Which is the Best Travel Insurance: SafetyWing, World Nomads, or Genki?

One travel insurance company is far and away the clear winner. One of the others is a total dud.

Jun 04, 2023

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Update: See my most recent healthcare article here!

This article has also been updated.

If you travel, you probably need travel insurance — especially for health care, which can be expensive even in “affordable” countries. Emergency evacuation alone can easily cost hundreds of thousands of dollars (USD).

To my mind, it’s not worth risking bankruptcy just to see the world.

There are at least three major companies that offer health care policies specifically designed for long-term travelers — expats or nomads like Michael and me: Genki, SafetyWing, and World Nomads.

Michael and I have used all three companies, and I’ve also spent a fair amount of time researching them. I’ve come to the conclusion that one company offers far and away the best travel insurance product; one offers coverage that is merely decent (but has some other non-medical coverages); and the third has a product that is borderline terrible.

Michael and Brent — *Michael and me, shining the light on travel insurance scams.*

But before I reveal my conclusions, here are some thoughts on health insurance and travel insurance in general.

First, many people don’t know that most travel insurance companies require that you purchase their policies before you leave home. These companies are also likely to ask exactly where you’re going and when you’re returning.

This is a problem for nomads and expats, who are away for long periods of time and who don’t necessarily know where we’re traveling next month, much less six months from now.

Genki, SafetyWing, and World Nomads, unlike most companies, allow you to purchase insurance after you’ve left home, from almost anywhere in the world.

Here’s another fun fact most people don’t know: most travel insurance is instantly void if you return to within a hundred miles of your home address — and there’s no refund, thank you very much.

This is another problem for nomads, who frequently make brief, unexpected trips home.

Two of the three above-mentioned companies don’t follow this practice. But one does.

What about the travel insurance that comes with your credit card? The fact is, some “travel” credit cards offer reasonably good coverage. But keep in mind that being insured through a credit card requires that your trip be purchased with the credit card. If you’re living somewhere for two months, will the credit card pay for medical care based on the fact that you happened to fly there two months before, with no return ticket?

Another issue: how is travel health insurance different from “regular” health insurance?

It’s much cheaper, for one thing.

But that means travel insurance is also limited. Travel insurance only covers health care that is “medically necessary” — typically just emergency health care. They will cover treatment for covid, for example, but they generally won’t cover testing or the cost of a quarantine, as the latter two are not medically necessary.

Travel insurance is also always time-limited. Problem is, if you get a major malady toward the end of your travel policy’s “term,” continuing coverage will almost certainly be denied — and you now have a major “pre-existing condition,” making it essentially impossible to get your illness covered by any other company.

This sounds like a small deal, but it’s not. After all, the whole point of insurance is to cover extreme, extraordinary mishaps that you couldn’t pay for on your own.

In short, travel insurance usually acts as a time-limited supplement to your traditional coverage, which is most likely in your home country.

In America, thanks to Obamacare, you cannot now be denied insurance or coverage due to a pre-existing condition. But to apply, you may have to wait until the annual enrollment period, which is in November. (Merely returning to your home state after a long time away is almost certainly not a “qualifying event” that waives the enrollment restrictions. But if you move to a new state, or switch jobs, that might be.)

It’s also possible to get a single, comprehensive “international” policy that isn’t term-limited. This is called international health insurance, and it covers you indefinitely, usually in multiple countries, as long as you continue to pay the premiums. It also covers more than just “medically necessary” health care.

Both Genki and SafetyWing — but not World Nomads — also offer “full” international health insurance. Genki calls this their “Genki Native” plan, and SafetyWing calls it “Nomad Insurance Complete.”

But this article is about travel insurance from Genki, Safety Wing, and World Nomads — specifically, which company is the best on that particular front.

So let’s get to it, shall we?

Full disclosure: I’m not an expert — I’m just a nomad who has researched this subject a lot. Please don’t let me be your last word and be sure to do your own research. Also, terms and conditions are constantly changing.

That said, here are my findings:

GENKI EXPLORER TRAVEL INSURANCE

Genki is the newest of these three options for travel insurance. Their travel insurance only used to be available to folks up to age 49, but as of June 1st, 2023, they now offer their product to people up to the age of 69.

