Genki Resident and SafetyWing Nomad Health
If you’re a digital nomad or long-term traveler and are looking for comprehensive health insurance that goes beyond what typical traveler’s insurance covers, then the good news is you now have more options!
Up until now, most nomads and long-term travelers have opted to get travel insurance, which is typically a more temporary option with coverage limited to emergency medical care and does not usually cover preventative health care. Travel insurance usually also covers travel mishaps like trip cancellation or theft.
The three most popular companies digital nomads and long-term travelers use for travel insurance are SafetyWing, World Nomads, and Genki.
Read more: The Best Health Insurance Options for Nomads and Long-Term TravelersWe have a full breakdown of the travel insurance options from these companies in this article.
Two of these companies, Genki and SafetyWing, have recently introduced more comprehensive health insurance options for nomads and people living their lives across multiple countries called Genki Resident and SafetyWing Nomad Health.
Let’s face it, health insurance is a pretty boring topic, and it’s a pain in the booty to figure out how it all works.
That’s why we wanted to create what is hopefully an easily understandable and comprehensive breakdown of these two health insurance options.
While we were researching, we read the fine print of both policies and reached out to both Genki and SafetyWing to ask A LOT of questions.
We’ll explain what both health insurance policies cover and how much they cost to help you decide if Genki Resident or SafetyWing Nomad Health might be a better option for you than typical travel insurance.
And If you’re from the US, where health insurance can be an inscrutable nightmare, these options may be especially interesting for you.
Note: While we’ll do our best to cover everything in this article, you should absolutely read the fine print of each policy yourself.
Genki Resident
Genki is a German company that was founded by nomads for nomads in 2021. Fun fact: Genki is a Japanese word that means healthy, energetic, or full of spirit.
Who is Covered with Genki Resident?
Genki Resident does not have an age limit and covers anyone from anywhere in the world.
To apply for the policy, you have to submit a medical questionnaire and list your height and weight, medications, disabilities, and so on.
You will also need to disclose any long-term illnesses or pre-existing conditions. Those may not necessarily disqualify you from getting the insurance, but they may affect your premiums.
Where Is and Isn’t Covered with Genki Resident
Genki Resident has few limitations on where in the world you are covered. There are two options: Worldwide, or Worldwide WITHOUT coverage in the USA and Canada. If you choose to forgo coverage in the US and Canada, your monthly premium will be a lot lower when you sign up for your policy, but that doesn’t mean you can never visit those countries.
If your plan does not include USA/Canada coverage, you are limited to six weeks in either country per calendar year, and your coverage is limited to medical emergencies and accidents.
You can add coverage for the US and Canada, and pay the increased premium, on a month-to-month basis. Once you leave the US or Canada, you can revert your coverage back to the lower premium.
The biggest limitation on where you are covered is in your home country. You are limited to 180 days in your home country per calendar year. Other than that, there are no limitations on where you can go.
Length of Coverage with Genki Resident
Genki Resident has a minimum of at least one year of coverage. You can keep your coverage for as long as you would like, however, your premiums will increase over time as you age. As long as you keep paying your premiums, you’re covered.
Depending on circumstances, like adding a new person to your family, you may have to do some paperwork and readjust your monthly premium. Each person included on your policy will need to submit their own medical questionnaire and will be covered individually, even if you are paying for multiple people on one account.
The reason policy length is so important with the Genki Resident policy as compared to their Genki Explorer traveler’s insurance is because of preexisting conditions.
With Genki Explorer traveler’s insurance, you have to reapply every two years, which means if you have surgery or develop any chronic issues in that time then when you reapply for a new policy, those will be considered pre-existing conditions and may be excluded from your coverage. It may even mean your application will be rejected.
With Genki Resident, you don’t need to reapply so you will have the same insurance plan year-to-year as long as you keep paying your premiums.
Price of Genki Resident
There are many variables to consider when it comes to the price of Genki Resident coverage including your age, whether you want the Premium or Standard plan, how much you want your deductible to be, and whether you want to include coverage in the US and Canada.
You can use Genki’s price calculator to figure out how much your coverage would cost.
Deductible
Genki’s Resident has different deductible options of €1000, €500, or €0 per calendar year. The lower your deductible, the higher your monthly premium.
Standard vs. Premium with Genki Resident
The Standard plan covers you for things like:
- Accidents and emergencies,
- Medical procedures and surgeries,
- Examinations,
- Treatment of chronic conditions,
- Physiotherapy,
- Acupuncture,
- Massages,
- Emergency dental treatment,
- Fillings,
- Root canals,
- Prenatal checkups,
- Midwives,
- Childbirth (after a 10-month waiting period). That means you are covered for childbirth as long as it takes place after 10 months of your policy being in effect.
