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I’ve had SafetyWing’s Nomad Insurance Complete for almost a year now, and I wanted to sit down and figure out if it was actually worth it. I’d been on Nomad Insurance Essential for years, so upgrading was a big jump in cost, and I went back and forth on it for a while before I finally did it.
For a long time, I treated travel insurance as something I paid for and hoped I’d never use. Essential did that job well, and I never had a reason to complain about it. But as the years went on and I started taking my health more seriously, I wanted something that would cover me for more than just emergencies. Plus, I was already spending my own money on massages, therapy and doctor visits.
So I made the switch, and tracked everything I claimed to see if it paid off.
What Nomad Insurance Complete covers
Nomad Insurance Essential is travel medical insurance, which means it’s there for emergencies, accidents and things going wrong on the road. Nomad Insurance Complete is closer to full health insurance, that you can use almost anywhere in the world. You still get the emergency coverage, but it also pays for the everyday stuff like check-ups, therapy, massages and physio, which is where most of my health spending was going anyway.
Here’s some of what the plan includes, based on SafetyWing’s current plan details:
- Up to $1,500,000 in medical coverage per year, including hospital stays, ambulance and diagnostics like MRIs
- $5,000 a year for outpatient doctor and specialist visits
- Wellness treatments like massage, physio, chiropractic and acupuncture, up to $60 per visit (15 a year)
- 10 visits a year with a psychologist or psychiatrist
- $350 a year for routine check-ups, screenings and vaccines
- Up to $1,000 for emergency dental
- Travel coverage like lost checked luggage (up to $3,000), trip interruption (up to $5,000 for a ticket home), travel delays and trip cancellation
- Medical evacuation to a better hospital (up to $100,000)
- Adventure sports coverage up to $250,000
- Optional add-ons for dental and electronics theft
Most regular travel insurance stops at the emergency part, so if you’re not in an accident or a hospital, you’re paying for something you’ll hopefully never use. With Complete, I’ve used it almost every month.
That’s the biggest difference for me. Travel insurance is a safety net, whereas Complete is something I actually use as part of my normal life, no matter which country I’m in that month.
It even covers me when I’m home in Canada. I’m not a resident anymore, so I don’t have provincial health coverage there, and knowing I’m covered on visits home is a big relief.
What I used it for this year
Wellness treatments
The plan covers 15 wellness sessions a year at up to $60 each, for things like massage, physio and acupuncture. I’ve had back problems my whole life, so I decided to finally do something about it and started seeing a Chinese doctor in Puerto Vallarta. I went for regular sessions and every one of them was covered by my insurance.
The massages don’t have to be with a medically licensed massage therapist either. I claimed a massage I had in the Amazon jungle during my ayahuasca retreat while traveling in Peru, and another one from a five-star hotel in Thailand, and both were reimbursed. If you use all 15 sessions, that’s $900 back in your pocket.
This was the benefit that surprised me the most. I’d always thought of massages as a treat, something I’d only do once in a while, but when your back hurts as often as mine does, it’s closer to maintenance. Knowing each session was covered meant I actually went regularly instead of waiting until the pain got bad.
Mental health
Complete covers 10 therapy sessions a year. I’ve been doing therapy through BetterHelp, and all I had to do was upload my invoice online, and they reimbursed me with no questions asked. My sessions are $60 an hour, so that’s $600 a year covered.
Therapy is one of the first things people cut when money gets tight, and I’ve done that myself in the past. Having it covered took that decision off the table, so I could just keep going, and when you’re moving between countries and living a less routine life, having consistent therapy helps your mental health so much.
Wellness exam and vaccines
Having the insurance motivated me to go get a general wellness exam, which I hadn’t done in many, many years. I did it in Thailand, where the healthcare is very good. I went to the hospital while living in Chiang Mai, and they did a full examination of everything for $120, which is already reasonable, but it was still nice to have it completely reimbursed.
I also got the preventative vaccine for dengue fever, which I had back in Barbados and never want to go through again. It was $100 and completely covered.
Dermatologist visit
I also saw a dermatologist this year, which falls under the outpatient specialist coverage (up to $5,000 a year). I went in Mexico for dry skin, and the visit and treatment cost around $100. Like everything else, I uploaded the receipt and it was reimbursed.
It’s one of those appointments I’d been putting off for a long time, and having it covered made it an easy yes.
Doctor visit
I also came down with a really bad cold this year and went to see a doctor. The visit and the medications they prescribed came to $100, and both were covered. It’s a small claim, but nice to be covered.