What I Like:

Genki’s travel insurance is the least expensive of the three companies I’m examining here. With Genki’s standard $53.45 USD deductible, a 29-year-old pays $50.70/month USD, a 44-year-old pays $75.90/month USD, and a 62-year-old pays $176.30/month USD. It works like a subscription, you pay once a month, and you can cancel at any time. And for a slightly higher fee, you can have a $0 deductible.
There are no limits or maximum pay-outs on medical coverage or medical evacuation — which is extremely generous compared to the other two companies. If sick or injured, Genki will also transport you back to your home country if that’s what you choose — like World Nomads, but unlike SafetyWing, which will only pay to take you as far as the nearest appropriate medical facility.
There are fewer restrictions on what’s covered than the other two companies. Genki’s travel insurance includes fairly generous pregnancy coverage (assuming it isn’t a pre-existing condition), some emergency dental ($534 USD max), and even some emergency psychiatric care ($21,367 USD max).
You are covered everywhere in the world, even your home country (provided you leave your country at least once first). In the U.S. and Canada, your coverage is limited to six weeks per 180 days and only includes accidents and life-threatening emergencies — but this is still more generous than either SafetyWing or World Nomads. (In the U.S. and Canada, there is a $267 USD deductible.) It’s possible to get this U.S./Canada emergency coverage for more than just six weeks, but it will more than double your price.
Genki defines “pre-existing condition” as anything that you have had treated in the six months prior to signing up — which is a much more liberal definition than either SafetyWing or World Nomads, which both exclude any previous medical condition throughout your entire life.
They include an option of their paying the doctor or hospital directly, which means you don’t have to pay yourself and file paperwork to get reimbursed. Also, reimbursements are fast, usually within weeks.
Genki offers coverage of up to two years (and is then renewable), which is much longer than SafetyWing (which offers one-year renewable terms) or World Nomads (which offers six-month renewable terms).
Genki is new, but they’re partnering with long-established insurance companies, Allianz Partners and DR-WALTER. They’re also regulated in the EU, which has strong consumer protections.

What’s the catch?

Genki is just health care insurance. Unlike SafetyWing and World Nomads, it does not include coverage for trip interruption or cancellation, flight delays, lost luggage, loss due to theft or burglary, or personal liabilities. If you want these protections, you need to get them elsewhere — although your travel credit card may offer some of them.
If you sign up from abroad, your coverage is limited to only true emergencies for the first 14 days.
Genki, like all travel insurance, excludes some high-risk sports.
Unlike SafetyWing, the $53.45 USD deductible is per claim, not per term.

SAFETYWING NOMAD TRAVEL INSURANCE

What I Like:

They’re established, offering nomad insurance since 2018.
They have no deductible (but also no option of a deductible), and a 29-year-old American pays $60.97/month USD, a 44-year-old pays $100.10/month USD, and a 62-year-old pays $213.24/month USD. It can be paid as a monthly subscription, or in a flat sum for a set period of time.
They do offer coverage for trip interruption or delay (but not cancellation), lost luggage, theft, and some personal liability, and they too offer some emergency dental coverage ($1000 USD), but no emergency psychiatric care at all.
SafetyWing’s maximum medical pay-out tops out at $250,000, which is fairly decent — better than World Nomads ($100,000), but not as good as Genki (no limits). However, for clients over age 65-69, they have a maximum pay-out of only $100,000.
If you are travelling with children, one child less than ten years old is covered for free, per adult sign-up. But there is a maximum of two “free” children per group or family, and you have to add them as group members to your policy when you sign up.
You’re covered everywhere in the world outside of your home country (see below), but not in countries that are subject to U.S. or EU sanctions. This is better than World Nomads (which has a complicated system), but worse than Genki (which has no exclusions whatsoever).
Regarding coverage in your home country, after three months of coverage, SafetyWing will cover you for 30 days at home (only 15 days in the U.S. or Canada, and only for true accidents and emergencies, and in the U.S., there is a $100 per-claim deductible). As with Genki, longer-term emergency coverage in the U.S. and Canada is possible, but, again, this will dramatically raise the price.

What’s the Catch?

