The Dufresnes

If you've started looking at Genki, you've probably hit the same fork we did: Genki Traveler or Genki Native? They sound similar, they're sold side by side, and the names don't exactly spell out the difference. So here's the plain-English breakdown from two people who've spent nine years living out of suitcases across Southeast Asia and Latin America — what each plan actually is, who it's built for, and how to pick without overthinking it.

Short version: Traveler is flexible travel health insurance for life on the move. Native is full international health insurance for when you've settled into the nomad life for the long haul. Everything below is the detail behind that sentence.

Sign up with The Dufresnes

When you're ready, you can sign up through our link — genki.world/with/thedufresnes — or just enter the code THEDUFRESNES when you sign up. That's how you sign up with us, and it's what keeps guides like this one going. Your quote is generated the same way either way, so grab an instant price whenever you like:

👉 Get your instant Genki quote

Genki in 30 seconds

Genki is a Germany-based insurtech that builds health insurance specifically for digital nomads, remote workers, expats, and long-term travelers. The coverage is worldwide — you're insured in every country — and the policy is underwritten by Squarelife Insurance AG, with a 24/7 emergency assistance line behind it. You manage everything online (or over WhatsApp), sign up in minutes even if you're already abroad, and pay month to month.

There are two products. That's the whole decision.

The quick answer

• Choose Genki Traveler if you're traveling for anywhere from a month up to a year, you mainly want protection against new injuries and illnesses on the road, and you want maximum flexibility with a lower monthly cost.
• Choose Genki Native if you're living abroad long term (or indefinitely), you want real everyday healthcare — routine visits, and on Premium things like dental, vision, mental health, maternity and preventive care — and you're OK committing to at least a year.

If you're still testing whether the nomad life sticks, start with Traveler. If this is your life now, Native is the grown-up plan.

Genki Traveler — flexible cover for life on the move

Best for: backpackers, visa-runners, gap-year travelers, and nomads on trips up to 12 months.

Traveler is travel health insurance. It's designed to catch the new stuff that happens while you're away — the scooter spill, the dengue fever, the ear infection that appears out of nowhere in a town you can't pronounce.

What you get:

• Up to €1,000,000 in medical treatment worldwide
• Hospital stays, outpatient care, exams, surgery and medication
• Ambulance, emergency medical transport and repatriation
• Almost all sports and adventure activities (surfing, diving, biking and more)
• Telemedicine, plus emergency dental after an accident
• Available to anyone aged 0–69, from any country, for 1 to 12 months
• A €50 deductible per case, with no deductible on hospital stays
• Cancel any time after the first month

Pricing starts from around €52/month and moves with your age and chosen coverage region. It's a subscription, not a lump sum — one of the reasons it fits an unpredictable life so well.

Two things to know going in: Traveler focuses on new conditions, so pre-existing conditions generally aren't covered, and coverage in your home country is limited to short emergency-only windows. It also isn't trip insurance — no lost luggage, no flight delays, no trip cancellation.

Genki Native — full international health insurance

Best for: long-term nomads, expats, and families who've made "abroad" their normal.

Native is a different animal. This is proper international health insurance you can keep for a year or for life, and it's built to replace the local healthcare you don't have. It comes in two tiers.

Native Basic covers inpatient and outpatient treatment at any doctor or hospital, accidents and emergencies, chronic conditions, a wide range of sports, and includes direct billing to hospitals so you're not fronting big bills. Pricing starts from around €180–189/month (illustrative, for a healthy 30-year-old).

Native Premium adds the everyday-life stuff: dental, vision, mental health, maternity (after a waiting period), preventive care and check-ups, alternative treatments, and fuller home-country coverage. It starts from around €260–273/month (again, illustrative).

Native is available to sign up between ages 0–55 (and you're not dropped once you pass 55), with a 12-month minimum, after which you can cancel monthly. One genuinely nice detail: unlike Traveler, Native can consider pre-existing conditions through an individual medical assessment at signup rather than a blanket "no."

Side-by-side

	Genki Traveler	Genki Native (Basic / Premium)
Type	Travel health insurance	Full international health insurance
Best for	Trips & nomad stints up to 12 months	Long-term nomads, expats, families
Duration	1–12 months	1 year minimum, then monthly; keep for life
Sign-up age	0–69	0–55 (not dropped after)
From (illustrative)	~€52/mo	~€180/mo (Basic) · ~€260/mo (Premium)
Everyday care (routine, dental, vision)	✗	Premium ✓
Mental health / maternity	✗	Premium ✓ (waiting periods apply)
Preventive care / check-ups	✗	Premium ✓
Pre-existing conditions	Generally not covered	Individually assessed at signup
Home-country cover	Brief emergencies only	Meaningful (fuller on Premium)
Sports & adventure	Almost all	Virtually all, including extreme
Direct hospital billing	For hospital stays	✓
Cancel	After first month	After 12 months

Prices are illustrative and change with your age, region, deductible and health status. Always pull your own number.

How to choose — by scenario

• "I'm backpacking Southeast Asia for six months." → Traveler. Flexible, affordable, covers the accidents and illnesses that actually happen.
• "I've been abroad two years and I'm not going home." → Native. You want real healthcare, not just an emergency net.
• "I want a therapist, a dentist and a yearly check-up while I travel." → Native Premium. Traveler won't do those.
• "I might settle down, might not — I want to test it." → Start on Traveler, upgrade to Native when the life sticks.
• "We're a family planning a baby abroad." → Native Premium (mind the maternity waiting period, so plan ahead).
• "I have a pre-existing condition." → Native, because it's assessed individually rather than excluded outright — just answer the health questions completely and honestly.

How signing up works

Genki's signup is refreshingly quick: enter your birthdate, pick your plan and region, answer the health questions honestly (for Native), choose a start date, and you're covered. You can do the whole thing from a guesthouse in Da Nang or a café in Chiang Mai.

To do it with us, use genki.world/with/thedufresnes or enter THEDUFRESNES at signup.

👉 Compare your Traveler and Native prices now

FAQ

Can I switch from Traveler to Native later? Yes — plenty of people start on Traveler while they're figuring out the nomad life, then move to Native when they commit to living abroad. They're separate products, so you sign up for the new one when you're ready.

Is Genki actual insurance or just a travel add-on? It's real health insurance, underwritten by Squarelife Insurance AG and backed by a 24/7 assistance network. It is not trip insurance, though — neither plan covers lost luggage, delays or cancellation.

Does either plan cover the USA and Canada? Coverage there is limited and pricier (Traveler restricts it to short emergency windows unless you upgrade, and US visits can carry a copay). If North America is a big part of your route, price it carefully before you commit.

What about sports? Both plans cover a wide range of activities. Traveler handles almost all recreational sports and adventure; Native goes further, into genuinely extreme territory. If you do something unusual, confirm it's included before you rely on it.

How fast are claims paid? Travelers routinely report reimbursements landing within about a week for straightforward claims, and Native offers direct hospital billing so big bills can be handled without you paying up front.

The bottom line

Genki Traveler and Genki Native aren't really competitors — they're two answers to the question "how permanent is your life abroad right now?" Traveler is the flexible safety net for the road. Native is the full healthcare system you carry with you when abroad becomes home. Pick the one that matches this chapter of your travels, and upgrade when the chapter changes.

Ready to see your numbers? Get an instant Genki quote or use code THEDUFRESNES when you sign up.

We're a Genki partner: if you sign up through our link or code, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This article is a general overview, not insurance advice — coverage limits, exclusions and waiting periods apply, and terms can change, so always read Genki's official product pages and insurance conditions before signing up.