What is SafetyWing Nomad Insurance?
SafetyWing Nomad Insurance is a set of insurance plans marketed toward travellers and remote workers. It’s commonly used by people who want coverage that can start while they’re already outside their home country.
SafetyWing currently offers two tiers under “Nomad Insurance”:
- Nomad Insurance Essential: one travel medical insurance plan (unexpected illness/injury while travelling + a set of travel benefits).
- Nomad Insurance Complete: a bundle that combines Nomad Travel (travel benefits) + Nomad Health (international health insurance).
We will look at what exactly that means further down in the comparison section.
Is SafetyWing a good insurance company?
SafetyWing is a well-known insurance provider created specifically for digital nomads and long-term travelers by digital nomads.
How good an insurance company is for you depends on your individual situation and personal experience. Review sites like Trustpilot can help you understand their support and claims experiences, but results vary by case and ratings change over time. What we can say is that we’ve heard positive feedback from fellow travelers and on Trustpilot, at the time of writing, SafetyWing is rated 4.2/5, with 74% of reviews at 5 stars. (last reviewed January 2026).
Since working with SafetyWing, they have iterated their products over time (for example removing their deductible), which shows their efforts to stay on top of digital nomads needs.
In this guide, we don’t rely on personal experiences though, we summarise the current policy wording into plain English so you can compare the published benefits, limits, and exclusions side by side.
SafetyWing Essential vs Complete comparison table: what’s covered (and what isn’t)
Coverage highlights (selected benefits + limits)
Essential
- Best described asTravel medical cover for unexpected illness/accidents
- Max coverage limit$250,000
- Where it works180+ countries
- Coverage in your home country✅ Limited home-country visits: up to 30 days per 90 days of coverage (15 days for US)
- Medical treatment & hospital stays✅ Covered up to the overall limit
- Medical evacuation✅ Up to $100,000
- Screenings & vaccines❌ Not included
- Mental health support❌ Not included
- Wellness therapies (acupuncture, massage, etc.)❌ Not included
- Sports & activities injuries✅ Covered up to overall limit (activity list is limited)
- Motor accidents❌ Only covered up to overall limit with Adventure add-on
- Maternity❌ Not included
- Cancer❌ Not included
- Pre-existing conditions❌ Not covered
- Lost checked luggage✅ $500 per item
- Trip interruption (ticket home)✅ Up to $5,000
- Travel delay✅ $100/day for up to 2 days
- Evacuation due to local unrest✅ Up to $10,000 (lifetime max)
- If you die while covered (transport / burial)✅ $20,000 for transport + $10,000 for local burial
- Delayed luggage❌ Not included
- Burglary❌ Not included
- Inaccessible / canceled accommodation❌ Not included
Complete
- Best described asUnexpected illness/accidents plus ongoing care for covered conditions that start after coverage begins
- Max coverage limit$1,500,000
- Where it works170+ countries
- Coverage in your home country✅ Home country included (terms apply)
- Medical treatment & hospital stays✅ Covered up to the overall limit
- Medical evacuation✅ Up to $100,000
- Screenings & vaccines✅ Up to $350
- Mental health support✅ Up to $5,000 outpatient limit (up to 10 sessions/year)
- Wellness therapies (acupuncture, massage, etc.)✅ Up to $5,000 outpatient limit (up to 15 sessions/year)
- Sports & activities injuries✅ Covered up to overall limit (all sports & activities included)
- Motor accidents✅ Covered up to overall limit (all motor vehicles included)
- Maternity✅ Up to $2,500
- Cancer✅ Covered up to the overall limit
- Pre-existing conditions❌ Not covered
- Lost checked luggage✅ $500 per item
- Trip interruption (ticket home)✅ Up to $5,000
- Travel delay✅ $60 for delays up to 3 hours or $150/night
- Evacuation due to local unrest✅ Up to $10,000 (lifetime max)
- If you die while covered (transport / burial)✅ $100,000 for transport
