SafetyWing Nomad Insurance: Essential vs. Complete (our experience)
Whether you’re gallivanting around the world long-term or a remote worker taking regular holidays away from home, everyone needs one thing: travel insurance.
Imagine this: you’re 4,000m above sea level, hiking to the summit of a mountain in the Alps. Bad luck strikes, and you slip on a hidden patch of ice, fracturing your ankle. An emergency helicopter evacuates you to the nearest hospital, and suddenly you’re stuck with a $50,000 medical bill…
As digital nomads ourselves, we know the struggle of finding reliable insurance that doesn’t cost a fortune—or leave you high and dry when you need it most.
Enter SafetyWing—the go-to travel and health insurance provider for digital nomads!
Sara and I have both been using SafetyWing policies for over three years of full-time travel. In December 2024, the SafetyWing Nomad Insurance packages were revamped. They now offer a Nomad Insurance Essential plan and a Nomad Insurance Complete plan.
If SafetyWing is one of your options for travel insurance and you’re unsure which package to choose, you’re in the right place. By the end of this article, you’ll have a clear idea. We’ll break down both the Essential and Complete plans, highlight their benefits, and help you decide which one is best for you.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy.
Who is SafetyWing?
As the world becomes more technologically advanced, more and more people are choosing to pursue life as digital nomads. With numerous countries now offering Digital Nomad Visas, living abroad or traveling full-time has never been easier.
SafetyWing has stepped in to remove one of the biggest barriers for nomads: access to affordable healthcare while traveling.
Originally, SafetyWing was created by three Norwegian nomads who couldn’t find long-term insurance options that suited their travel style. In a sense, SafetyWing is a product made ‘by nomads, for nomads’—which, coincidentally, is also the tagline of Across Every Border!
Fast-forward seven years, and SafetyWing is now one of the biggest—if not the biggest—names in the nomadic insurance industry.
What is SafetyWing Nomad Insurance Essential?
Previously known simply as ‘Nomad Insurance’, the Nomad Insurance Essential is the smaller package that offers travel and medical protection for mid- to short-trips. Although we say ‘short-trips’, I (Ryan) have been using this policy for over three years, and I love it!
The Nomad Insurance Essential is the type of policy you’d typically think of when you think ‘travel insurance’. It’s primarily designed to cover emergency situations, both medical and travel-related.
However, I find that the advantage of the Nomad Insurance Essential over other travel insurance providers on the market is that it operates on a subscription-based model.
Once I’ve initiated my policy, SafetyWing will automatically renew every month until I either a) cancel my subscription or b) reach 12 months. If my policy reaches a year, I can then either purchase a new policy or let it lapse.
Features of the Nomad Insurance Essential are:
- Medical & hospital treatment up to $250,000
- Evacuation to better hospitals when needed up to $100,000
- Lost luggage reimbursement up to $500 per bag
- Travel delay compensation of $100/day up to two days
- Motor accidents up to $250,000
- Evacuation due to local unrest up to $100,000
- Injuries from leisure sports & activities up to $250,000
- Home country coverage for up to 90 days
Optional add-ons:
- Adventure Sports
- US-Coverage
- Electronics theft
But, the Nomad Insurance Essential doesn’t cover any previous conditions or ongoing illnesses. I have to remember that if a new health issue arises during my policy, that becomes a previous condition when I reach the end of the year and renew with a new policy.
This is where the Nomad Insurance Complete comes in!
What is SafetyWing Nomad Insurance Complete?
The Nomad Insurance Complete used to be called ‘Remote Health’, and it’s the plan that Sara moved to over a year ago.
This policy is the more comprehensive option for long-term nomads looking for extended health and travel coverage. It also covers Sara in her home country, just like any other nomad who chooses this plan.
With the Nomad Insurance Complete, Sara has full healthcare access worldwide, for both new and ongoing illnesses. She can undergo an annual health check and dental check-up, and be reimbursed by SafetyWing. If, God forbid, she were ever to fall pregnant, this policy also offers maternity cover!
The Nomad Insurance Complete can be paid either monthly or annually, but unlike the flexibility of the Nomad Insurance Essential, it has a minimum contract period of 12 months. This commitment is why it’s not ideal for short- and mid-term travellers.
The features of the Nomad Insurance Complete include all of those above in the Nomad Insurance Essential, but with quite a few key differences!
Features:
- Medical & hospital treatment up to $1,500,000
- Motor accidents up to $1,500,000
- Injuries from adventure sport activities
- Doctor & specialist visits ($5000 outpatient limit)
- Routine check-ups for preventative care up to $300
- Wellness therapies up to $5000
- 10 visits with a psychologist or psychiatrists per year
- Cancer tests & treatments up to $1,500,000
- Stolen belongings up to $5000
- Indefinite coverage in your home country
Optional add-ons:
- Coverage in the US, Singapore and Hong Kong
- Electronic theft (coming soon)
Alongside all of these, although the Nomad Insurance Complete doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions when signing up, it does provide ongoing healthcare for any new conditions that arise. Even after your 12-month contract is up, those conditions don’t become ‘pre-existing’ and will be covered by all future Nomad Insurance Complete policies.
