SafetyWing Nomad Insurance Review 2026: Evaluating the Pros and Cons of this travel medical insurance
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Finding the ideal travel insurance can be quite challenging because we have different travel styles, health conditions, and personal needs. After using Nomad Insurance—a travel medical insurance by SafetyWing, several times since 2023, I’ve gained a clear understanding of its pros and cons compared to other travel insurance companies.
In this post, I will introduce you to their products—Nomad Insurance and Remote Health—but I will focus on the Essential and Complete plans under Nomad Insurance, which cater specifically to travelers. I will also share my overall review of SafetyWing and explain why they are worth considering the next time you need to purchase a travel medical insurance policy.
In this post you will find:
Although their travel medical insurance is available for all types of travelers, its benefits are particularly strong for digital nomads, expats, and those on slow or long-term travels.
Disclaimer:
* Travel medical insurance policies may change at any time, and exceptions may apply. Please read the full, updated policy before any purchase.
** This article was written in collaboration with SafetyWing and was updated in April, 2026.
About SafetyWing
SafetyWing is an insurance company created for those who would like to be location independent, such as regular travelers, digital nomads, freelancers, and remote workers. As digital nomads themselves, three friends: Sondre Rasch, Sarah Beyahte Sandnes and Hans Kjellby observed the essential needs that nomads have and saw the opportunity to create customized insurance products with great coverage at reasonable costs.
At the moment, SafetyWing offers two different types of insurance:
| Nomad Insurance | Remote Health |
|---|---|
| Global travel medical insurance | Remote health insurance for remote workers |
Note that in this article I will be focusing on their Nomad Insurance.
Meet the Nomad Insurance plans: Essential & Complete
In December 2024, SafetyWing launched two different travel medical insurance plans. I have been using Essential, which is ideal for short and mid-term trips. The other option is Complete, perfect for long-term trips such as a sabbatical or to digital nomads who are always on the road.
See below a comprehensive comparison between the two of them:
|
SafetyWing Nomad Insurance Essential |
SafetyWing Nomad Insurance Complete |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Ideal for |
Short or mid-term trips. |
Long-term trips, digital nomads and remote workers. |
|
Plan options |
Starting at USD 62.72 / 4 weeks. |
Starting at USD 177.50 / month. |
|
Deductible |
Not applicable. |
Not applicable. |
|
Payment |
You can choose to pay upfront for specific travel dates or every 4 weeks, with the option to cancel at any time. |
Paid monthly, 12-month commitment. |
|
Coverage Summary |
Emergency medical coverage + Medical evacuation + Trip protection |
Essential medical coverage + Routine healthcare + Mental health + Maternity + Medical evacuation + Trip protection |
Nomad Insurance Essential and Nomad Insurance Complete – Travel medical insurance by SafetyWing
Locations and restrictions
Although Nomad Insurance is available to a wide range of travelers, its plans have some restrictions in terms of age and country of residence, and countries visited:
| Nomad Insurance – Essential | Nomad Insurance – Complete | |
|---|---|---|
| You can’t apply if | – You are younger than 14 days or older than 69 years. – Your home country is sanctioned (North Korea, Syria, Cuba and Iran). – You, as an individual, are sanctioned under any of the sanctioned regimes. | – You are younger than 17 and older than 64 years old – You are a resident (live there for 6+ months out of the year) of Belarus, Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Iraq, Republic of Ireland, North Korea, North Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Palau, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, and the USA and its territories. |
| Locations not covered | Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Puerto Rico, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, and your home country (where you principally reside and receive mail)–except for short home visits. | Any country or area that is sanctioned (North Korea, Syria, Cuba and Iran). |
Medical Insurance Coverage
Are you wondering what SafetyWing covers? When it comes to medical incidents, find below what is covered by their Nomad Insurance policy:
|
SafetyWing Nomad Insurance Essential |
SafetyWing Nomad Insurance Complete |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Overall Limit |
USD 250,000 |
USD 1,500,000 |
|
Medical treatment and hospitalization |
USD 250,000 max limit |
USD 1,500,000 max limit |
|
Evacuation to a better hospital (lifetime max) |
Up to USD 100,000 |
Up to USD 100,000 |
|
Emergency dental |
Up to USD 1,000. Only covered in case of necessary treatment after an accident or sudden and acute onset of pain. |
Up to USD 1,000. Only covered in case of necessary treatment after an accident or sudden and acute onset of pain. Dental Coverage add-on available. |
|
Injuries from sports & activities |
Limited list of activities. Add-on for high-risk sports available. |
All sports & activities listed. |
|
Maternity |
Not covered |
USD 2,500 |
|
Mental health care |
Not covered |
USD 5,000 outpatient limit |
|
Wellness therapies, like acupuncture |
Not covered |
USD 5,000 outpatient limit |
|
Screenings & vaccines |
Not covered |
Up to USD 350 |
|
Cancer |
Not covered |
USD 1,500,000 max limit |
What does SafetyWing cover? – Travel medical insurance for digital nomads
What is not covered?
