How to get your SafetyWing claim paid the first time: a step-by-step guide
SafetyWing's Nomad products, Essential and Complete, are primarily pay-and-claim plans. The way this works is simple: you pay the clinic or hospital, collect a medical report plus an itemized invoice and a receipt, then submit them in your SafetyWing dashboard. After our claims team takes a look at things, we transfer the money back into your bank account. This post covers how a claim works on both plans, the documents to collect before you leave the clinic, how to submit, how long reimbursement takes, and the rules that delay or reduce a payout.
How a SafetyWing claim works
For outpatient care on either plan (anything outside of hospitalization, like a doctor's visit, a pharmacy, an X-ray, stitches), you pay at the counter and claim afterwards in your dashboard, or by emailing claims@safetywing.com. Neither plan has a deductible, so a covered claim is reimbursed in full up to the plan's limits.
Hospital stays work differently. On Nomad Essential, if you are admitted inpatient outside the US, contact our 24/7 assistance team as soon as you can, and at the latest before you are discharged. We then send the hospital a guarantee of payment (GOP) so you do not front the bill. A GOP is a letter to the hospital, not a promise of coverage: the treatment still has to meet the plan's conditions, and if we do not issue one, you pay and claim as normal.
On Nomad Complete, the treatments on this list need pre-approval when it will cost more than US$500:
Hospital admissions
Surgery
Major scans and scopes: MRI, CT, PET, gastroscopy, colonoscopy, biopsy
Physical and rehabilitative therapy, and home nursing
Nasal or reconstructive procedures
Air ambulance
Durable medical equipment
Repatriation of remains
Outpatient mental health
Request pre-approval from your dashboard, and ask us to pay the provider directly at the same time if you would rather not pay upfront. If you skip pre-approval for a listed treatment over US$500, the reimbursement is reduced by 30%. Anything under US$500, or not on the list, does not need pre-approval, and Nomad Essential has no pre-approval process.
The documents to collect before you leave the clinic
A claim with a missing document is held until that document arrives, so ask for everything at the desk. Every claim needs three things:
Medical report on an official letterhead. Written and signed/stamped by whoever treated you. It states your symptoms, the date they started, the diagnosis, the treatment given or planned, and why it was medically necessary. Diagnosis and procedure codes on the report speed up the review.
Itemized invoice. A line-by-line breakdown of what each consultation, test, or medication cost, not only the total.
Itemized receipt. Proof that you paid the amount you are claiming.
Depending on the claim, add:
A police, ambulance, or tour-operator report for an accident
The prescription, for medication costs
Test results with the interpretation, plus copies of scans or lab work
For travel claims: your original and updated itineraries, the airline's confirmation of the delay or cancellation, and proof of ownership for anything lost or stolen
Check that your full name and the dates appear on each document, and send them in their original format with no edits. Documents can be in any language and any currency; we handle translation and conversion. (A phone photo of a crumpled pharmacy receipt is fine, as long as we can read your name, the date, and each item on it.)
Submitting the claim, step by step
The claim form is in your SafetyWing dashboard. On Nomad Essential, click "Submit a claim" on your Nomad Insurance page (the form also lives at safetywing.com/nomad-insurance/claim). On Nomad Complete, select Nomad Complete in the left-hand menu and click "Submit a claim" under Quick actions.
Upload your documents. Drag and drop, or browse. You can submit one file and add the rest later from your claims dashboard, but the review does not start until the full set is in.
Enter the claim details. The date of treatment, who the claim is for (you or a dependent), the country and city, and the total amount in the currency printed on the bill.
Describe what happened. The reason for the visit, when symptoms began, and what service you received. We assess the claim from the documents, so use this box to connect them, for example that the pharmacy receipt is for the antibiotics on the prescription.
Add your bank details, or confirm the saved ones. Reimbursement goes to this account.
Review and submit. Check that the amount and currency match your documents, tick the confirmation boxes, and submit. If you leave halfway through, the claim is saved as a draft.
You get an email when the claim is submitted, when a decision is made, when we need more information, and when the money is sent. The Claims tab shows a progress bar (either Submitted, Accepted, or Reimbursed), and a claim marked "Action required" needs a document from you: open it and upload the file. To follow up, reply to any of the claim emails, which reaches the team handling your claim directly.
How long a SafetyWing claim takes
Decision, with all documents in: Nomad Essential, within 5 business days. Nomad Complete, within 10 to 15 business days.
If we ask for more documents: Nomad Essential, add 5 business days after they arrive. Nomad Complete, a few more days after they arrive.
Money in your account: Nomad Essential, up to 10 business days after the payout email. Nomad Complete, up to 10 business days after the payout email.
Deadline to submit: Nomad Essential, 60 days after your active insurance period ends. Nomad Complete, 180 days after your active insurance period ends.
Last verified: 16 October 2026, from SafetyWing's help center and plan documents.
For the Nomad Essential plan only: if your plan ends while you are still being treated, that illness or injury stays covered for up to 90 days from your first diagnosis or treatment, as long as it started while the plan was active. This does not apply to treatment in your home country for an illness or injury that started abroad.
Need proof that we paid you? Email claims@safetywing.com and the claims team sends written confirmation of the transfer, which you can pass to a tax adviser or another insurer.
Why a claim is delayed or paid less than the bill
Most delayed claims are missing a document, usually the itemized invoice or the medical report. Once the file is submitted, the outcome turns on these rules:
Treatment in the first 72 hours after buying Nomad Essential. If the claim relates to symptoms or an incident within 72 hours of your purchase date and time, we ask for additional records that show when it began: an ambulance record, the hospital admission timestamp, or a police report.
An emergency over US$500 on Nomad Complete. Click "I have an emergency" in your dashboard within 72 hours of the emergency. Without that notice, the reimbursement is 30% lower, the same reduction that applies to skipped pre-approval.
Pre-existing conditions. Neither plan covers them, so a claim that could be linked to one takes longer because we review your medical history. The definitions differ by plan and are in the Nomad Insurance FAQ.
Another insurer that should pay first. If a credit card or employer plan also covers the expense, claim with them first. We pay what is left, and never more than you paid.
Unwitnessed accidents. If nobody saw the accident and no report was made at the time, we ask for independent confirmation of what happened.
Charges above the usual, customary, and reasonable rate on Nomad Complete. If a provider charges more than the usual, customary and reasonable rate for that location, the difference is not reimbursed.
If your claim is denied
You will receive the reason in writing with the decision. Customer Care cannot discuss a claims decision, so reply to the decision email or write to claims@safetywing.com with your claim reference ID, and the claims team responds within 5 business days. You can appeal within 180 days of receiving the decision, up to two times, and each appeal gets a written response. To appeal, get in touch with Customer Care through the live chat and they will provide instructions depending on your plan and claim type.
Joey has been driving growth for startups for over 24 years, including leading his own Y Combinator-backed startup to acquisition. He has spent the past nine years as a digital nomad, living in 18 countries and experiencing everything from Día de los Muertos in Guadalajara to an unexpected swim in the Venice canals.
Joey Flores
Joey has been driving growth for startups for over 24 years, including leading his own Y Combinator-backed startup to acquisition. He has spent the past nine years as a digital nomad, living in 18 countries and experiencing everything from Día de los Muertos in Guadalajara to an unexpected swim in the Venice canals.