Unlike Genki, except in dire emergencies, SafetyWing does not pay the hospital directly. Instead, you pay out-of-pocket, and then the company reimburses you. But they also refuse to say beforehand exactly what specific treatments are and aren’t covered. You’re entirely at their mercy, and I have personally found this lack of openness to be absolutely infuriating.
They bill you every 28 days, not per month, which means you get billed 13 times a year, not 12. Comparison shop accordingly.
Unlike Genki, they specifically exclude cancer. And their only pregnancy coverage, which stops at 26 weeks, is for “complications.”
Their emergency evacuation and medical evacuation coverage is very poor, almost a deal-breaker. They’re maximum payment here tops out at a modest $100,000. Even worse, they’ll only promise to transport you to the nearest appropriate medical facility, not necessarily to your home country. They may pay for transportation home, but only if a doctor deems it “medically necessary.”
They do not insure people over the age of 69.
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WORLD NOMADS TRAVEL INSURANCE

What I Like:

They’re very established, underwritten by Nationwide, and offering insurance since 2003.
World Nomads has no deductible for Americans.
They offer two different levels of coverage: Standard and Explorer, but the second is only somewhat more robust. Both cover minor dental emergencies ($750 USD), but only “complications” from pregnancy, and (like SafetyWing but unlike Genki) nothing for psychiatric emergencies.
They have very good medical evacuation and transportation coverage — up to $300,000 with their Standard plan and $500,000 with Explorer. Like Genki (but unlike SafetyWing), they also specifically agree to take you back to your home country if that’s what you choose.
Like SafetyWing, you’ll generally be paying for care yourself and filing a claim for reimbursement, but unlike SafetyWing, they’ll at least give you a pre-approval for specific treatments.
Their plans also include coverage for trip interruption and cancellation, travel delay, lost luggage, theft, and some personal liability — less generous than SafetyWing for the Standard option, more generous for the Explorer one.
Their Explorer option covers some extreme sports.

What’s the Catch?

Prices range from $128 USD/month to an astounding $414 USD/month, but it’s difficult to cite specific premiums, because your rate depends on your age, your home country, and the countries you’re traveling to (once you declare a country, you’re supposedly also covered in countries “in the same region,” but this terminology makes me nervous). You can also opt for “worldwide” coverage, but it’s their most expensive option. In general, World Nomads seems more expensive than both Genki and SafetyWing with much less flexibility — the highest price for the least value.
Neither of their coverage levels includes any basic U.S. coverage, although you can include that as one of the countries where you’ll be traveling — although, yes, it will be very expensive.
In fact, to purchase World Nomads, you must declare your “home” country and assert that you have primary coverage back there. If you don’t have that coverage, do they honor your policy? Good question.
Unlike Genki or SafetyWing, World Nomads is a company that will void your policy if you return to within 100 miles of your home for any amount of time. I find this an outrageous deal-breaker in a policy marketed specifically to nomads.
World Nomads does not have a subscription model. The only option is to pay in advance for the entire period of time you want covered.
Their maximum medical pay-out is a stingy $100,000 even for their more expensive Explorer plan.
They don’t insure people over the age of 65.

The Bottom Line

So which company’s travel insurance is the best: Genki, SafetyWing, or World Nomads?

Let’s recap and compare their various features:

Comparison chart — *Update: Prices have risen since this chart was made.*

My verdict?

It’s probably no surprise that of these three companies, I think Genki is far and away the best travel insurance for nomads or expats. I think they’re a truly remarkable value, and Michael and I have recently switched to become customers.

For more information on Genki, go here.

In second place, I’d place SafetyWing. They have serious flaws and limitations, but if you’re a parent looking to cover a small child, and/or if you’re also looking for coverage for trip interruption, lost luggage, travel delay, or personal liability, they might be worth considering. But keep in mind that most of the time when you need some of these specific coverages, you may already have them through your travel credit card.

For more information on SafetyWing, go here.

I think World Nomads is the worst of the bunch, a very poor overall product and almost an outright scam — but to do your due diligence, definitely go here.

Thoughts? Experiences? Counter-opinions? Please leave them below.

Update: See my most recent healthcare article here!

Brent and Michael Are Going Places

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