SafetyWing’s Nomad Insurance does not cover:
Travel Insurance Coverage
Below, you can see what is covered by the Nomad Insurance policy when something goes wrong during your trip:
|
SafetyWing Nomad Insurance Essential |
SafetyWing Nomad Insurance Complete |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Trip interruption |
Up to USD 5,000 for ticket home in case of family death or fire or weather destroying more than 40% of your primary residence. |
Up to USD 5,000 for ticket home in case of family death or fire or weather destroying more than 40% of your primary residence. |
|
Travel delay (Costs for unplanned overnight stay) |
USD 60 for a 3-8 hour delay or USD 150 for 8+ hour delays |
USD 60 for a 3-8 hour delay or USD 150 for 8+ hour delays |
|
Trip Cancellation |
Not covered |
Up to US$300 per trip. Up to US$600 per year. |
|
Inaccessible/canceled accommodation |
Not covered |
Up to US$150. |
|
Lost checked luggage |
Up to $3,000 per certificate period; $500 per item. Up to $6,000 lifetime limit. |
Up to $3,000 per certificate period; $500 per item. Up to $6,000 lifetime limit. |
|
Delayed luggage |
Not covered |
Up to US$150 per item. |
|
Arrangements if you die |
US$20,000 for transport. US$10,000 for local burial. |
Up to US$100,000 for transport. |
|
Electronics theft |
Add-on available |
Add-on available |
|
Stolen belongings |
Up to USD 100 per incident of stolen passport or travel visa, up to USD 300 (lifetime max). USD 150 for stolen wallet, up to USD 450 in your lifetime. |
Up to USD 100 per incident of stolen passport or travel visa, up to USD 300 (lifetime max). USD 150 for stolen wallet, up to USD 450 in your lifetime. |
|
Burglary while you were out |
Up to US$500 per item. |
Up to US$500 per item. |
|
Political evacuation |
Up to $10,000 lifetime maximum. |
Up to $10,000 lifetime maximum. |
|
Inaccessible/canceled accommodation |
Up to USD 150 per night. Up to USD 300 per insurance period. |
Up to USD 150 per night. Up to USD 300 per insurance period. |
SafetyWing coverage for unexpected travel incidents
What is not covered?
SafetyWing’s Nomad Insurance does not cover:
Sports Coverage (included in all plans)
Please, find below the complete list of amateur sports that are covered in all Nomad Insurance plans:
- Airsoft
- Angling
- Archery
- Badminton
- Ballooning
- Ballet
- Banana boating
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Bicycle touring
- Bodyboard
- Bowling
- Bungee jumping
- Bushwalking
- Camel riding / trekking
- Camping
- Canoeing
- Canyon swing
- Canyoning
- Capoeira dancing
- Cave tubing
- Cheerleading
- Clay pigeon shooting
- Cricket
- Curling
- Cycling (including touring and organized tours)
- Deep sea fishing
- Dirt boarding
- Dog sledding (not racing or competing)
- Fell running / walking
- Fencing
- Fishing
- Flatwater rafting
- Flying as a passenger
- Flying fox
- Freediving
- Glacier walking
- Golf
- Gymnastics
- Handball
- Hand plane
- Hiking
- Horse riding
- Hot air ballooning as a passenger
- Human gyroscope
- Hunting (excluding big game)
- Hydrospeeding
- Ice skating (indoor or outdoor)
- Ice climbing under 4500 meters altitud
- Jet boating
- Jet skiing
- Kayaking
- Land surfing
- Moped and motorcycle with an engine capacity up to 50cc
- Mountain biking
- Netball
- Orienteering
- Paintballing
- Paipo board
- Pala
- Pilates
- Rambling
- Rap jumping
- Racquetball
- Rifle range shooting
- Rock climbing (not covered if solo)
- Roller blading
- Roller skating
- Rounders
- Rowing / sculling
- Safari tours
- Sailing
- Sandboarding
- Sand skiing
- Sea canoeing
- Sea kayaking
- Skateboarding
- Skiing (not covered off-piste and/or against the advice of the local ski school or local authoritative body)
- Skydiving indoors
