Comments on: How to Buy the Best Travel Insurance

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 10 May 2021 23:03:41 +0000

I travel frequently and don’t always know how long I’m going to be staying in any particular location. I may go from there to another country rather than back here to the US, before eventually returning home, then leaving again. I like the annual trip policies, but don’t like the restriction of 60 days (I found only one for longer – 90 days) in any given destination (“trip”). What’s a person to do who is traveling around, wandering if you will, and doesn’t want to be restricted to time frame within a particular location? I imagine students who take a “gap year” and travel around the world would want insurance, what do they do? I feel like I’m in the same boat as them. Any advice would be appreciated.

By: Neil

Neil — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 14:56:22 +0000

In reply to Jacqueline. Keep in mind that even if you have your own health insurance that will cover medical issues, almost none include evacuation insurance, which could easily be the most expensive part of an accident. If nothing else just find the cheapest plan that would offer you that.

By: steff

steff — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 20:02:46 +0000

ok my hubby and I have always got insurance with each trip when we leave Canada which is about $200 or more for EACH part of our cruise,flights and hotels. Found this site we are 52 and 51yrs old prebooked our cruise for Jan/14 but didn’t buy insurance because we still need to book airfare and hotels and we maybe also taking another vacation in the us before then. We figured what we pay for each leg of our trip why not buy by the year. So my question is this insurance primary or secondary to our work plans for medical(no pre-existing problems thankful). And if we buy for the year it covers us on all our trips and flights. Insurance is important to us because in jan up here snowstorms are the hazard.

By: NomadicMatt

NomadicMatt — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 18:36:40 +0000

In reply to Jen Rai. They cover you for a set time period. So you buy insurance for say 6 months at a time.

By: Keith

Keith — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 16:05:55 +0000

I’m not convinced comprehensive travel insurance is a necessarily a good deal – with one exception: medical/evacuation insurance. You buy any type of insurance because you have a risk that you cannot afford to take. This is true for all types of insurance: life, health, travel, etc. I personally don’t find trip cancelation insurance to be a good deal in most situations since it’s simply very unlikely you will have to cancel for a reason covered by the insurance and the insurance is relatively expensive. Of course, you have to determine your own risks and make informed decisions. If your travel company has a poor performance record, if it’s tropical storm season, etc. that could make it worthwhile. For me, the cost of trip cancelation insurance is usually higher than the risk justifies. On the other hand, when I’m traveling in a part of the world where medical care is sketchy I always purchase medical/evacuation insurance. The risk of illness or injury (and the consequences of illness or injury) is much greater, in my judgment, than any other possible circumstance. This insurance is relatively cheap and often comes bundled with lost baggage and trip delay coverage. My favorite company is Travelex. The coverage and cost are very good and I know firsthand they pay without hassle.

By: Jen Rai

Jen Rai — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:04:59 +0000

I’m an American, already abroad (with student health insurance in my current country).

When I leave this country I plan to travel to 3 or 4 other countries for at least 6 months.

I looked at World Nomads, and they said no “multi-trips” — what does this mean? Does it mean it only covers people for one country per trip? I am so confused?

By: Andario

Andario — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 23:22:15 +0000

Hey Matt! Thanks for the useful post (and comments!).

My “little” problem is that I´m preparing a RTW on my motorbike, and I haven´t been able to find a single company that will cover me if the bike gets stolen (Including Worldnomads et al), which is a HUGE problem as you can imagine.

I guess you must have met lots of travellers using their own vehicles, do you happen to know how did they deal with the possibility of waking up one day not having their vehicle any more? (And no, praying is not an option… 😉

THANKS!

By: NomadicMatt

NomadicMatt — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:05:32 +0000

In reply to Jacqueline. Thanks for the story!

By: Jacqueline

Jacqueline — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 01:15:01 +0000

Hey Matt! Just wanted to take a quick opportunity to thank you for this post. Because of it, I bought travel insurance that night before my trip to Panama.

2 weeks later, I had to receive an emergency appendectomy while still in Panama and luckily had insurance. Also, I thought your readers would like to know that Panama offers up to $7,000 for 30 days to tourists visiting Panama if anything happens while there (no preexisting medical conditions are covered). So with that and travel insurance, I was completely covered.

By: NomadicMatt

NomadicMatt — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 22:41:52 +0000

In reply to Jag. clements.com