- Delayed luggage✅ $150 per item
- Burglary✅ $500 per item
- Inaccessible / canceled accommodation✅ $150/night (up to $300 per year)
| Coverage category |
Essential |
Complete |
| Best described as | Travel medical cover for unexpected illness/accidents | Unexpected illness/accidents plus ongoing care for covered conditions that start after coverage begins |
| Max coverage limit | $250,000 | $1,500,000 |
| Where it works | 180+ countries | 170+ countries |
| Coverage in your home country | ✅ Limited home-country visits: up to 30 days per 90 days of coverage (15 days for US) | ✅ Home country included (terms apply) |
| Medical treatment & hospital stays | ✅ Covered up to the overall limit | ✅ Covered up to the overall limit |
| Medical evacuation | ✅ Up to $100,000 | ✅ Up to $100,000 |
| Screenings & vaccines | ❌ Not included | ✅ Up to $350 |
| Mental health support | ❌ Not included | ✅ Up to $5,000 outpatient limit (up to 10 sessions/year) |
| Wellness therapies (acupuncture, massage, etc.) | ❌ Not included | ✅ Up to $5,000 outpatient limit (up to 15 sessions/year) |
| Sports & activities injuries | ✅ Covered up to overall limit (activity list is limited) | ✅ Covered up to overall limit (all sports & activities included) |
| Motor accidents | ❌ Only covered up to overall limit with Adventure add-on | ✅ Covered up to overall limit (all motor vehicles included) |
| Maternity | ❌ Not included | ✅ Up to $2,500 |
| Cancer | ❌ Not included | ✅ Covered up to the overall limit |
| Pre-existing conditions | ❌ Not covered | ❌ Not covered |
| Lost checked luggage | ✅ $500 per item | ✅ $500 per item |
| Trip interruption (ticket home) | ✅ Up to $5,000 | ✅ Up to $5,000 |
| Travel delay | ✅ $100/day for up to 2 days | ✅ $60 for delays up to 3 hours or $150/night |
| Evacuation due to local unrest | ✅ Up to $10,000 (lifetime max) | ✅ Up to $10,000 (lifetime max) |
| If you die while covered (transport / burial) | ✅ $20,000 for transport + $10,000 for local burial | ✅ $100,000 for transport |
| Delayed luggage | ❌ Not included | ✅ $150 per item |
| Burglary | ❌ Not included | ✅ $500 per item |
| Inaccessible / canceled accommodation | ❌ Not included | ✅ $150/night (up to $300 per year) |
⚠️ Important: This table is a simplified snapshot. Always use the policy wording and your certificate for conditions, definitions, exclusions, and sub-limits.
SafetyWing Essential vs Complete: what are the key differences?
🏥 Medical limit and “overall coverage limit”
This is the headline difference most people notice:
- Essential: $250,000 overall coverage limit
- Complete: $1,500,000 overall coverage limit
In plain terms: both plans cover medical treatment and hospitalisation, but Complete has a much higher cap.
🚑 Medical evacuation (getting you to a better-equipped hospital)
Both plans include evacuation with a limit of $100,000. One nuance from the Essential policy wording: the evacuation benefit can have a lower cap ($25,000) if the evacuation is related to a pre-existing illness or injury.
🧪 Routine care: screenings & vaccines
This is where the plans split:
- Essential: ❌ not included
- Complete: ✅ includes routine health checks including cancer screening + basic immunizations/boosters up to $350 (COVID-19 vaccines explicitly not included in the plan summary)
🗓️ Length of coverage and cancelling
Nomad Insurance Essential is set up in “active insurance periods” you can buy from 5 days up to 364 days.
Nomad Insurance Complete is set up around a policy-year structure (you’ll see “per policy year” limits throughout the health benefits), so it’s built more like ongoing coverage you keep in place rather than a short trip policy.
🌍 Coverage at home (home-country coverage)
Both plans can cover you while you’re at home, but they handle it differently:
- Essential: home coverage is time-limited. The plan summary says up to 30 days for every 90 days of coverage (or 15 days for the US).
- Complete: shown as fully covered on their websites plan comparison table (but in practice, it still depends on your residence/coverage area and the exact policy wordings).