- Sleigh rides
- Sledding
- Snorkelling
- Snow rafting
- Snowboarding (not covered off-piste and/or against the advice of the local ski school or local authoritative body)
- Soccer
- Softball
- Speed boating
- Squash
- Stand up paddle boarding
- Stilt walking
- Surfing
- Swimming
- Table tennis
- Tai chi
- Ten pin bowling
- Tennis
- Trail bike riding
- Trekking
- Tubing
- Tubing on snow
- Tuk tuk
- Ultimate frisbee
- Via ferrata
- Volleyball
- Wake skating
- Wakeboarding
- Walking
- Water skiing
- Waterpolo
- Weightlifting
cardio and classes at the gym (note that training for or attending a powerlifting competition is excluded) - Wind-foiling
- Windsurfing
- Wind tunnel flying
- Wing-foiling
- Yachting
- Yoga
- Zip line
- Zorbing
Adventure Sports Add-On (included in Complete plan)
In addition to the adventure sports and activities covered in all SafetyWing Nomad Insurance plans, the following ones are included in the Complete Plan and available as an add-on for the Essential Plan:
- Acrobatics
- American football
- Aussie rules football
- Aviation
- Bicycle touring over 4,500 meters altitude
- Black water rafting
- Bobsleigh
- Boxing
- Cave diving aaccompanied by an instructor certified by PADI/NAUI/SSI/BSAC
- Foiling
- Free-style skiing
- Hang gliding
- High diving
- Hockey
- Karting
- Kitesurfing
- Lacrosse
- Luge
- Martial arts
- Moped and motorcycle with an engine capacity over 50cc
- Motorized dirt bikes
- Mountain boarding
- Mountaineering at elevations under 6,000 meters altitude
- Parachuting
- Parasailing
- Paragliding
- Paramotoring
- Polo
- Quad biking
- Rugby
- Ski / snowboard jumping
- Ski-flying
- Skiing / snowboard acrobatics
- Skydiving
- Skeleton
- Snow kiting
- Snow mobile
- Spelunking
- Scuba diving up to the depths you or your instructor is licensed for
- Surfing
- Tandem skydiving
- Tobogganing
- Whitewater kayaking or rafting up to Grade 3
- Wrestling
The coverage goes up to $100,000 in your lifetime (lifetime max).
Sports and activities NOT covered
The following sports and activities are not covered on any circumstance, even with the adventure add-on:
- All-terrain vehicles
- Base jumping
- Big game hunting
- Cliff jumping
- Heli-skiing
- Heli-gliding
- Hot air ballooning as a pilot
- Any activity at elevations over 6000 meters
- Powerlifting (lifting at max weight with intent of competition)
- Racing by any animal motorized vehicle BMX speed trials or speedway
- Running with the bulls
- Skiing/snowboarding off-piste (outside marked territory or against advice of ski school/authority)
- Sky surfing
- Tractors
- Whitewater rafting
How much is SafetyWing insurance
Find below how much the Nomad Insurance policy by SafetyWing costs:
Nomad Insurance – Essential
| Age | Cost / 4 weeks | Adventure Sports | U.S. | Electronics Theft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | You can add a child under 10 per adult (max. 2) for no extra cost. | +USD 0 | +USD 0 | +USD 0 |
| 10-39 | USD 62.72 | +USD 10 | +USD 53.48 | +USD 10 |
| 40-49 | USD 102.76 | +USD 10 | +USD 88.48 | +USD 10 |
| 50-59 | USD 161.28 | +USD 10 | +USD 153.44 | +USD 10 |
| 60-69 | USD 218.96 | +USD 10 | +USD 210.56 | +USD 10 |
In the Essential Plan, even if you get the U.S. add-on, you will need to pay:
Nomad Insurance – Complete
| Age | Monthly | Dental Coverage | Hong Kong, Singapore, U.S. | Electronics Theft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | USD 118.50 | USD 12 | +USD 80 | USD 20 |
| 10-39 | USD 177.50 | USD 20 | +USD 131 | USD 20 |
| 40-49 | USD 253.50 | USD 30 | +USD 195 | USD 20 |
| 50-59 | USD 380.50 | USD 46 | +USD 304 | USD 20 |
| 60-69 | USD 681.50 | USD 75 | +USD 560 | USD 20 |
If you pay for the full year upfront, SafetyWing offers a 10% OFF discount.
