SafetyWing vs World Nomads: The Best Travel Insurance 2023 -

SafetyWing vs World Nomads – Everyone loves to travel, and travel insurance puts our minds at ease when doing so. Digital nomads, or people who live and work in a number of locations, are a group who are often faced with the harsh realities of insurance.

It can be expensive, but sometimes you aren’t even sure of what you are getting out of it. The world we live in is turbulent, and nothing can ever be foreseen.

Recently, world events have made many people realize that insurance can be extremely important in everyday life, especially if you are a digital nomad.

This should cover medical insurance, too, as anything could happen at any time.

With that being said, this post is going to compare the renowned Safetywing and World Nomads. Since there is a lot to cover, let’s get into it and see which company would be the best fit for you.

This Article Will Be Helpful if You

Are frequently in different locations – digital nomads will need this insurance if they move around a lot. You need to protect yourselves and your belongings.
Traveling to at least one foreign country for a minimum of 30 days – these insurance companies will be useful to you if you spend time in foreign countries for an extended period of time.
Like to enjoy “adventure sports” such as off-roading, climbing, or scuba diving – if you are an adventurous traveler and may experience injury while aboard, this insurance will be very helpful to you. This also includes using motorbikes, and individuals on motorbikes are more likely to be injured on the road.
May live semi off-grid for periods of time and are far from doctors or hospitals – if you live away from capable doctors or hospitals, insurance is incredibly important.
Have electronics that are very fragile, important, prone to theft, or expensive – insurance will cover the cost of your electronics if something were to happen to them.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links and I may earn a commission if you click on them, at no additional cost to you. Hope you find the information here useful! Thanks.

Related Posts on Travel Insurance:

Since many travel insurance companies need in-depth information and full travel itineraries, they are usually not a good choice for digital nomads.

As a digital nomad, it is unlikely that you will have detailed plans to give since you probably will not know it yourself.

Because of this, SafetyWing vs World Nomads are the top picks. Both of these companies allow travellers to make changes to their policies while on the road.

They are flexible and allow changes, updates, and renewals easily, making them the perfect fit for digital nomads.

A Few Things To Know About Travel Insurance

Before embarking on your new journey and boarding that plane, you will need to pick a travel insurance that fits you and your needs.

As mentioned above, SafetyWing vs World Nomads travel insurance are flexible and can fit the life of a digital nomad well.

However, before randomly selecting one, you need to know everything there is to know about it, including what they offer, and what they do not.

It’s always a good idea to plan ahead and take preventative measures. When travelling with large sums of money and important documents (i.e Passport), protect your belongings by using a Money Belt Travel Pouch.

Asking Questions – Know What You Are Covered For

Asking questions is one of the most important things to do when deciding on travel insurance. There is a good chance that there will be a couple of things that the company does not let you know outright.

Before you do call up to find out more, you should read reviews from previous customers, especially the negative ones.

No company will only have good reviews, so it is important to know where the insurance may fall short and ask questions about it.

To make sure that you know exactly what you are getting into, it’s crucial to ask questions such as:

Laptop insurance – what is the “book value” of the laptop model your company has?
Activities – which activities are covered with this insurance? For example, scuba diving, hiking, rock climbing, motorbiking. You need to know which “adventure activities” the insurance covers.
Deductible on health-related claims – find out the claims you can make for extraction (ambulance rides), treatments of injuries (minor injuries like scrapes and cuts), and emergency dental work or surgeries. Some insurance does not include these things.
Deductible on the gear – find out that the deductible is on the gear you may need.
Lost or stolen baggage claim requirements – do you need to have seen the crime take place, and do you need to prove it? Learn about the process and what the grounds are for not being covered if your luggage is lost or stolen.
Do you need to be in your home country for anything – sometimes, in order to get compensation, you need to physically be in your home country. This might be to get a document of non-repairability for something that has happened that you would like your insurance to cover. There may be a time limit you are bound by, so you will need to know how much time you will have before you must return home to produce it for the company to get compensated.
How long will it take for a claim to be reimbursed – you should know how many business days it should take for you to be reimbursed on claims. You may have to pay upfront or out of pocket and be reimbursed later, so you should always know how long that may take.
**Obamacare as a US Citizen – if you are a citizen of the US, it is important to inquire how the policy the insurance company has relates to the Affordable Care Act.

It is important to remember that insurance companies are not your friends, and in the end, it is a business. You need to know what to ask and how to ask it.