🧠 Mental health care
- Essential: ❌ not included
- Complete: ✅ included under the outpatient coverage: up to $5,000 outpatient limit, with up to 10 mental health visits per policy year..
💆 Wellness therapies (acupuncture, massage, etc.)
- Essential: ❌ not included
- Complete: ✅ included in the outpatient coverage: plan summary lists up to $60 per visit, up to 15 visits per policy year (and it sits under the broader $5,000 outpatient limit).
🤰 Maternity
- Essential: ❌ not included
- Complete: ✅ listed as up to $2,500 with a 10-month waiting period for this benefit.
🎗️ Cancer
- Essential: ❌ not included
- Complete: ✅ covered up to the overall limit
🏄 Sports & activities + 🛵 motor accidents
Both plans include injuries from sports/activities and motor accidents, but the “how broad” differs:
- Sports & activities injuries
- Essential: ✅ up to the overall limit, but limited list of activities
- Complete: ✅ up to the overall limit, with a broader range of activities
- Motor accidents
- Essential: ✅ overall limit, but motorbike cover requires the Adventure add-on
- Complete: ✅ overall limit, all motor vehicles included
✈️ Travel benefits (where Complete adds the most)
Trip interruption (ticket home)
Both plans include trip interruption with a similar structure and a cap of $5,000 for ticket home,
Trip cancellation
This is a big difference:
- Essential: ❌ not included
- Complete: ✅ included: $300 per trip, up to $600 per year for covered reasons like illness/injury, death of close family, certain events at destination, mandated quarantine, stolen travel documents, etc.
Travel delay / delayed transportation
Both cover delays, but Complete pays earlier and can be more generous:
- Essential: ✅ $100 per day for 2 days, but the policy frames it as an unplanned overnight stay and requires specific triggers (for example, a long delay/cancellation with no replacement).
- Complete: ✅ $60 for a 3-8 hour delay, or $150/night after 8 hours (with per-trip and per-year caps)
Luggage
- Lost checked luggage: both show $500 per item
- Delayed luggage:
- Essential: ❌ not included
- Complete: ✅ $150 per item, up to $300 per year
Accommodation + burglary
- Essential: ❌ not included for these categories
- Complete: ✅ includes:
- Inaccessible/canceled accommodation: $150/night up to $300/year
- Burglary: $500 per item (with incident and lifetime caps + documentation requirements)
💰 Pricing and add-ons
SafetyWing pricing depends on your age, plan, and any add-ons. Here are two example quotes from the pricing calculator.
Essential (age 10-39 example)
- Base price: $56.28 (paid every 4 weeks, cancel anytime)
Available add-ons for Essential: US coverage (for non-residents only), Adventure sports, Electronics theft.
Complete (age 18-39 example)
- Base price: $161.50 (paid monthly; option to pay annually with 10% savings)
Available add-ons for Complete: Hong Kong, Singapore & US coverage, Dental coverage, Electronics theft.
General SafetyWing limitations (read this before you buy)
No insurance plan covers everything. These are the main limitations that matter most for both Essential and Complete:
- Pre-existing conditions: Both plans list pre-existing conditions as not covered.
- Documentation requirements: Many benefits only pay if you can prove the event (for example airline reports for luggage issues, medical documentation, police reports for theft/burglary, etc.).
- Benefit caps and sub-limits: The “overall coverage limit” is not the only number that matters. Many benefits have their own caps (per trip, per year, or lifetime).
- Home-country rules: Essential’s home-country cover is time-limited (as shown in the comparison table). Complete is shown as “fully covered,” but there are still factors that need to be taken into consideration.
- Policy wording can change: Always check the most current documents before purchasing.
Final thoughts
SafetyWing’s two plans can look similar at first, but their focus is different:
- Essential is travel medical insurance for unexpected illness/accidents, with a smaller set of travel benefits.
- Complete adds broader health-coverage categories (like screenings/vaccines, mental health, and maternity) plus extra travel protections (like trip cancellation and delayed luggage), with higher overall limits.
Before you buy, don’t rely on summaries alone. Check the relevant parts of the policy first:
Full policy links:
SafetyWing Essential Policy
SafetyWing Complete Policy