Get a Nomad Insurance quote now:
Why is SafetyWing considered the best travel medical insurance for digital nomads and long-term travelers?
Even though digital nomads and long-term travelers need flexibility to purchase and renew their travel medical insurance from anywhere at any time, most insurance companies only allow you to purchase it before you leave home and don’t let you extend it while traveling. The Nomad Insurance by SafetyWing allows all of that!
These location independent travelers and workers also face high costs when purchasing travel medical insurance for long periods, and SafetyWing often beats their competitor’s price. Check our guide comparing SafetyWing to World Nomads and Genki.
SafetyWing Travel Medical Insurance Reviews
You are probably asking yourself “Is SafetyWing insurance good?“. A great way to have an idea of how good or bad an insurance is, is by looking at their customer reviews on reliable websites.
Being realistic, every single insurance company is going to have complaints, so what I do is compare a couple of them. This way, I can see which one has a better overall review.
As you can see below, SafetyWing has good travel medical insurance reviews at Trustpilot.com.
Besides that, I have a couple of friends who have used this insurance and liked it. This is what interested me in testing Nomad Insurance and brought me to work with SafetyWing as an affiliate.
My personal Nomad Insurance review
Elaine Villatoro traveling in the U.S. while insured by SafetyWing
Pros & Cons review of SafetyWing’s Nomad Insurance policy
When analyzing the Nomad Insurance policy and comparing it to other companies, these are my pros and cons review:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✅ Competitive price: When compared to other travel medical insurances, especially in long-term travels, SafetyWing is usually cheaper. | ❌ Age limitations: They only cover people between 15 days and 69 years old in the Essential plan and 18 to 64 years old in the Complete plan, which doesn’t make them very inclusive to senior people. |
| ✅ Flexibility: You can buy it at any time (before or after you started traveling) and extend it while you are traveling for up to 364 days*. | ❌ Language limitations: Website and support available in English only. |
| ✅ Multiple countries: The same policy is valid for multiple countries. | ❌ Minimum of days: A minimum of 5-day coverage is required. |
| ✅ Countries + Home coverage: Besides covering over 170 countries (180+ in the Essential plan), Nomad insurance also covers trips to your home country. | ❌ Residence limitations: The Complete plan is not available for residents of several countries, including Canada and the U.S.A. |
| ✅ Monthly payments: You can either pay for an established travel period or sign-up for automatic monthly renewal (every 28 days for the Essential Plan) for up to 364 days. | ❌ Trip Cancellation: Non coverage for trip cancellation in their Essential plan. |
| ✅ Children free of charge: 2 children under 10 per family (1 per adult) can be included on your insurance free of charge. | ❌ Evacuation coverage: The USD 100,000 limit may not suffice for remote destinations like the Falkland Islands and Seychelles. |
| ✅ Sports: It covers most amateur/non-professional sports and activities such as bungee jumping, ski, snowboarding, and others. Add-on of high risk activities available in the Essential plan and already included in the Complete plan. | ❌ Scuba dive: Covered only with the add-on. |
| ✅ Electronics theft: Add-on available in both plans. | 🟡 Purchases in USD only: Since the purchase is available only in USD, foreigners may have additional tax (which can be avoided when you pay with an International Bank Account). |
| ✅ Easy to cancel: In case you have a recurring plan, you can cancel it directly on their website. | 🟡 Promo codes: At the moment, SafetyWing does not offer promo and discount codes. |
As you can see, there are more pros than cons. For me, the biggest con is the lack of trip cancellation coverage.
The other cons are quite common among travel insurance policies, so I don’t really consider them a big deal. Although, bear in mind that each traveler may have different needs and priorities.
Why should you consider SafetyWing’s Travel Medical Insurance?
After all, considering the cost, this is the most flexible and affordable travel medical insurance. Note that it is not only great for digital nomads, but for general travelers on a sabbatical or long trips as well. Also, I find it incredible that you can add kids to the policy for free!
Fox Tips 🦊:
Now that you know that SafetyWing is legit, that they have good overall travel medical insurance reviews and are aware of their pros and cons, let us know: do you feel this is the right option for you?
In case your answer is yes, I would like to kindly ask you to purchase your travel medical insurance with our affiliate link. This way you help Live More, Travel More keep creating new content for you for free.
