Travel Resources for Adventurers
World Nomads vs SafetyWing: A Comparison
Written by Antonio Cala.
Table of Contents
Selecting the appropriate travel insurance is crucial for a stress-free trip, and World Nomads and SafetyWing are two notable contenders in the industry.
This article offers an in-depth comparison of their travel insurance policies, examining essential elements such as coverage options, pricing, customer support, and distinctive features.
Whether you’re a digital nomad, a backpacker, or an occasional traveler, gaining insight into the advantages and drawbacks of World Nomads and SafetyWing will enable you to make a well-informed choice, ensuring optimal protection for your travels.
If you would like to know more about insurance options for adventure travel, make sure to check out our Complete Guide to Adventure Travel Insurance.
World Nomads vs SafetyWing
World Nomads
World Nomads primarily serves budget travelers and backpackers with traditional travel insurance policies that are both affordable and comprehensive. Their plans include strong medical coverage, sufficient trip protection, and some equipment coverage, all within a single policy.
Moreover, their top-tier plan extends coverage to a variety of adventure activities, ensuring that adventure travelers remain well-protected throughout their journeys.
SafetyWing
SafetyWing caters to location-independent individuals, remote workers, and digital nomads in need of travel or health insurance while exploring abroad.
Also operating as a traditional travel insurance provider, SafetyWing offers medical coverage, trip interruption/cancellation, and baggage protection.
World Nomads in Detail
Nationalities: Most nationalities can purchase insurance from World Nomads, including residents of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Australia, or New Zealand. However, as of the current writing, most European residents are unable to buy a World Nomads policy.
Pre-existing conditions: Not covered.
Seniors Over 65: Travelers aged 70 and over are not covered.
Trip Duration: All plans cover trips up to 365 days.
Groups: Insurance policies for solo travelers, couples and families are available.
Reasons To Buy
The price is competitive.
Reasons To Avoid
Prices and coverage vary greatly by the country of residence.
Some European nationalities are not covered.
Pre-existing medical conditions not covered
Max age is 70 years old.
Emergency Accident & Sickness Medical Expense: Up to $100,000. Coverage is for medical expenses for emergency treatment of an accidental injury that occurs during the trip. Emergency treatment must be medically necessary and performed during the trip. Refer to the certificate / policy for complete details.
Emergency dental treatment: Up to $750. Coverage is for emergency dental treatment for accidental injury to sound, natural teeth. The injury and treatment must occur during the trip.
Emergency Evacuation: Up to $500,000. Coverage is for an accidental injury or sickness occurring during the trip that results in your necessary emergency evacuation. An emergency evacuation must be ordered by a physician who certifies that the severity of your accidental injury or sickness warrants your emergency evacuation. Refer to the certificate / policy for complete details.
Trip Cancellation: Up to $10,000. Reimburses for prepaid, non-refundable cancellation charges if you must cancel your trip (after the effective date) due to covered sickness, accidental injury, or death of you, a family member or traveling companion; inclement weather, unforeseen natural disaster at home or at your destination, strike or other covered reasons. Refer to the certificate / policy for complete details.
Trip Interruption: Up to $10,000. Reimburses for prepaid, non-refundable, unused expenses if you must interrupt your trip (after departure) due to a covered sickness, accidental injury, or death of you, a family member or traveling companion; inclement weather, unforeseen natural disaster at home or at your destination, strike, or other covered reasons. Refer to the certificate / policy for complete details.
Trip Delay: Up to $3,000. Coverage is for unused portion of pre-paid accommodation or additional expenses, on a one-time basis, if you are delayed en route to or from the trip for 6 or more hours due to a defined hazard as explained in the certificate / policy.
Baggage & Personal Effects: Up to $3,000. Reimbursement is for loss, theft or damage during the trip to baggage and personal effects (including sporting equipment) owned by you, provided you have taken all reasonable measures to protect, save and recover the property. Per article limit of $500.
Activities covered based on 4 groups. You pay more for higher group. The Explorer plan includes more activities than the Standard Plan. Extreme activities not covered (cave diving, free soloing, etc)
For those seeking budget-friendly travel insurance with solid medical coverage, the World Nomads Explorer Plan is an excellent choice.
It also offers the trip protection that SafetyWing doesn’t provide. It’s not huge, up to $10,000, but that’s normally enough unless you plan a high-end adventure trip.
SafetyWing in Detail
Nationalities: People from most countries are covered.
Pre-existing conditions: Not covered.
Seniors Over 65: People aged 70 or over are not covered.
Trip Duration: Short term and annual plans available.
Reasons To Buy
Most nationalities covered.
Specifically designed for digital nomads & remote workers traveling.
High medical coverage (up to $250k)
Reasons To Avoid
Pre-Existing Medical Conditions not accepted.
Seniors over 69 not covered.
Mixed reviews.