Thanks to indefinite home country coverage, the Nomad Insurance Complete is actually a great insurance option for those who live in a country without public healthcare!
You can check out SafetyWings full PDF pamphlet to learn a lot more about the complete plan.
Our experience using SafetyWing for over 3 years…
Like we mentioned, Sara and I have both been using SafetyWing Nomad Insurance policies for over three years. We both started with the Nomad Insurance (now the Nomad Insurance Essential), and just over a year ago, Sara switched to the Remote Health plan (now the revamped Nomad Insurance Complete).
Up until now, we only have raving reviews for SafetyWing. We’ve never had any issues trying to contact their customer support, and whenever we’ve needed to lodge a claim, the process has been smooth and easy.
In fact, we have tons of friends that also use SafetyWing as their go-to nomad insurance. One of those friends that we met in Chiang Mai, Ann, told us a compelling story that solidified our respect for SafetyWing.
A few months ago, she was in Istanbul traveling when suddenly she was hospitalised with pneumonia. She had the hospital contact SafetyWing immediately before being admitted, and within hours, they had arranged to pay for her entire medical bill, which ended up being close to $70,000.
Without SafetyWing Nomad Insurance, Ann would have been in a terrible financial situation. She said to us that the speed at which SafetyWing was available for her and how easy they made the entire process cemented her as a lifelong customer.
Back in August, Sara and I were based in Kuala Lumpur. During our stay, Sara decided to make use of her Nomad Insurance Complete policy by undergoing a routine health check and dental cleaning. She fronted the bill of around $400, all of which were back in her bank account within four weeks.
So yeah, we have yet to have—or hear of—a negative experience when dealing with SafetyWing! Just make sure to have all the correct paperwork ready to go if you need to make a claim.
What are the benefits of having a SafetyWing Nomad Insurance policy?
Purchase your SafetyWing Nomad Insurance policy abroad
One of the barriers of travel insurance is that, for the most part, you need to begin your policy while in your home country. With SafetyWing Nomad Insurance, that’s not the case. Sara and I have both renewed our policies multiple times from abroad without issues. It also means that even without residency, Sara can still have an active health insurance policy!
Responsive 24/7 customer support
Sara and I have had to contact SafetyWing customer support several times through the years. Whether it’s to ask if a doctor’s visit would be covered, how to lodge a claim, or to clarify something about our policy, every time we use the chat support, we are answered within a matter of minutes.
If there’s an issue that the agent can’t seem to fix, it’s immediately escalated, and we get an email reply usually within 24 hours.
Coverage in over 180 different countries
It’s hard to find long-term insurance that’ll cover you for almost every country on this planet. When we used to sign up for travel insurance policies, we always had to specify which countries we’d be traveling to. If we left one of those countries, our insurance was voided.
However, with SafetyWing Nomad Insurance, our policies automatically cover us for over 180 different countries and territories on the planet. The only country that they don’t cover that might become an issue in the future is the USA, but no insurance options cover the USA. If we need to visit, we’ll just upgrade our policies!
Simple claims process
When Sara reached out to SafetyWing to claim money back for her routine check-ups, the process was smooth and easy. All she needed to do was tap the ‘submit a claim’ button, upload a medical report, a detailed invoice from the hospital, and the receipt to prove she paid for it.
Voila, within weeks, Sara had the money back in her account!
SafetyWing Nomad Insurance: Essential vs. Complete
So, which policy is the best for you: Nomad Insurance Essential or Nomad Insurance Complete?
It really depends on your situation and travel style. I know, ambiguous answers can be frustrating—but let’s break it down with a few scenarios.
We’d recommend the Nomad Insurance Essential if you’re a backpacker or long-term traveler. For example, imagine you’ve just quit your job, bought a one-way ticket to Thailand, and have enough money to last about a year. You’re unsure how long you’ll be away, but for any serious illness or treatment, you’d likely return to your home country. In this case, the Essential plan is perfect—it covers emergencies while keeping costs manageable.
On the other hand, if you’re a digital nomad, consider the Nomad Insurance Complete. Without a permanent “home” and always being on the move, most of your medical needs will occur abroad. The Complete plan ensures you’re covered for any situation, no matter where you are.
Finally, if you’re an aspiring digital nomad, we’d suggest starting with the Nomad Insurance Essential. Maintain your residency in your home country during your first year, test out the nomadic lifestyle, and see if it’s for you. Once you commit to staying nomadic, you can upgrade to the Complete plan!
We hope that our guide covered everything you need to know about SafetyWing Nomad Insurance. We always strive to offer the most accurate and up-to-date information we can but if you think something we’ve said is wrong, please let us know!
