Why I Started Using SafetyWing: A Long-Term Remote Worker’s Real Experience

For years, I’ve lived a life many envy, but it’s not easy.

I spent three months in Thailand, six months in Portugal, and even traveled and worked remotely with my laptop. On the surface, this “digital nomad” lifestyle seems liberating: working in a café during the day, strolling on the beach in the evening, and flying to another country anytime on weekends.

But after living abroad long-term, I realized that the most easily overlooked issues aren’t visas or language, but health and safety.

Especially one time, I was hospitalized in Bali with severe gastroenteritis. A few hours of emergency room treatment, IV drips, and medication cost nearly $900. Although I had regular travel insurance, many items weren’t covered, and the actual reimbursement was pitiful.

That’s when I realized that regular short-term travel insurance is simply unsuitable for long-term travel, remote work, or digital nomadism.

It was this experience that led me to seriously research global travel medical insurance and eventually discover SafetyWing. Nomad Insurance: The Best Insurance for Individual Digital Nomads

Nomad Insurance: The Best Insurance for Individual Digital Nomads

My first experience with insurance was with SafetyWing‘s Nomad Insurance.

It primarily targets digital nomads, long-term travelers, overseas freelancers, and remote workers. Its biggest advantage is its monthly subscription model, which can be started, paused, or canceled at any time, and can be purchased directly from overseas.

This is actually very important. Many traditional insurance policies require you to purchase them before departure, making the process very cumbersome once you’ve left your country.

Nomad Insurance currently offers two versions: Basic and Complete.

Basic Version

I initially purchased the Basic version. At the time, I was around 30 years old, and the price was approximately $62.72 per 4 weeks. Compared to many international medical insurance policies, this price is indeed not high.

It leans more towards long-term travel medical insurance, primarily covering:

• Sudden illness during travel
• Accidental injury
• Hospitalization and surgery
• Medication costs
• Lost luggage
• Travel delays
• Emergency medical evacuation

For those who frequently travel abroad, the most important thing is “unexpected situations.” Because you never know which country you might fall ill in.

I first truly used it in Thailand. Due to continuous overtime work and dietary issues, I suddenly developed a high fever approaching 39 degrees Celsius. At first, I thought it was just a common cold, but the symptoms worsened, forcing me to go to a local hospital.

Previously, when I sought medical treatment abroad, my biggest anxiety was “not knowing how much it would cost.” Especially in unfamiliar countries, it’s difficult to determine which procedures are necessary and which prices are reasonable.

But that time, because I had purchased SafetyWing in advance, I wasn’t particularly panicked. Although the claims process wasn’t immediate, it was much smoother than some traditional insurance I’d used before. The website was modern, uploading documents wasn’t complicated, and the English customer service response time was good. At least it didn’t give the feeling that “claiming is more tiring than being sick.” For those who frequently travel abroad, this experience is actually quite important.

Complete Version

As I spent more and more time working remotely, I began to realize that the basic version was more like travel insurance than long-term health protection.

So I upgraded to the Complete version. The price is approximately $177.50 per month (ages 18-39). Although it’s more expensive than the basic version, it adds many features that I’ve come to value more and more.

In addition to the emergency medical coverage originally included in the basic version, Complete includes:

• Global routine medical care
• Mental health support
• Cancer treatment
• Health therapies
• More comprehensive travel protection
• Long-term continuous renewal

My increasing emphasis on Complete is actually related to the lifestyle of long-term remote work. Many people think that the digital nomadic lifestyle is very free, but after actually living a nomadic life for a long time, you’ll find that this lifestyle also has a lot of pressure. You might not have a stable social circle for a long time, frequently change countries, have irregular sleep patterns, and blur the boundaries between work and life. For a while, I even started experiencing chronic insomnia, and my emotional state was quite unstable.

I used to think insurance was only about “illness,” but I later realized that what long-term remote workers truly need is more comprehensive health support. This is something many traditional travel insurance policies rarely consider.