- Every sports activity you can imagine, as long as you don’t get paid to do it
Make sure to read your policy to make sure you understand what is and isn’t covered.
The Premium plan is geared toward people who want more preventative care.
The Premium plan covers all of the things above, as well as:
- Colonoscopies
- Pap smears
- Cancer screenings
- Cholesterol lab tests
- Other preventative lab tests
- Vaccinations
- Routine health assessments for early detection of diseases
- Preventative eye checkups
- Outpatient mental health care
- More pre and post-natal care
- Lasik surgery (After a two-year waiting period). That means you are covered for Lasik after 2 years of your policy being in effect.
Coverage Limits with Genki Resident
Genki Resident does not have a maximum benefit amount per calendar year.
However, there are some benefits that are not completely covered. For example, if you need dentures as a result of an accident, Genki will cover 50% of the cost.
What is NOT Covered with Genki Resident
Of course, no travel insurance policy covers everything.
While the Standard and Premium plans do cover a great deal of medical issues, there are things that are not covered by either plan, including:
- Withdrawal from addiction
- Infertility
- Sterility
- Professional sports (if you get paid to participate)
- Active participation in a war
- Cosmetic surgery
- You might get coverage for pre-existing conditions, but only after review and approval after you submit your medical questionnaire.
Traveling for the express purpose of getting medical care is not included. However, if you’re in a place where you need medical treatment but aren’t able to get the care you need, then you may be approved to get treated in another country. You can ask for authorization to travel for treatment in these cases.
Coverage in Your Home Country with Genki Resident
You are allowed 180 days in your home country every year. It is important to note that for the insurance to take effect, you must leave your home country at least once.
So if you start the policy while abroad, you are covered right away. However, if you are in your home country when you sign up, you must leave your home country before the policy will start.
USA Coverage (for Non-Americans) with Genki Resident
This next part applies to people whose country of residence is not the US or Canada.
You can choose to add coverage to be covered in the US and Canada. Adding this coverage will roughly triple your monthly premium price.
You can still visit those countries for up to six weeks if you do not choose the US and Canada coverage, but you will only be covered for medical emergencies and accidents.
You can bump up your coverage, and premium, for the time you are going to be in those countries if you contact Genki and let them know you will be visiting the US and/or Canada. There is a one-month minimum to add this coverage. So, say your trip to California is only two weeks, you will still need to pay the extra US-Canada coverage premium for the entire month. But then it will go back down the following month.
USA Coverage (for Americans) with Genki Resident
Residents of the US and Canada can use the USA or Canada as their primary country of residence and, just like with any other primary country of residence, you will be covered for up to 180 days in a calendar year.
On top of that, if the US or Canada is your primary country of residence, you do not have to pay the extra premium for US and Canada coverage to be covered there. However, if you do not have that extra coverage you are only allowed to spend up to six weeks in Canada (as an American) or six weeks in the US (as a Canadian) unless you upgrade your coverage.
Again, it’s important to read the fine print of the policy and check everything for yourself, because things can change. You can read more about Genki’s coverage on their website and get a quote based on your situation.
SafetyWing Nomad Health
SafetyWing is a Norwegian company that was founded in 2017. It was founded by digital nomads for digital nomads.
Honestly, we found that the information available about SafetyWing’s Nomad Health was not very straightforward. We asked A LOT of questions through their online help chat about the policy to understand how it works and who it covers. We’ll do our best to explain that all here.
On the plus side, we have found that SafetyWing has a very responsive customer service chat option on their website where you can speak to a real human being, so you can also ask them any of your specific questions.
Again, we highly recommend that you read the fine print of your policy as it will vary depending on your country of residence.
Who is Covered with SafetyWing Nomad Health
SafetyWing’s Nomad Health covers people up to the age of 74. SafetyWing Nomad Health is not available if your country of residence is any of the following countries: Belarus, Canada, DRC, Cuba, Guam, HK, Iran, Ireland, NK, Palau, Palestine, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, UAE, USA, US Virgin Islands, Zimbabwe.
That doesn’t mean if you are from any of those countries that you cannot get a SafetyWing Nomad Health policy. It just means those countries cannot be your country of residence.
SafetyWing Nomad Health defines your country of residence as “the country in which the Insured resides for a period of more than one hundred and eighty-three (183) days within a year while this Policy is in effect.”
However, that’s not the case for most nomads, us included, who often don’t spend 183 days in any country in the course of a year.
We asked SafetyWing’s help chat what to do if you are from one of the countries where the country of residence is not offered, like the USA. The representative at SafetyWing told us that you can choose any country where you spend any amount of time as your country of residence, as long as it is eligible for long and short trips. They also told us that you do not need to spend 183 days in any country, any length of time is fine.
