There is a lot of uncertainty about world travel, and you never know when something bad might happen. You could get sick and need medical care. If you are into adventure sports, you may need an emergency evacuation from a remote area. All of your possessions might get stolen from your hotel room or hostel. These things can happen and for a long-term trip, especially, you have a higher chance of a mishap. It is important to think about travel insurance for even small trips, as it is better to be safe instead of stuck with a bill that is out of your means of paying.
Travel insurance is there to reimburse you when these horrible things happen; it might be one of the most important things to take with you on your trip. Most standard health plans provide very limited or no coverage while you are abroad. That is why it is important to find the right coverage based on your travel requirements.
What types of coverage do you need?
This really depends on what type of traveler you are and the risks you might be taking. Here are some types of coverage that can are common in a policy.
Coverage for:
- Injury and illness
- Electronic equipment
- Lost, stolen or damaged items
- Emergencies (ex: typhoon hits and you need to get out)
- Cancellations of flights, hotel bookings, etc., due to illness, a death in the family, or other emergency
- Emergency evacuation from adventure activities
- Car rental damage
Important Things to Consider:
- For medical expenses, get a plan that has at least $100,000 in coverage. If you have a serious injury, you will not want to be stuck with the bill.
- Make sure when you add emergency evacuation coverage that it will get you from the hospital to your home country for care. This should be a separate charge from your medical expenses care listed above.
- If you have expensive camera equipment or a laptop, buy electronics coverage and get some supplemental insurance to cover anything above what their policy limit is, which is usually around five hundred dollars.
- Always read the fine print. They may bury some provisions that undermine the coverage you think you are getting.
- Make sure it covers most countries in the world, or at least the ones you plan to visit.
(Pictured is a trained professional, do not do this at home)
Travel Insurance Companies
- Clements – Best pick for expensive electronics coverage
- STA Travel – Cheap limited coverage plan for student travelers
- Insure My Trip – Provides good coverage and includes plans for those 65 years or older who will not be insured elsewhere
- IM Global – Acts like the health insurance you have through your company and is the most expensive option while abroad
- SafetyWing – Budget option for emergencies (health, injury, evacuation), but doesn’t cover gear. They base pricing on age groups.
- World Nomads – Good overall coverage
Since we already have coverage for our electronics with our valuable property insurance at our bank, we chose SafetyWing. Here are some reasons why this is our choice based on our needs.
- They fill in the gaps in where our existing valuable property policy doesn’t.
- The website is very detailed and easy to use and understand.
- SafetyWing is for nomads and created by nomads.
- Prices are very reasonable and much lower than some of the prime plans.
- They have the lowest price per month
- This insurance helped us with an emergency evacuation from Argentina during Covid.
- Tip: If you are going on a yearlong trip, make sure you have emergency evacuation insurance, emergency medical insurance, and coverage for any expensive items like cameras and computers.
Our choice may not be the best for you, so please look at these options and any others you find. Read the fine print, look at reviews, both positive and negative, and then make an educated choice for your price and coverage needs.
Do you have any suggestions or experiences you want to share regarding travel insurance? We would love to hear them before we go, so please leave them in the comments.
What is your worst travel mishap? Let us know below.
Psst… do you love reading about holidays around the world? You might also enjoy these:
- Traveling in the Time of the Coronavirus
- We Were Robbed While Traveling – How You Can Learn from Our Mistake
- Flying Home During the Coronavirus Outbreak
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