By asking all the right questions, you can ensure that you are making the right choice and will know what to expect.

Like lawyers, insurance companies will use evidence against you, including what you say. Do not give them the benefit of the doubt, because you will be the one to fall short.

Know all the technicalities and learn how to use situations to your advantage so that they do not take advantage of you.

Even social media posts can play a role in claims, and these companies will view your posts to make sure that the claim is in your coverage (or not).

If you are being asked about something, it is crucial to only answer the question they are asking, and not give away too much and tell the story of your life.

Giving away too much information can have a negative impact on your claim, so make sure you are attentive and only tell them what they need to know.

Insurance Terms You Should Know

Before we can accurately compare SafetyWing vs World Nomads, there are some things you need to know and understand.

We will go through three crucial phrases below and take a look at what they mean.

These are all pivotal in insurance companies, and if you do not understand what they mean to you, your insurance, and your claims, you will be on the losing side.

Travel Insurance

This covers when something goes wrong on your travels. These things can include stolen, lost, or damaged luggage, flight cancellations, and interruptions to your trip and travel.

Some companies will cover the cost of your nomad working gear for things like freak accidents, for example someone stealing your laptop, or your equipment breaking in an accident.

Additionally, some airline booking sites and credit card companies are able to give you additional world travel insurance to complement policies by companies like World Nomads or SafetyWing.

When it comes to travel insurance, SafetyWing does lack some coverage compared to its competitor.

However, this can result in a lot of money being saved, so it could be seen as a positive for some people.

Often, the travel insurance coverage that it provided by your credit card company or airline booking site will be enough to compliment the insurance offered by SafetyWing.

This means that you will get about the same amount of coverage for a cheaper price.

Keep your belongings safe by placing a Travel Combination Cable Lock on your bag and rucksack to prevent unwanted access.

Health Insurance

Health insurance is, without a doubt, important. This is especially the case if you plan on taking part in activities where you could easily injure yourself.

Even if you don’t however, it is crucial for digital nomads. When you are not in your home country, you cannot be covered by pre-existing health insurance offered by the government healthcare, since you are not in the country.

Although both SafetyWing vs World Nomads offer some kind of health insurance, they need to be looked into.

You will need health insurance if you are to cover things such as extractions (ambulance rides or medical helicopters, and any kind of medical treatment you may need, including dental work, treatment for illnesses, and surgeries.

It is easy to think that you will never need these things, but you would be wrong. You could fall ill at any time, or injure yourself in a freak accident.

No one is immune to life, and it is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to medical insurance.

Insurance Deductible

Finally, the insurance deductible is a crucial part of insurance as a whole. This refers to the amount of money you will pay for services or losses before the insurance provider you are with picks up the tab.

An example of this would be if you need to pay a $500 deductible, you will pay the first $500 of covered losses or services yourself, and after that, the insurance company would come in.

Once you pay your deductible, the coverage you have will typically be a book value, coinsurance, or co-payment of whatever you had to pay for.

The Comparison – SafetyWing vs World Nomads

Of all travel insurance companies, most people will claim that these two are the best for digital nomads.

These two companies are frequently endorsed by digital nomads because of their amazing coverage and flexibility.

Not only that, but they are both available to people from all over the world, and hundreds of countries.

In many cases, there is unlikely to be a travel insurance company to beat them, and their cost and coverage are astounding.

The competitive rates SafetyWing and World Nomads offer leave little to be desired.

What makes both of these companies so good, you ask? Let’s break it down below:

Competitive pricing – the pricing for both the companies is very competitive. However, they also offer competitive coverage and flexibility because they are completely online. This means that they can save more money die to low overhead costs, so more money goes to you.
Easy sign-up processes – the registration process is online, affordable, flexible, and fast.
Start it at home or abroad – you can sign up for either of these insurance companies even if you are already abroad and on your trip.
No maximum coverage term – your insurance won’t run out while abroad. You can simply renew your policy for however long you are going to be away from home.
You don’t have to be at home to sign up – although you need to have a home address in your home country, you don’t have to actually physically be there in order to sign up.

SafetyWing Versus World Nomads – Pricing

SafetyWing – starts at $37+/4 weeks
World Nomads – starts at $100+/month

SafetyWing is a fraction of the price of World Nomads but covers different things.

