Last Updated: Feb 8th, 2012

I haven’t written in-depth about travel insurance and since it’s a really important subject, I believe this post is long overdue. Travel insurance is something you will need on the road. You never know what could happen, and most regular insurance plans won’t cover you overseas. Check your health care provider to see if you are covered when you travel overseas. If you are not, you should get travel insurance. Moreover, travel insurance also covers the stuff you take on the road, any accidents that might occur, or cancellations that might arise. It’s very handy to have.

I’ve never had any problems on the road and have never had to make that dreaded call to an insurance company. But I know plenty of people who have. On the road, there are a million different things that could happen to you. For the few dollars per month travel insurance costs, it’s better to be safe than sorry. I still have it even though I’ve never needed it. In order to make sure I am covered for any accident and receive the care I need on the road, when I buy travel insurance, I make sure my policy has two important medically related features:

First, you will want to make sure they have a high coverage limit on your medical expenses. Most good travel insurance companies provide up to $100,000 in coverage care, though more expensive policies will cover you for higher amounts. The maximum coverage limits you can find is around $1,000,000 USD. High coverage limits are really important because if you get really sick, injured and you need serious attention and have to be treated for a while, you want to make sure your high hospital bills are covered. The worst thing you can do is go cheap and get a policy with a 20,000 dollar coverage limit, break a leg, and use that limit up in a surgery. Don’t be cheap with your health.

Moreover, make sure this medical coverage includes your hospital stay and will cover any preexisting conditions you might have (travel insurance usually does but with an insurance companies, you never want to assume anything).

Secondly, you want to make sure your insurance policy also covers emergency evacuation. For example, if you are hiking out in the woods, and you break your leg, your travel insurance should cover your emergency evacuation. If a natural disaster happens and you need to be evacuated to somewhere else, your insurance should cover you. This protection usual covers an expense of up to $300,000 USD.

Additionally, this also means evacuation from the hospital to your home country. Standard emergency evacuation usually includes this provision but it’s important you double-check your insurance company will cover the cost of your flight back home if needed.

Good travel insurance will include the following provisions:

• Cover most countries in the world.
• Make sure they cover electronics.
• Cover injury and sudden illnesses within the country and abroad.
• Twenty-four hour emergency services and help.
• Cover lost, damaged or stolen possessions like jewelery, baggage, documents, etc.
• Cover cancellations such as the trip, hotel bookings, flight, and other transportation bookings.
• Cover emergencies, strife in the country visited, etc. that cause you to head home early.
• Cover hazardous activities such as jet skiing, scuba diving, sky diving, paragliding, etc.
• Policies should include personal accident coverage.
• Cover any legal expenses if incurred.
• Financial protection if any company you are using goes bankrupt and you are stuck in another country.

On the subject of electronics, most travel insurance companies only cover a small amount, usually up to $500 USD as part of their basic coverage. You can often buy supplemental insurance for a higher amount of up. For instance, Clements Insurance offers special coverage for your electronics. Prices vary depending on the country (between 145-195 dollars per plan) you visit but they don’t offer insurance for the world. You have to get coverage for your specific country. World Nomads only covers up to $500 USD but you can buy a supplemental plan to cover more expensive electronics and they cover a trip around the world. Moreover, many regular insurance companies and home insurance companies such as State Farm offer plans that can help you cover your electronics. If you already have homeowner’s insurance, there is a possibility some of your gear is covered if it is already specified in your existing policy. If your travel insurance doesn’t have a high coverage amount for electronics and you aren’t covered via your homeowner’s insurance, consider buying supplemental insurance.

Furthermore, know what is also not covered by your plan. Travel insurance policies do not cover accidents sustained while participating in extreme adventure activities such as hang gliding, paragliding, or bungee jumping unless you pay extra. Will the company pre-pay a hospital in the event of an emergency or do you need to pay up front and then file a claim with the insurance company? The majority of insurance companies won’t cover you if you injure someone on the road (called third-party liability). Travel insurance policies do not normally cover alcohol or drug related incidents, or carelessness in handling your possessions and baggage. You won’t get reimbursed if the problem happened because you were reckless. How “reckless” is defined is a matter up to the insurance company. I once heard the story of a traveler whose bag was stolen at a train station. The bag was next to him and someone came up, grabbed it, and ran off. The insurance provider said he was at fault because he had left the bag unattached.

Making a claim
If you make a claim, remember that any travel insurance company, no matter how good, is there to make money and will try to avoid paying out as much as they can. They are after all an insurance companies and they don’t make money by paying out to ever Tom, Dick or Harry. In order to ensure that you do get paid your claim, make sure you have all your receipts and necessary forms. Be prepared to wait to receive your money because even the best companies drag their feet. Be sure to keep a copy of all the money you paid so you can have proper documentation. Receipts, police reports, and official letters – all of it will help make your claim go by a lot quicker.

Moreover, given the prominence of social media these days, you might be able to get your claim expedited quicker by talking to the company online. No one likes to be “outed” for poor customer service and complaining publicly might help. I’ve known many travel companies to solve problems quicker after being complained about on Facebook or Twitter. It’s not a guarantee of success but it can help.

Dealing with insurance companies is a hassle and makes you want to pull your hair out. At the end of the day, if all the policies are equal, I am going to choice the company with the best customer service and the one most likely to not hassle me about my claim and reimburse me. In my opinion, that’s World Nomads.

Major travel agencies like STA Travel and Flight Centre also offer their own insurance packages. While I haven’t used it, many other travel bloggers and writers I know highly recommend Medjet and IMG. Picking your travel insurance is going to take some time. You’ll need to compare multiple plans, especially if you are traveling with a pre-existing condition, children, or lots of electronics.

One of the best travel insurance companies is World Nomads. They are the one I use and are one of my favorite travel companies in general. They are very reputable, and claims are quickly and fairly processed. While their insurance policy is similar to many of the other companies listed in this section, I enjoy World Nomads for the following reasons: I can purchase and renew my insurance policy online in a matter of minutes, they have a very friendly and responsive staff who answer questions and help solve problems via social media, and they have great customer feedback. Moreover, they are also recommended by Lonely Planet guidebooks and National Geographic.

I love companies that have great people at them too, and it’s one of the reasons why I stick with them. I’ve spoken to their General Manager many times on Twitter and talked with a lot of people on the business end. They are all very friendly and very helpful – even their busy CEO. If he takes that much time out to talk to strangers, that kind of emphasis on customers will surely trickle down through the ranks.

You can book World Nomads below. As I said, they are my preferred travel insurance company and I’ve been using them since I started traveling in 2006. A year’s policy will cost you around $900 USD. For the customer service, coverage, a good claims policy, and piece of mind, that’s worth it for me.