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Are you a digital nomad, remote worker, or long-term traveler looking for insurance? We feel your pain.
In our experience, figuring out which insurance to get to protect us in case of unforeseen accidents or illness on the road is never easy.
That’s especially true for Americans because there aren’t many insurance companies that will also cover us when we visit home.
We’ve done A LOT of research about insurance companies recently, so we wanted to put together information about what we’ve learned to (hopefully) simplify the process for you in figuring out which insurance to get.
In this article, we’re sharing about two insurance companies that are geared toward digital nomads and remote workers: Genki and SafetyWing.
Both companies offer time-limited coverage for US citizens traveling to the US, which we’ll also tell you more about toward the end of the article.
You can get a quote from SafetyWing and Genki with and without US coverage.
Get a SafetyWing Quote
Get a Genki Quote
We also made a video comparing both companies.
Click the picture below to watch 👇
*As a side note, if you like doing sports and adventure activities during your travels, then you might also want to check out World Nomads insurance options.
Please note that we are just sharing information about SafetyWing and Genki, we are not endorsing one over the other.
And this is the first but certainly not the last time we’ll say this: Always make sure you read the fine print of your insurance policy.
In this article, we’ll be comparing SafetyWing’s Nomad Insurance and Genki’s World Explorer plan.
Let’s get into it!
Table of Contents
About SafetyWing
SafetyWing was started in 2017 and is a travel medical insurance that was created by nomads for nomads. They offer subscription-based travel and medical insurance for nomads, freelancers, and remote workers who are working abroad.
You can purchase a policy even if your trip has already started, and pause and resume coverage with flexibility. You’re covered in 185 countries and you don’t need to let them know about your itinerary in advance.
SafetyWing is perfect for people like us who don’t always know where they’ll be next month! We’ve been using SafetyWing since we learned about them in 2021.
Check out their website at SafetyWing.com.
About Genki
The word Genki means healthy, energetic, and full of spirit in Japanese.
Genki was started in 2021 and offers travel health insurance designed specifically for nomads.
Their World Explorer plan is a flexible monthly subscription that covers every country in the world. It’s available to all citizens worldwide, even if they’re already traveling. You can sign up and cancel your policy online.
We like that Genki offers a longer coverage period for American citizens traveling to the US, which we’ll get into later in the article.
Check out their website at Genki.com.
Who is Covered?
SafetyWing
SafetyWing covers anyone from the age of 14 days old to 69 years old. SafteyWing currently has six age brackets and coverage, as you’d expect, gets more expensive the older you are.
Genki
Currently, as of February of 2023, Genki covers anyone from 0 to 49 years old, in two age brackets of 0-29 and 30-49, with prices increasing the older you get. There are plans to extend coverage to the 50-69 age bracket later in 2023.
Length of Coverage
SafetyWing Coverage Length
SafetyWing’s Nomad Insurance coverage auto-renews every 28 days up to 364 days, unless you manually cancel your coverage. After 364 days, your plan will no longer auto-renew and you will have to tell SafetyWing that you wish to continue your coverage.
We’ve had SafetyWing since 2021, and just before our first year of coverage ended we contacted SafetyWing and it was a very simple process to renew our coverage.
If you know how long your trip is going to be, SafetyWing also provides the option of purchasing coverage for a specific period of time.
Genki Coverage Length
Genki’s World Explorer coverage is also a monthly subscription paid monthly and can be canceled at any time through the Genki website. If you choose to cancel, you will be covered until the end of the monthly cycle, so until your next payment would have been due. Genki’s World Explorer coverage can last up to two years.
It’s important to note that if you cancel your subscription and then start a new one that any medical conditions that arose before your new subscription would be considered pre-existing conditions.
Deductibles
SafetyWing Deductibles
SafetyWing’s Nomad insurance has a deductible of $250 per certificate period. That means you’ll have to pay the first $250 of any hospitable bill you receive, then Safetywing will cover the rest of the hospitable bills until the end of the certificate period. Certificate period is another name for policy period.
If you are in the US, you are responsible for an additional $50 copay if you visit an urgent care center, and an additional $100 copay if you visit an emergency room for an illness and are NOT admitted to the hospital. If you are injured, there is no copay.
Genki Deductibles
Genki’s World Explorer insurance has two deductible options: €50 or no deductible. If you decide to go with no deductible, your monthly rate will increase, depending on your age bracket.
There is also an extra deductible of €250 for emergency room treatment in the USA. However, if the visit is medically necessary or results in an inpatient stay, then you do not need to pay the €250.
Make sure you read the fine print to make sure you know exactly what is covered in case of emergency and what medical events count as emergencies.
Where is covered?
SafetyWing
SafetyWing covers travelers in every country in the world except for Iran, Syria, North Korea, Russia, Belarus, select regions of Ukraine (Luhansk, Donetsk, Crimea, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia), the US, and Cuba. You can choose to add on coverage for the US.
Genki
Genki covers travelers in every country around the world. You can choose to add coverage for the US.
There are exceptions for coverage in your home country for both companies, which we’ll explain more about later.
Adding on United States Coverage
SafetyWing US Coverage
If you are planning to visit the US during your trip, and the US is not your home country, then both Genki and SafetyWing allow you to pay extra to add on coverage for travel in the US. That’s right, visiting the land of the free makes your policy MORE expensive.
I’m pretty sure that’s ironic, but I can’t be certain, I have an American education.
Adding coverage in the US increases your monthly premium with both companies.