As mentioned previously, the insurance offered by your credit card company can be retained and used to fill any holes missing in the coverage offered by SafetyWing.

This company offers both travel insurance and health insurance, and although it is a relatively new company, it has proven itself as being one of the favourites on the market.

Although World Nomads’ price is almost triple that of SafetyWing, they do offer greater coverage.

Because of this, at $100+/month, you will probably get all the insurance you could possibly need for your time away.

This company has a comprehensive list of offers, which results in some pretty incredible coverage for both international health insurance and laptop travel insurance.

World Nomads is at the top spot for travel insurance and has been endorsed by high profile publications such as Lonely Planet.

Pepper Spray Keychain – Stealthy, Quick Release and Easy Access to aid during unfavourable situations

SafetyWing Versus World Nomads – Travel Insurance

SafetyWing vs World Nomads - Travel Insurance

SafetyWing – average Trustpilot insurance travel review = 4.3 out of 5 stars
World Nomads – average Trustpilot insurance travel review = 3.6 out of 5 stars

SafetyWing’s Travel Insurance Includes

Travel delays (but not missed flights)
Worldwide coverage (except in Cuba, North Korea, and Iran)
Lost checked luggage
Health coverage for any unexpected illnesses and injuries (including prescriptions, medical evaluations, hospital stays, extractions, and doctors)
Does not cover pre-existing conditions, routine checkups, cancer treatment, or preventative care
30 days for every 90 days of medical coverage within your home country (except if you are a US citizen – then you get 15 days of coverage for every 90 days)

World Nomads’ Travel Insurance Includes

World Nomads have two different tiers of insurance to choose from. These include the “Standard” and the “Explorer”. The Explorer insurance policy is far more comprehensive and offers s number of extra things.

Travel delays (including flight cancellations and delays, and missed flights)
Worldwide coverage (except Cuba, Iran, and North Korea)
Lost checked baggage (including expensive electronics such as laptops, GoPro, cameras etc.). If you use the Explorer plan, each item can be covered for up to $2,000
US citizens in the United States
Health insurance for any unexpected illnesses and injuries acquired during “adventure sports” or “sports” in the Explorer policy. Additionally, any dental emergencies, extractions, medical evaluations, prescriptions, and doctor visits
Does not cover pre-existing conditions that are there 6 months before the coverage, as well as preventative care, cancer treatment, and routine checkups

NOTE: Before picking an insurance company, it is always best to confirm the details, as they are subject to change at any point.

At the time of writing this article, COVID-19 coverage is offered by both SafetyWing and World Nomads. However, this can change.

Paying For Quarantine

SafetyWing may be the first travel insurance company to help cover the cost of mandatory quarantine.

If you are with SafetyWing and have been told to quarantine by a physician or the government, this company will help to try and lighten the load.

Although the coverage may not be enough for some places in the world, it is more than what other insurance companies offer.

To be eligible for this, here’s everything you need to know:

To quarantine coverage, you muse have been with SafetyWing for at least 28 days
You can get coverage once in a 364-day period, with coverage of $50/day for 10 days
You need to be outside your home country to qualify
NOT COVERED – planned hotel quarantine
The quarantine must be mandated by the government or a physician after you have tested positive for COVID-19 or are waiting for your test results to come back

Use a slash-proof high tensile stainless steel cage to encase your valuable belongings

Final Thoughts

That’s about everything you need to know in order to decide on which travel insurance company suits you. There are some key differences between SafetyWing vs World Nomads, but both are excellent and offer some amazing coverage.

Depending on your needs, it is up to you to pick the right one.

It is important to remember that some things can be covered by other insurance (like your credit card), so it might not always be worth paying a lot of money if you don’t actually need it.

It’s worth mentioning that in any case of traveling, it is important to have emergency money.

Even if you are with an insurance company that can cover the cost, you will still need to pay the insurance deductible costs, or anything else you might need.

You need to have the money so that you can afford to move past whatever hiccup you experience, no matter what it is.

Having a chunk of money put aside is crucial, even if you are paying for the insurance with the highest coverage.

As long as you have some money tucked away, and are covered, you will be okay.

Both SafetyWing vs World Nomads have features that set them apart and features they could improve on, and there is no real best at the end of the day.

The best insurance company will be the one that caters to your needs and preferences.

SafetyWing vs World Nomads: The Best Travel Insurance 2023

This Article Will Be Helpful if You

A Few Things To Know About Travel Insurance