What I claimed vs what I paid
I paid monthly at $160 a month, which comes to $1,920 for the year (the price has gone up slightly now). You can also save 10% by paying annually.
| What I claimed | Amount back |
|---|---|
| Wellness treatments (15 sessions at $60) | $900 |
| Therapy (10 sessions at $60) | $600 |
| Wellness exam in Thailand | $120 |
| Dengue vaccine | $100 |
| Dermatologist visit in Mexico | $100 |
| Doctor visit and medications | $100 |
| Total | $1,920 |
With just these everyday things, I got back exactly what I paid for the year, and that’s before counting anything else I could have claimed. I didn’t use the travel side of the policy at all, so the emergency coverage was a bonus on top.
The claim process
The claim process is super easy because everything is online in your SafetyWing portal. You take a photo of the receipt, upload it with a few details about the treatment, and submit. It takes me about two minutes.
You get an email right away saying your claim has been received, and I usually get another email within a couple of days saying it’s been processed and the money is in my account. SafetyWing says most claims are reimbursed within 21 days, but mine have always been much faster than that.
The SafetyWing card
There’s also a SafetyWing card you can pay with, and it starts the claim for you automatically, which is a really nice feature. It works like a credit card, so you pay for your treatment with it at the clinic, and a claim opens in your portal automatically.
All you have to do after is go into that claim and upload the receipt. The card has a $500 limit, which is really nice if you don’t have the funds on hand to pay for a treatment upfront and wait to be reimbursed.
Is SafetyWing Nomad Insurance Complete Worth It?
Yes, I think the value is absolutely there. I made back the full cost with everyday care, and there was more in the plan I could have used.
Then there’s the peace of mind of knowing that if anything goes wrong, health-wise or travel-wise, I’m covered. I’m grateful I didn’t have to use the travel and emergency parts of my policy this year, and could use it for preventative care instead.
When you travel full time, you’re always a little more exposed than you would be at home. You’re on scooters, boats and small planes, eating in places you’ve never been, and often a long way from anyone who knows you. I’ve been traveling solo for over 17 years, and I know how quickly a normal day can turn into a hospital visit in a country where you don’t speak the language.
Knowing I’d have up to $1,500,000 in medical coverage and evacuation to a better hospital if I needed it lets me enjoy those adventures without that worry sitting in the back of my mind.
The way I see it, the monthly cost is split between two things. Part of it is the safety net I hope I never need, and the rest is care I’d be paying for anyway, so it doesn’t feel like money disappearing every month the way Essential sometimes did.
Insurance made me more proactive about my health
Having insurance made me way more proactive about my health.
In the past I was scared to go to the doctor in case they found something terribly wrong, and then I’d be stuck with the medical bills on top of it. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case, but it’s nice to know now that if something did come up, it would be covered.
I’m paying for the peace of mind, but I’m also paying for things I’d normally be covering out of pocket anyway, like massages, therapy and check-ups. For me, the cost really balances out.
I finally dealt with my back instead of just living with it, I stayed consistent with therapy, I got a full check-up for the first time in years, and I got vaccinated against something I never want to go through again. None of that would have happened as quickly if I’d been paying for every appointment myself, and I feel better going into next year because of it.
If you’re someone who’s been avoiding the doctor because of the cost or the fear of what they’ll find, I get it, because that was me. Having the coverage in place made it so much easier to just book the appointment.
I’ll definitely be renewing, and this time I’m adding the dental add-on. I skipped it last year and regretted it, because I ended up needing some pretty extensive dental work that I had to pay for out of pocket. The add-on covers up to $1,000 a year, with $250 available in the first six months and the remaining $750 after that, so it’s worth adding from the start.
Final thoughts on SafetyWing Nomad Insurance Complete
After almost a year, Nomad Insurance Complete has been worth every dollar for me. It covers the emergencies that regular travel insurance does, but it also pays for the things I was already spending money on, like massages, physio, therapy, check-ups and vaccines.
Between my wellness treatments, therapy, a full wellness exam, a dermatologist visit, a doctor visit for a bad cold and a dengue vaccine, I claimed $1,920, which is exactly what I paid for the year, and the claims were easy and fast every time. On top of that, it pushed me to take care of my health instead of avoiding the doctor.
If you’re a digital nomad or long-term traveler who’d use the wellness and mental health benefits, Complete pays for itself. If you only want coverage for emergencies, Essential is still a good option, but for me there’s no going back.
Get a quote for Nomad Insurance Complete here
