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If you’ve landed on this page then you’re a smart traveller who understands the importance of having travel insurance.
But, like me, you probably hate the painful cost that often comes with it.
And thus, SafetyWing has sparked some curiosity because their prices are hard to beat, but you’re wondering what the catch is.
As a full-time digital nomad who made the switch to SafetyWing in October 2022 – and subsequently began to save 80% on my travel insurance costs – I’m going to give you my honest feedback on what’s great, what’s not, clear up any confusions and help you decide whether it’s the right choice for you.
If you’re super tight on time, ultimately the answer is yes (hence why I’ve been with them so long) and you can book below, but if you want all the nitty gritty stuff, then keep reading for the full SafetyWing review.
🚑 Book your insurance: SafetyWing
What is SafetyWing and are they just for digital nomads?
SafetyWing is a travel medical insurance company that launched in 2018. It was built by digital nomads who clearly saw that there was a gap in the market when it came to affordable travel medical insurance – particularly for long-term travellers like myself.
That being said – and this is something I’ve never quite fully understood – is that whilst their entire marketing states that their insurance is ‘for digital nomads’ you DO NOT need to be a digital nomad to purchase their insurance.
Whether you’re a digital nomad or you’re just looking for budget-friendly travel insurance, SafetyWing is an excellent choice.
However, the product you choose will differ, so let’s cover those now.
SafetyWing Products Explained
The two products that SafetyWing offers that you’ll most likely be interested in are Nomad Insurance and Nomad Heath so those are the two I’ll mention in this Safetywing review.
Product 1: Nomad Insurance
Nomad Insurance is just like your typical travel medical insurance cover you take out when you’re travelling outside of your home country that usually covers you for things like travel delays, lost luggage and medical emergencies etc (more detail on the specifics later on).
This seems to be their most popular product and the one I have on the rolling monthly subscription plan.
Product 2: Nomad Health
Nomad Health is a fully-equipped global health insurance and unlike the the Nomad Insurance product, covers you for things like dental check-ups, doctors visits, eye-tests and more.
This is over double the monthly cost of Nomad Insurance and you need to commit to a 12-month contract, but it may be more suitable if you’re from a country like the US where you need to pay for medical insurance each month anyway.
🚑 Book your insurance: SafetyWing
Nomad Insurance: Whats covered?
Since the majority of people are likely interested in the Nomad Insurance product and it’s the one I personally use, I’m going to outline what’s covered for this in my review of SafetyWing.
- Medical Emergency: up to $250,000 USD
- Motor Accidents: up to $250,000 USD
- Continued Coverage Back Home: up to $250,000 USD
- Emergency Dental Care: up to $1,000 USD
- Emergency Medical Evacuation: up to $100,000 USD
- Repatriation Of Remains: up to $20,000 USD
- Local Burial: up to $10,000 USD
- Lost Luggage: up to $3,000 USD / $500 USD per item
- Emergency Flights Home: up to $5,000 USD
- Travel Delay Coverage: up to $100 per day; max 2 days
SafetyWing have also made some updates to their policy and you can also add on:
- Adventure Sports: up to $100,000 USD
- Theft Coverage For Electronics: Up to $3,000 per active insurance period, up to $1,000 per electronic. Up to $6,000 in your lifetime
- USA Coverage (for non-US citizens)
I personally think this was a great move because this is where the ‘catch’ was previously for me; the price was cheap but not being covered for things like quad biking or my laptop felt risky and I’d often take out additional coverage on days I’d be doing adventure sports.
🚑 Book your insurance: SafetyWing
Nomad Insurance: Whats not covered?
The list of what’s not covered is pretty extensive but it’s nothing you’d be surprised about. The main call outs are no coverage for:
- Pre-existing medical conditions
- High-risk or professional sport activity (unless the add-on is purchased – but check specific sports)
- Cancer treatment
- Lost or stolen personal belongings (unless the add-on is purchased)
- trips that were cancelled before you left
You get this jist, but always check the full list of inclusions and exclusions before you purchase.
Pros and cons of SafetyWing Insurance
Just like anything, there are pros and cons and SafetyWing is no different, but I’m pretty sure you’ll agree that the pros far outweigh the cons.
Pros
- Super affordable – in fact I’m yet to find a better price
- $0 deductible – meaning you’re covered for even the smallest claims
- They offer a subscription model
- You can buy the insurance whilst you’re abroad
- Easy online claims process
- Once you’ve been abroad for 90 days, you get up to 30 days coverage when you’re home
- Covers COVID-19
- 1 child under 10 per adult (max 2 per family) gets free coverage
- 24/7 online assistance
- Simple claims form that takes as little as 5 minutes
- The average claims process takes 2.7 days
Cons
- Maximum age is 69
- You need to pay to cover additional things (adventure sport, electronics, USA coverage)
Honestly, I feel like I’m scratching around trying to find some more cons. But, since SafetyWing have launched their new and improved Nomad Insurance policy to include add-ons, a $0 deductible (it used to be $250), a super fast claims form and process, I feel like they’ve fixed the ‘catch’ element that really make them unbeatable in my opinion.
Safetywing Review Conclusion
Overall, it doesn’t take much to see from search results that SafetyWing are pretty good – with thousands of reviews and scoring over 4 stars out of 5 on average on the big review platforms.
Sure you’ll see some customers complaining about various things like the long claims process, but when the average is 2.7 days for the majority of customers and the price is one of the best on the market with pretty great coverage, I think that SafetyWing is smashing it, to be honest.
Whether you’re travelling to my current home country – Peru – or you prefer island life in Bali or Crete, it’s 100% necessary to get travel insurance and hopefully this Safetywing review has helped you with your decision.
🚑 Book your insurance: SafetyWing
Millie / Stay Wild Travels.