With SafetyWing’s Nomad Insurance if you want to include US insurance, then you will have to add it on for the entire length of your policy. You cannot add it later. Another option is to cancel your current policy and start a new one in order to add US coverage. And since it’s a nw policy, your deductibles will reset.
Genki US Coverage
With Genki’s World Explorer insurance you can change your coverage on a monthly basis, so you can add on US insurance just for the months you will be traveling there so you don’t need to pay for the extra coverage for the months you aren’t traveling in the US.
You can get a quote to see the exact cost of adding on coverage for the US from both companies.
Get a SafetyWing Quote with US coverage
Get a Genki Quote with US coverage
What is covered?
Both Genki and SafetyWing offer coverage for medical affairs. Things like inpatient and outpatient emergency treatment, ambulance rides, medical evacuation, and repatriation. Again, make sure you read the fine print.
SafetyWing
SafetyWing’s Nomad insurance will cover up to $250,000 of medical expenses, unless you are at the upper age limit of their coverage, 65-69 years old, in which case they will only cover up to $100,000.
Genki
Genki has no limit on their coverage of inpatient and outpatient procedures.
Genki’s World Explorer insurance also covers things like ear infections, the flu, and some pregnancy related coverage.
Dental Coverage
You are covered for dental emergencies by both companies.
SafetyWing Dental Coverage
Safetywing covers emergency dental care up to $1,000.
Genki Dental Coverage
Genki will cover your dental repairs for pain relief, things like fillings and denture repair, up to $500, and emergency dental treatment from an accident up to $1,000.
Sports and Adventure Activities
SafetyWing
SafetyWing covers most basic sports activities, but they also have a long list of sports that they do not cover.
Genki
Genki covers you for most sports, however there are some that aren’t covered such as diving, motorcycle racing, and bungee jumping.
As always, check out each company’s full policy to see what is and isn’t covered.
If you’re into doing more adventurous activities during your travels, then you might want to check out World Nomads which offers more coverage for sports activities.
What is NOT Covered?
Insurance coverage only goes so far. SafetyWing and Genki both include explanations of the instances in which your insurance policy will not cover you depending on the circ*mstances of the injury, making it very important that you read the fine print.
There is specific language that stipulates you are not covered for any injury or medical emergency that occurs while you’re drunk or on not-medically-prescribed medications. So make sure to party responsibly.
Pre-existing conditions are not covered, though it is important to understand the full meaning of what constitutes a pre-existing condition which you can find in the fine print of your policy.
SafetyWing and Pre-existing Conditions
SafetyWing’s definition of a pre-existing condition is any medical condition you may have had at any time before signing up for their coverage.
Genki and Pre-existing Conditions
Genki defines a pre-existing condition as any medical situation that occurs within the six months before your policy begins.
Waiting Period
SafetyWing
With SafetyWing’s Nomad insurance there isn’t a waiting period and your policy can become effective immediately after purchase as long as you’re outside your home country and you choose the purchase date as your start date.
Genki
Genki’s World Explorer insurance has a waiting period of 14 days. This means that when you sign up for coverage the first 14 days of cover are restricted to accidents and life-threatening emergencies.
There’s no waiting period if you have healthcare cover elsewhere until your cover with Genki begins.
If you are still in your home country, your coverage can only begin once you leave.
Visiting your home country
SafetyWing
If you are traveling to your home country and are not American, SafetyWing will cover you for 30 days for every three months of continuous coverage.
Genki
Genki’s World Explorer insurance gives you 42 days of coverage in a 180 day period in your home country, regardless of your nationality.
Note that you have to leave your home country at least once (or already be out) for this cover to start.
Both companies offer coverage for unforeseen medical emergencies. Take note that if you travel to your home country for the purpose of seeking medical treatment, you may lose your coverage.
US Citizens Visiting the US
This section is very specific to Americans, so if you’re not American, this is your chance to laugh and then recoil in horror at American hubris.
Jen and I are from the US, and most of our immediate relatives still reside in the home of the brave. Whenever we make plans to visit our families, the most difficult part of the process, every single time, is what are we going to do about medical insurance?
We’ve brought health insurance products for our visits to the States that, in retrospect, would not have covered us at all, even in the event of an emergency. Of course, we didn’t realize that at the time. Insurance can be very confusing!
We were extremely lucky that nothing bad happened to us while we were in the USA on those visits or we would have been SCREWED.
Luckily, both Genki and SafetyWing provide time-limited coverage to Americans visiting the USA.
SafetyWing Coverage for US Passport Holders Visiting the US
SafetyWing provides cover for up to a maximum of 15 days in a three-month period.
This part of the policy is one that we’ve had to use. In April of 2022, my grandma passed away. That meant we needed to make an unexpected trip back to the US.
We were covered by SafetyWing at that time, so we were able to fly back to the States with 24 hours’ notice, attend the funeral, and stayed in the US for 13 days to see our friends and families before flying back to Europe.
Genki Coverage for US Passport Holders Visiting the US
Genki will cover Americans in the USA for up to six weeks in a 180-day period.
We hope this article gave you some insight into your insurance options as a digital nomad or full-time traveler and what you are looking for in your insurance policy.
You can get a quote from SafetyWing and Genki with and without US coverage.
If you want to see another insurance option, you can check out this article about World Nomads and SafetyWing or this video.
Want more content about the digital nomad lifestyle? –> Check out these articles or our Youtube channel.
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