- $250,000 USD in emergency medical coverage
- $1,000 USD for emergency dental care
- $100,000 USD for medical evacuation ($25,000 USD if the cause of medical evacuation is acute onset of pre-existing condition)
- $10,000 USD for an evacuation due to political upheaval
- $5,000 USD for a trip interruption
- Up to $200 USD for a travel delay
- $12,500–25,000 USD for death or dismemberment
- $20,000 USD for repatriation of remains
SafetyWing offers highly competitive packages for digital nomads and long-term travelers, providing high medical expense coverage to individuals from most countries.
However, despite the policies seeming attractive on paper, the company receives mixed reviews online. Many of these issues arise from individuals not thoroughly reading the policy terms, while others criticize the company’s customer service.
If you believe a SafetyWing insurance plan suits your needs, proceed with caution and ensure you carefully read the fine print before making a purchase. While many people are satisfied with their service, it’s crucial to understand exactly what is and isn’t covered.
Comparing Coverage Details
Company |
Plan |
Medical Expenses |
Emmergency Evacuation |
Trip Cancellation |
Trip Delays |
Equipment Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Explorer |
$100,000 |
$500,000 |
$10,000 |
$3,000 |
$3,000 |
 |
Nomad Insurance |
$250,000 |
$100,000 |
None |
$5,000 |
$3,000 |
Pricing
Before we go into pricing, there’s an important point to make. SafetyWing doesn’t provide any coverage for trip cancellations, which makes their policies very cheap.
Overall, World Nomads, even though they cater to budget travelers, costs a bit more than SafetyWing because they do include $10,000 of coverage against possible trip cancellations.
What's Covered & Who's Eligible
Company |
Nationalities Covered |
Preexisting Conditions |
Coverage for Seniors Over 65 |
Destinations Covered |
Adventure Activities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Many not covered |
No |
Yes, up to 70 |
Some not covered |
Some not covered |
|
|
Most of them |
No |
Yes, up to 69 |
Some not covered |
Yes, with Add-on |
User Reviews and Testimonials
In general, World Nomads receives better online reviews than SafetyWing. But as all insurance companies, both receive bad reviews as well.
World Nomads Online Reviews
SafetyWing Online Reviews
Conclusion
If you an on a budget, are planning a set trip (with start and end) and want protection in case your trip gets cancelled, the Explorer Plan from World Nomads is your best choice.
It provides a pretty decent medical coverage (up to $100k) and the policies are some of the most affordable in the market. The trip cancellation coverage is only $10,000 and preexisting conditions are not covered, so keep those in mind if you decide to go ahead with them.
If you are planning to travel long term, don’t have a define finish date or are a digital nomad traveling abroad, SafetyWing might be a better fit for you. It includes a high medical coverage, trip interruption/cancelation and baggage cover.
Other Travel Insurance Reviews
If you would like to read more about other insurance companies for adventure travelers, you can check out our other reviews below:
- Allianz
- Dive Assure
- Divers Network Alert
- Global Rescue
- Faye
- Medjet
- Ripcord
- SafetyWing
- Travel Guard
- Travelex
- World Nomads
If you would like to read more about insurance options for other type of adventure trips, you can check out our other reviews below:
- Skiing & Snowboarding
- Hiking Trips
- Mountaineering & High Altitude Trekking
- Mountain Biking, Bike-touring & Bike-packing
- Rock Climbing, Ice Climbing & Bouldering
- Kayaking, White Water Rafting & Paddle Boarding
- Fishing & Spearfishing
- Diving Liveaboards & Freediving
- Sailing, Kite Surfing & Surfing
- Adventure Cruises
- Adventure Motorcycling
Other Reviews Online
If you want to read what other people have to say about the differences between World Nomads and SafetyWing, here are some articles that I thought were interesting.
World Nomads Reviewed: Who’s It For?—Plus Ideal Alternatives – by alittleadrift.com
SafetyWing Nomad Insurance: My Honest Review – by CZ Phones Home
About the Author
Antonio was born and raised in Southern Spain, and quit his job in 2013 to travel the world full-time with his wife Amanda for 10 years straight. Their passion for adventure took them to visit 150+ countries.
They cycled 25,000km + from California to Patagonia, sailed over 10,000NM around the Caribbean & Sea of Cortez, rode their motorbikes 30,000 kms+ across West Africa (Spain to South Africa) and visited Antarctica, among many other adventure expeditions. Today, they’re still traveling, currently around the USA with an RV.
Traveling to so many places, remote destinations and by different means taught them a lot about travel insurance, which policies to hold depending on the area and the type of adventure they were doing. Antonio now publishes regular content to help other travelers choose the best travel insurance for adventure trips.
Together, they also run the travel community Summit, the RV site Hitched Up, the boutique accommodation blog Unique Places and the popular newsletter Adventure Fix, where they share their knowledge about the places they’ve visited and the ones still remaining on their list.
Antonio Cala
Co-Founder of Adventure Fix