened

A team member developed a severe ear infection while working out of a coworking space in Chiang Mai, Thailand. What started as mild discomfort turned into debilitating pain within 48 hours, complete with fever and partial hearing loss. We needed medical care fast.

The Hospital Visit

We went to Ram Hospital in Chiang Mai, one of the city’s well-regarded private hospitals with English-speaking staff. The visit included an examination by an ENT specialist, an ear canal cleaning procedure, prescribed antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory medication.

Total cost: $287 (approximately 9,800 THB)

The hospital required full payment upfront. No surprise there — this is standard across Southeast Asia for non-emergency outpatient visits.

Filing the Claim

We submitted the claim through SafetyWing’s online portal the next day. The process was straightforward:

1. Logged into the SafetyWing dashboard
2. Clicked “Submit a Claim” and selected medical expense
3. Uploaded the itemized hospital receipt, medical report, and prescription
4. Added a brief description of what happened

Total time to submit: about 15 minutes. The portal is clean and functional — no confusing forms or obscure documentation requirements.

The Result

After the $250 deductible, SafetyWing owed us $37. The claim was approved and reimbursed via bank transfer in 18 days. Not blazing fast, but reasonable for the industry.

The small payout highlights an important reality about the $250 deductible: for minor medical visits under $500, you’re covering most of the cost yourself. SafetyWing is fundamentally a catastrophic coverage safety net, not a pay-for-every-visit policy. That’s the right mental model to have. Set your expectations accordingly.

What We Learned

• Keep every single receipt. The hospital receipt was the primary document SafetyWing needed. Get itemized bills with procedure codes, not just total amounts.
• Photograph all medical paperwork immediately. We snapped photos of the prescription, the doctor’s notes, and the receipt before leaving the hospital. Paper gets lost. Phone photos don’t.
• The $250 deductible hurts on small claims. For a $287 visit, we recovered only $37. If your visit costs less than $250, you’re paying the entire thing out of pocket.
• For large claims, call first. SafetyWing offers direct hospital billing for admissions expected to exceed $1,000. You call their 24/7 emergency assistance line, and they coordinate payment directly with the hospital so you don’t front thousands of dollars.

Community Claims Data

Beyond our own experience, we surveyed nomad communities and forums to build a broader picture of how SafetyWing handles claims:

Claim Type	Typical Processing	Approval Rate
Minor outpatient (under $500)	2-3 weeks	~90%
Outpatient ($500–$2,000)	3-4 weeks	~85%
Hospitalization ($2,000+)	4-6 weeks	~80%
Medical evacuation	Real-time (emergency line)	High
Lost luggage	3-5 weeks	~75%
Trip interruption	4-6 weeks	~70%

The pattern is clear: routine medical claims get approved reliably but take 2-4 weeks to process. Larger and more complex claims (hospitalization, trip interruption) take longer and face more documentation scrutiny. Multiple nomads reported needing to resubmit documentation or provide additional evidence for claims exceeding $1,000.

Our claims score: 3.9/5. The process works, and legitimate claims get paid. But the 2-4 week turnaround is slower than competitors like Genki (typically 1-2 weeks), and the $250 deductible makes small claims barely worth filing.

How to Sign Up for SafetyWing

One of SafetyWing’s underrated strengths is how painless the signup process is. We timed it: 1 minute and 47 seconds from landing on the website to having active coverage.

Here’s the step-by-step:

1. Go to SafetyWing.com and click “Get a Quote”
2. Enter your details — Name, age, nationality, and travel destination(s)
3. Choose your start date — Can be today, tomorrow, or any future date
4. Review the coverage summary — SafetyWing shows you what’s covered and excluded
5. Enter payment info — Credit card or debit card
6. Confirm — Coverage starts on your selected date

No medical questionnaires. No phone interviews. No waiting for underwriting approval. No physical address required. You can buy SafetyWing from an airport lounge 30 minutes before boarding, and you’re covered the next day.

You can also purchase while already abroad. This is one of SafetyWing’s most important features for nomads. Forgot insurance before leaving? Decided mid-trip that you need coverage? Buy from anywhere in the world. Coverage starts the day after purchase. Note that any conditions developed before your purchase date count as pre-existing and are excluded.

SafetyWing vs the Competition

How does SafetyWing stack up against the other insurance options we recommend for digital nomads?

SafetyWing vs Genki

SafetyWing wins on: Price (slightly cheaper at the base level), home country coverage (more days per period), trip protection benefits (luggage, delays, interruption), name recognition and community trust.

Genki wins on: Much higher coverage limits (up to $10M vs $250K), faster claims processing (1-2 weeks vs 2-4 weeks), adventure sports on all plans, limited pre-existing condition coverage, mental health coverage on mid-tier plans, routine outpatient care on premium plans.

Bottom line: If you’re based in the EU, want higher coverage limits, or need faster claims turnaround, Genki is the stronger option. If you want the cheapest subscription price with home country visits and trip protection bundled in, SafetyWing edges ahead.

SafetyWing vs World Nomads

SafetyWing wins on: Price (roughly half the cost for long-term travel), subscription flexibility (no trip end dates needed), home country coverage, simplicity of signup and management.

World Nomads wins on: Adventure sports coverage on all plans (200+ activities), trip cancellation and interruption coverage, gear and equipment protection, faster claims processing.