We highly recommend chatting to them directly about your options if you’re from the USA or any of the countries on the list above.
You will need to fill out a medical questionnaire when you apply and disclose your medical history from the past 24 months, including any hospital visits, surgeries, and any chronic or pre-existing conditions.
Where Is and Isn’t Covered with SafetyWing Nomad Health
SafetyWing Nomad Health coverage is limited to 30 days per trip in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the USA. You can take as many trips as you like, but your total days in these countries need to be less than 180 days per policy year. Plus, coverage is limited to emergency care only. There is the option to add and pay for more coverage, in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the USA.
SafetyWing Nomad Health cannot arrange for direct billing with hospitals in these countries, so you’ll need to pay for your own care first, then make a claim: Cuba, Iran, NK, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Zimbabwe.
Other than those stipulations, you are covered in every other country in the world for short and/or long trips.
Length of Coverage with SafetyWing Nomad Health
SafetyWing Nomad Health has a minimum of one year of coverage. After that, you can renew your policy on a yearly basis.
You will need to reapply for a new coverage policy every 12 months as the policy does not carry over from year to year. That means, for example, if you have a pre-existing condition, you will have to have that pre-existing condition reevaluated every year. If you develop a chronic condition during your policy year, when it comes time to renew, you would have to list it as a pre-existing condition on your new application.
Price of SafetyWing Nomad Health
The price of SafetyWing Nomad Health depends on what age bracket you fall into. As of right now, for people in the 18-39 range, the Standard plan is $123 USD/month, while the Premium plan is $238 USD/month. We’ll get into the difference between the two plans below.
Check out SafetyWing’s price calculator to figure out how much your coverage would cost.
Deductible
SafetyWing Nomad Health does not have a deductible. However, the Standard plan does have a 10% co-pay for all outpatient services.
Premium Plan vs. Standard Plan with SafetyWing Nomad Health
The first and most obvious difference between the Premium plan and the Standard plan is the price.
The Premium plan is roughly double the price of the Standard plan through each age bracket.
The Standard plan covers things like:
- Inpatient emergency room and ICU care
- 100% of inpatient surgery
- Up to $500,000 USD for outpatient surgery
- Surgeon and anesthesiologist fees
- Prescription medication
- Lab tests, X-rays, MRI/CT/PET scans, pathology
- Dialysis
- Organ and tissue transplant
- Cancer treatments
- Reconstructive surgery
- And more…
The Premium plan also provides all of that, plus more preventative care for things like:
- Dental checkups (up to $1,500 USD)
- Eye exams and eyeglasses (up to $500 USD)
- Cancer and cardiovascular screenings, immunizations (up to $500 USD)
- Maternity care (up to $7,500 USD, 20% co-pay, and after a ten-month waiting period)
As always, read the fine print to find out what is covered and the limit of the coverage.
What is NOT Covered with SafetyWing Nomad Health
It’s important to know what is not covered as well. This includes things like:
- Active participation in a war
- Aesthetic treatments (nose jobs, etc.)
- Epidemics or Pandemics
- Growth Hormones
- Weight control treatments
- Over-the-counter medications
- Podiatric care (feet stuff)
- Professional Sports
- Sleep disorders
- Allergies
- Alzheimer’s
- Fertility
- Treatment provided by immediate relatives
As always, read the fine print!
USA Coverage (for non-USA residents) with SafetyWing Nomad Health
Travel in the USA is limited to 30 days per trip. You can take as many trips as you like, and there is no restriction on how many times you go back or with what frequency, but your total days in the US need to be less than 180 in a policy year. Also, you are only covered for emergency care. So, for example, if you have the Premium package, a visit to the dentist for a check-up would not be covered.
USA Coverage (for USA Residents) with SafetyWing Nomad Health
SafetyWing Nomad Health does not cover USA citizens whose primary country of residence is the USA.
But, as the SafetyWing representative told us, you can choose a different country as your country of residence. We highly suggest you chat with a SafetyWing representative directly about your situation. They typically respond within minutes.
Coverage Limits with SafetyWing Nomad Health
SafetyWing’s Nomad Health has a limit of $1.5 million USD of coverage per policy year. However, as mentioned above, there are lower limits for different types of preventative care.
You can get an instant quote from Genki or SafetyWing.
As always, read the fine print of your policy as things can change and may vary depending on your country of residence.
If you have any more questions, you can reach out to SafetyWing or Genki directly regarding your coverage through their websites. We have found both companies’ customer support to be very responsive.
If you want to know more about Genki and SafetyWing’s travelers insurance, check out this video.
