Insurance forum

I've never used travel insurance and never intend to either as I see it as yet another unnecessary expense.

This is an honest question that you might want to ask yourself; Why do you feel that you need it?

I've used World Nomads on numerous occasions, though have never had to make a claim with them. I'd disagree with #2's comment above, and would say that travel insurance runs a close second to an air ticket. While it's true that chances are you'll not have any problems, if you do, travel insurance pays for itself in a very short period of time.

One of the travel insurance company's slogans is 'if you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel'. I can only hope that Guernseystu is being very sarcastic.

I spent a week in a Polish hospital followed by tests in the UK and the bill came to thousands - that is thousands I could not have paid and would have ended my 2 year holiday very early.

I am looking at travel insurance now for my 3 months in SE Asia and am tossing up between Allianz, Columbus and Insure & Go.

Well... These above recommendation might be useful for you but there are several comparison site online that are providing online quotes from different insurer so according to me the best idea is that you should compare all related terms online and get policy from which suite you according to your needs.

I agree that travel insurance is a must, but despite having used world nomads 2x, without making a claim I still had a problem with them re: a 2 day extension. 3 months = 285$ - 2 days $77 (actually they wouldn't let me extend 2 days, it had to be a week, which I didn't need) I did not have the option at the beginning to choose 92 days, only 90.

So in the end my last 2 days were not covered because I refused to pay this silly amount. I wrote to then several times, they just stated the rules were.... etc. I told them I would no longer recommend them on travel forums and think twice about using them again, they did not reply. Link below lists some complaints by users:

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews102077.html

Agree with TassieWombat. It depends where you are, both for classic travel insurance and free travel insurance from your credit card. Seems that Kiwis only get 45 days free cover with their visa cards whereas in France you get 90 days.

World Nomads has wildly different policies and pricing depending on where you live too. If you live in the US you only get a piddling $100,000 for medical expenses whereas if you happen to live in Australia they are overkill generous and will fork out up to $5,000,000.
Some nationalities have to pay far higher premiums than others and many WN customers won't get fully reimbursed because (very) hefty deductible fees apply to almost all claims on some policies.

I'm not sure why World Nomads are the recommended travel insurance for ALL backpackers by both TF and LP ... unless it's something to do with the fact they are an Australian company and Aussies get a pretty good deal compared to other nationalities?

I've used WN (even though it cost me an arm and a leg compared to Aussie rates) and I even made a small claim once. They partially reimbursed me but used the fact that I'd extended my policy to get out of paying a part of it .... even though I was never without WN insurance for a single nanosecond that whole trip.

World Nomad's "you can extend any time during your trip" hype is something you really need to look at twice at before deciding to use this option. It may sound like a good idea but it could potentially leave you totally uninsured just when you most need cover.

It's essential to realize that you when you "extend" with WNs, you aren't actually extending your original contract, you're buying a totally new insurance policy. (The way WN use the word "extend" on their website is very misleading IMO). There's a huge difference between "extending" an existing policy and buying a new one in terms of the cover you're you're entitled to. A new policy won't cover you for any "pre-existing conditions" that occurred during your previous insurance period. A genuine policy extension would use the start date of the original policy to determine which conditions are pre-existing.

Example.

Suppose you "extend" shortly before your initial policy expires and then have a serious motorbike accident. You haven't been uninsured for a single minute so you're fully covered right?

Wrong.

You're only covered until your initial contract expires. Once the "extension" (new contract) kicks in, your injuries are technically a "pre-existing condition". This could mean that YOU have to foot the bill yourself if medical repatriation or expensive surgery becomes necessary.

Few travel insurance companies allow you to buy travel insurance once you've left home like WN does and if you're traveling for 6 months it does give you the option to start with the free credit card cover. It may or may not be more economical for you to do this. You have to take into account the quality of the cover this combination would provide compared to what an insurance company in your home country can offer. (Insurance companies tend to give better rates to customers based in the same country as them)

But if you do opt for World Nomads it's definitely in your best interests (but not WNs) to buy your travel insurance all in one go rather than "extending" as you travel ... for the reasons mentioned above.

As I said, WN has wildly different policies because they use different underwriters depending on where you live.

eg They insure US citizens up to the age of 67 but the age limit for UK residents is only 60!

I've got a much better deal with ACS ....monthly rate of under 40 euros a month, can travel worldwide up to 12 months, covers more than basics, no deductibles AND you can get one genuine extension of your policy while you're away. (You have to extend more than 14 days before your policy expires to get it though). They also insure people up to the age of 70.

But it does have a few limitations eg no cover for dermatology (does that mean if you get extensive 3rd degree burns in a fire they won't pay for a skin graft?) and rates for residents of France are significantly lower than for anyone else (under 40 euros/month compared to 70 euros for residents of other countries). One size doesn't fit all and the proof of the pudding is how good they are at honoring claims so you need to check user reviews too.

My advice is to first check out travel insurance companies based in your own country and compare what they offer to what WNs or any other "multinational" insurance company offers. And check out other insurance options too...like credit cards...but look carefully at how much they'll fork out if something goes really wrong. My visa card isn't quite generous enough for major incidents and it assumes you'll always have a telephone signal/internet when travelling (you have to contact them within 24 hours) ...but it's better than nothing.