Bottom line: World Nomads is purpose-built for adventure travelers who need coverage for scuba diving, trekking, and extreme sports. SafetyWing is purpose-built for nomads who need affordable, ongoing medical coverage. They solve different problems for different people. Read our full SafetyWing vs World Nomads comparison for the detailed breakdown.

Who SafetyWing Is For

SafetyWing Is Ideal For:

• Digital nomads who travel continuously without fixed return dates. The subscription model was designed for exactly this lifestyle.
• Remote workers spending 3-12 months abroad who need emergency medical coverage without navigating local health insurance bureaucracy.
• Budget travelers who want adequate coverage at the lowest possible price. At $1.61/day, there is no legitimate excuse to travel without insurance.
• Nomad families — children under 10 are covered free on a parent’s policy, making SafetyWing the most affordable family travel insurance option available.
• Slow travelers who stay weeks or months in each destination. The rolling 4-week billing cycle aligns naturally with this pace.
• First-time long-term travelers who want a simple, well-known provider. Signup takes under 2 minutes and the nomad community support around SafetyWing is extensive.

SafetyWing Is NOT Ideal For:

• Adventure travelers who surf, ski, dive, or climb regularly. None of these activities are covered. World Nomads covers 200+ adventure sports on all plans.
• People with pre-existing conditions. SafetyWing offers zero coverage. Genki has limited pre-existing coverage on higher tiers.
• US residents who spend significant time at home. The 15-day home country coverage per 90-day period is restrictive. If you’re in the US more than about 60 days per year, you need supplemental domestic coverage.
• Anyone needing routine healthcare. Checkups, dental cleanings, ongoing prescriptions, and preventive care are not covered. Consider Remote Health or local insurance for routine needs.
• Travelers wanting zero-deductible coverage. The $250 per-incident deductible means small claims are entirely out of pocket.
• High-net-worth travelers wanting premium limits. SafetyWing caps at $250K. Genki offers up to $10M.

Our Verdict

After 8 months of continuous coverage across Thailand, Portugal, Mexico, Indonesia, Spain, Japan, Colombia, Vietnam, Greece, and Turkey, SafetyWing Nomad Insurance has earned our confidence as the best default travel medical insurance for digital nomads and long-term travelers. The subscription model eliminates the biggest pain point of traditional travel insurance: the requirement to know your exact travel dates before you buy. At $45.08 per 4 weeks, it costs less than two lattes a week — and one emergency without it could drain your entire savings.

Is it the best insurance available in absolute terms? No. Genki offers higher coverage limits and faster claims. World Nomads covers adventure sports that SafetyWing excludes. Remote Health provides comprehensive everyday healthcare. But SafetyWing hits the optimal balance of price, flexibility, and coverage breadth that matters most for the nomad lifestyle — and at a price that makes going uninsured indefensible.

What plan to choose: Nomad Insurance is the right starting point for most travelers. If you need routine healthcare (doctor visits, prescriptions, dental), look at Remote Health instead. If you need adventure sports coverage, supplement SafetyWing with an activity-specific policy or switch to World Nomads.

Our rating: 4.3/5 — A reliable, affordable travel insurance option held back by slow claims processing, a $250 deductible that eats into small claims, strict pre-existing condition exclusions, and limited home country coverage for US residents. For the vast majority of digital nomads, it remains the right choice.

Get SafetyWing Nomad Insurance -- From $45.08/Month

Looking for more options? Read our complete guide to the best travel insurance for digital nomads to compare all top providers side by side. And if you’re comparing SafetyWing head-to-head with World Nomads, we have a dedicated comparison that breaks down every difference.

Don’t forget to pair your insurance with a reliable eSIM for instant data when you land and a travel VPN to protect your data on public WiFi networks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is SafetyWing legit?

Yes. SafetyWing is a legitimate insurance company founded in 2018 and backed by Y Combinator. Their policies are underwritten by Tokio Marine, one of the world’s largest insurance companies. They’ve paid out millions in claims to digital nomads worldwide.

How much does SafetyWing cost?

SafetyWing Nomad Insurance costs $45.08/month for travelers aged 10-39. Prices increase with age: $73.24/month for ages 40-49 and $105.72/month for ages 50-59. Children under 10 are covered free when traveling with a parent.

Does SafetyWing cover COVID?

Yes, SafetyWing covers COVID-19 treatment as they would any other illness. This includes hospitalization, doctor visits, and prescribed medications. However, they do not cover COVID testing for travel requirements or quarantine hotel costs.

Can I buy SafetyWing after leaving home?

Yes, this is one of SafetyWing’s best features. You can purchase coverage from anywhere in the world, even after your trip has started. There’s no requirement to buy before departing your home country. Coverage starts the day after purchase.

Does SafetyWing cover the US?

Partially. SafetyWing covers emergency medical care in the US but with reduced benefits compared to other countries. The US coverage has a $250 deductible and lower coverage limits. For US-based nomads, your home country coverage only applies during brief return visits (15 days per 90-day period).

How do SafetyWing claims work?

You pay upfront for medical care, then submit a claim through SafetyWing’s online portal with receipts and medical documentation. Most claims are processed within 2-4 weeks. For large expenses exceeding $1,000, SafetyWing can coordinate direct billing with hospitals through their 24/7 emergency assistance line.