Travel Insurance

Each time we go on a new trip we find ourselves considering the needs of travel insurance. Maybe this is a factor of getting older, but it feels more necessary now than it ever did before. Certainly when we did our around the world trip we bought travel insurance, but there were plenty of times we took the risk depending on the destination.

Do you need travel insurance?

Short answer: Yes.

Longer Answer: Most of the time, especially when traveling internationally and when there are non-refundable expenses.

First, look at how much you paid for those plane tickets. If they’re international, they probably cost way more than just a couple hundred dollars, right? And they’re probably non-refundable too. Can you afford that loss if you have to cancel? For this reason alone I recommend buying the insurance as soon as you buy those tickets.

What if you get in a car accident in Cambodia, India, or Kenya and break a leg? Yes, medical care is cheaper in those places, but would you really want to have have surgery there? Insurance will make sure you get home if needed for care. Of course, there are limits to the coverage as there are with any insurance, so make sure you educate yourself.

What do we do?

Over the years, we’ve bought insurance from many different companies and recently discovered World Nomads Travel Insurance. For us, they offer very good value for trips both short and long so this is what we now buy before traveling internationally.

One of their best features is that they give you two options for levels of coverage; Standard and Explorer. This way you don’t end up buying more coverage than you need.

We’ve found that Standard covers us for pretty much every trip. If we wanted to go to Antarctica, covered. Camel Riding, Bungee Jumping, Trekking up to 6000 meters? Covered under the Standard plan. However, if we were planning on scuba diving, hot air ballooning or even sky diving, then the Explorer plan would be our choice, and for not much more expense. If you’re curious, you can see an A-Z list of covered 100 sports & activities here.

Another critical feature is the medical emergency and evacuation coverage. We’ve heard too many stories of travelers being injured and facing excessive costs while trying to get home. For more on what they cover check out the 5 key parts of a World Nomads’ travel insurance policy which include trip interruption, delay and cancellation, and baggage loss among other benefits.

Make sure you do your homework when buying any travel insurance.  Read all the fine print to determine if it’s right for you.  These opinions are ours alone and we’ll keep buying our insurance from them, even if you don’t!