I think Complete is more suitable for people who have been living abroad and working remotely for many years. It doesn’t just work when you’re sick, but is more like long-term health protection.

Nomad Citizen: A Very Special Concept

Besides insurance products, SafetyWing has a plan that I find very special called Nomad Citizen. When I first saw it, I even thought it was a bit ahead of its time. Because it aims to do more than just insurance; it’s a long-term support system for globally mobile populations.

Simply put, it aims to solve the problem that as more and more people start working across borders, remotely, and traveling long distances, traditional national systems are finding it difficult to fully cover their needs.

For example:

• Discontinuous medical services
• Complex procedures in different countries
• Lack of a stable sense of belonging in the long term
• Many coverages cannot be continued across borders

Nomad Citizen is more like an attempt to establish a “global citizen” style support plan. It currently primarily offers long-term support services related to health, income, and travel, starting at around $400 per month, typically on a 12-month cycle.

While it’s not as mainstream as Nomad Insurance yet, I believe it represents a future trend. Because in the future, more and more people will no longer be confined to a single country. Especially for those working remotely long-term, “globalized living” will gradually become the norm.

Remote Health: More Suitable for Remote Teams and Companies

In addition to individual products, SafetyWing also offers a product specifically for businesses and teams called Remote Health. This product differs from Nomad Insurance. Nomad Insurance is more suitable for individuals, while Remote Health is more like a global team medical insurance plan.

I later became interested in it because a friend works at a remote startup. Their team is spread across more than a dozen countries, and one of the biggest challenges the company previously faced was the difficulty of purchasing unified medical insurance for employees in different countries.

Some employees are in Asia, some in Europe, and some are freelancers working together. Traditional insurance companies often only cover a single country, making management very cumbersome. The biggest feature of Remote Health is its coverage of over 175 countries and regions. This is incredibly convenient for global remote teams.

Currently, it offers three versions:

Standard

Priced at approximately $116/month.

Primarily provides routine and emergency medical care, suitable for most typical remote teams.

Premium

Priced at approximately $175/month.

In addition to basic medical care, it adds dental care, vision care, and more health check-ups.

I think this version is more practical for team members who work remotely long-term.

Premium Plus

Priced at approximately $224/month.

It offers broader coverage and is more suitable for those with family members, long-term overseas residents, or those who prioritize health management.

One thing I particularly like about Remote Health is its lack of complicated usage barriers.

Employees can directly access public or private healthcare institutions, without being restricted to a single hospital system. Company managers can also manage team coverage through a unified backend.

For the increasing number of remote companies, this model aligns well with current trends.

Why I think it’s suitable for people who travel globally for extended periods

After using it for several years, my biggest takeaway isn’t its affordability, but rather its genuine understanding of the digital nomad lifestyle.

Traditional insurance always assumes you have a fixed country, a fixed work location, and a fixed lifestyle.

But many long-term remote workers don’t live like that. We might travel to several countries a year, without a clear “return date,” and even our long-term address isn’t fixed. SafetyWing rarely makes me feel like I’m not conforming to traditional rules. It’s more like embracing a new lifestyle.

I think it’s particularly suitable for the following groups：

• Digital nomads
• Long-term travelers
• Overseas freelancers
• Remote workers
• People who frequently travel internationally for business
• People who reside abroad long-term

Especially when you’re no longer a regular tourist but truly living a long-term, mobile life globally, traditional short-term travel insurance often becomes insufficient.

As “mobile living” becomes the norm, insurance should change accordingly

A few years ago, if someone had asked me what the most important preparation for long-term travel was, I might have answered: a computer, bank card, visa, or VPN. But now my answer would be: health insurance. Only those who have truly experienced illness, emergency room visits, and hospitalization overseas will realize the importance of medical insurance and understand that SafetyWing is indeed one of the few solutions truly designed around the needs of digital nomads and remote workers.