Britnee JohnstonTravel Insurance Mark Johnston September 20 Planning, Round the World Trip Doubts & Fears of Traveling You’re preparing for a big trip abroad and you’re probably asking the same questions we did: Do I need travel insurance? Is it worth the cost? Will I even need it? Fear of the unknown is the great motivator for purchasing coverage, especially when planning to travel for an entire year. But as we were budget travelers who scrimped and saved for two years to fund our trip, shelling out $1,000+ for insurance was hard to do. We came close to leaving without it, but when family implored us to get covered we took a last look at World Nomads (part of Nationwide Insurance) and purchased a travel insurance plan for our first six months abroad. We planned to see how things went those first months of the trip and then extend our insurance if needed. At the time, World Nomads was the top search result for travel insurance and boasted good reviews from other travelers in forums and on blogs. Plus, the process to sign up online was so simple. What Our Travel Insurance Covered For a standard travel insurance plan that covered “worldwide travel outside of USA (excluding travel to, in or through Cuba) or a domestic trip over 100 miles from home,” we paid a total premium of USD $670 for six months. Here’s what was included: Emergency Accident & Sickness Medical Expense up to $100,000 Emergency dental treatment up to $750 Hospital advancement $500 Pre-existing medical conditions and adventure sports and activities were not covered in our standard plan Emergency Evacuation & Repatriation up to $300,000 This included transportation for others to join the injured/sick member an repatriation of remains Trip Cancellation up to $2,500 Trip Interruption up to $2,500 Additional accommodation and transport expenses per day up to $250 max Trip Delay up to $500 $100 per day max Baggage & Personal Effects were covered up to $1,000 * Per article limit of $500 Combined maximum benefit of $500 Baggage Delay (outward journey only) up to $750 Per day max of $150 Collision Damage Waiver was not included Accidental Death & Dismemberment up to $5,000 One Call 24-hour assistance services were listed as unlimited One Call Non-Medical Emergency Evacuation Services up to $25,000 * We also had a renters insurance policy through Progressive that covered all of our belongings in storage and the more expensive items that came with us, like my camera and lenses, valued well over the $1,000 covered by World Nomads. Did We Use Our Travel Insurance? No. In the entire year we traveled around the world we were fortunate to never have to use our travel insurance. That’s not to say we didn’t fall ill or wind up in a hospital, only in those rare circumstances we didn’t think the cost was worth filing a claim. For example, in Nepal both Britnee and I fell ill with Giardia, a parasite picked up in the water we’d been drinking while trekking. After reading plenty of online articles and talking to a nurse contact via email, we picked up some tinidazole (for the parasite) and some antibiotics (for whatever else there might be) at a local hole-in-the-wall pharmacy in Pokhara. It cost a few bucks and thankfully we were back to full health and trekking the Annapurna Sanctuary within a week. Later, in Dalat, Vietnam, I succumbed to another intestinal bug and took a trip to the local hospital. We sat in a humble emergency room with locals from the surrounding rural communities suffering all kinds of illnesses worse than my own. Next to me were a Finnish couple, who we almost ended up paying for due to a miscommunication. I was scheduled for x-rays I didn’t need and then finally seen by a doctor who understood my ailment, for which he gave a shot and some powders to take in the coming days. All that was about $7. In Thailand, Britnee visited a tourist clinic in Patong Beach. But, again the cost was minimal and didn’t seem worth the hassle of insurance paperwork. Was the Cost of Travel Insurance Worth it? So after all that, did we think the travel insurance was a waste of money? Absolutely not. Like many of World Nomads’ marketing efforts promote, the peace of mind travel insurance provides might be worth the cost alone. During our year abroad, we witnessed others suffering injury and enduring illness worse than our own. We met fellow tourists who had their backpacks stolen in Turkey and heard reports of others involved in bus accidents in Nepal, scooter accidents in S.E. Asia, and even plane crashes. The 2014 Nepal snowstorm disaster on Throng La happened just two months before we trekked there ourselves. Having an insurance policy in place not only eased our own stress (slightly) when hearing these reports, but also provided a comfort to our families and friends back home. And, since I recently suffered a badly broken leg that could have happened anywhere on our travels (including a remote village in Nepal), we’ve both learned first hand that having good insurance when you finally need it can be life and limb saving! What Other Insurance Options Are There? You may have read our policy above and wondered if much of it is covered by your credit card travel insurance when using you card to book your trip. Maybe… at least some of it. I assumed that my “World” Mastercard (that, by the way, still charges foreign transaction fees) offered similar insurance protection when using it to book travel abroad. Upon further research, I quickly realized that “travel accident insurance” only equated to accidental death or dismemberment coverage if you “purchase common carrier travel tickets with your eligible Mastercard.” Also, that the selection of benefits can vary by card type and issuer. The deeper you dig, the less protection your credit card provides. For that reason, we’re still happy with the extensive coverage we got from World Nomads. I hope this was helpful. If you have any further questions, please add them to the discussion below and we’ll respond as soon as possible. To keep reading, click here to see how we planned our around-the-world route.
