(The following information is additional and extracted from the
'before you go' section, related
to backpackers travel insurance,
click on the link to read full info if you wish).
It goes without saying you need travel insurance for any trip,
but it's not something you should be sorting out at the last minute
as policies vary significantly and you need to spend a little time reading
all the small print. For example, to find out if cash and indeed any
of your valuables are covered - which they are often not on the very
cheap policies - and how much the excess is that you would be expected
to pay should the worst happen.
The key features you should be looking....
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Medical expenditures: this should be minimum
million USD that it includes any possible rescue mission
and ambulance costs to get you treatment. This sometimes
includes dental which is useful but sometimes costs extra
Repatriation costs: Money to cover bringing you
back home in a worst case scenario.
Lost of valuables: here the important one, Lost
of money, digital camera, luggage, etc. But don't expect
too much, there will be a limit on your claim and certainly
a limit for any one item. You will need a police report
and your receipts to make a successful claim that will probably
see you getting back half what you lost. Obviously this
is where the most fraud happens. Nevertheless it's good
to have and some companies are better than others.
Cancellation costs: if your flight has been cancelled
and you are left behind you'll be provided with a hotel,
new tickets, etc.
Countries of coverage: some countries like USA,
Canada and Japan are excluded because the medical costs
are high.
Price of the policy: shop around, prices vary
enormously between different companies. There is plenty
of competition.
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Personal liability: should you be in need of
legal assistance (say you rent a bike, have an accident
and a third party gets injured), you'll be insured up to
a certain amount. The standard is 1-2 million USD.
Policy excess: the initial amount you pay per
every claim. This is normal and there is no getting away
from a reasonable policy excess.
The underwriter: Always read the fine print searching
for the underwriter. The underwriter guy behind the scene
who will pay up. You are looking for a big international
insurance house, a secure, established, well-known institution.
Contact number: make sure they have a 24hours
free hotline you can dial in case of an emergency. You will
need to call first before accepting any medical assistance.
Extendibility: on some policies you can, should
you decide to travel for a little bit longer than expected,
buy new months of coverage once on the road. This is well
recommended.
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Cheap policies are fine for the important health cover aspect, but
don't expect to have your $200 camera covered or any previous medical
condition. Conversely on expensive policies, don't expect your $2000
camera to be covered unless you have made special measures for it.
One
recommended and well-known crowd are
Columbus, but new companies are always coming onto the scene (e.g.
Globe Link) and the market is very competitive. One such newer start
up that comes highly recommended from several e-mailed comments
and personal experience is
World Nomads. They claim to be set up with backpackers in mind.
You can do things like extend policies indefinitely and/or make claims
online whilst still on the road. They offer a money back guarantee,
cover the likes of surfing, diving, trekking and bikes (which many don't
as standard) and you can buy from any country in the world. All of which
is useful and worth checking out. It can also be said (after years of
comparison) that their terms and rates are favourable.
It is also worth noting, as with many similar
companies, that World Nomads isn't an insurance company themselves,
they are merely a retailer for various big international insurance
companies (whom are mentioned below) and that benefits vary depending on the country
you buy their policy from, for example in the USA their maximum item
cover is lower than elsewhere - however there are solutions to get around
this, see comment.
Also of note is that many policies now don't cover most
acts of terrorism, except for airline hijacking or random acts (like say
9/11 or London tube bombs). The other big consideration is that the
definitions of Acts of War and Acts of Terrorism overlap so much that in
any country or region where there is even a whiff of insurgency (i.e.
somewhere like Pakistan or Lebanon but, also touristy places like
Eastern Turkey, Southern Thailand, parts of India and even Fiji) what
would widely be considered an act of terrorism by most people, will
actually be considered by the insurers as an act of war (insurgency,
revolution, civil unrest or coup) and you get covered for nothing. For
this reason it is always important to read the small print, but in many
cases there is little you can do.
Whatever policy you buy, the geographic regions included may vary
the price; try to get a policy that excludes North America or just a
Europe policy that covers places such as Israel, the Caucasus, and North
Africa. Be warned that starting a new policy for another geographic
region is often not possible during your trip (i.e. having a cheap European
policy and then travelling into Africa/Asia). Only a few companies will
give you cover on-line while you are away (i.e. extend the length of
your policy if you don't know how long
your
trip will be). Multi-trip year long policies limit the length of your
trip to 30 or 60 days (although 90 days can be found), making them fairly
useless for many long haul trips. Good insurance with loads of protection
is normally quite expensive. Again, the cheaper policies will not cover
personal possessions, only medical costs.
You can get a quote direct from World Nomads site by clicking
here, or otherwise you can use the form below. Either way you are
always advised to shop around. You could probably find cheaper, but
perhaps not better.
(Please note: the following information is in part replicated
from information from the World Nomads site)...
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World Nomads travel insurance
Recommended by Travelindependent and many others including Lonely
Planet, World Nomads
travel insurance is designed for independent travellers.
With cover for overseas medical, evacuation, baggage and activities
such as skiing and snowboarding, you can buy, extend and
claim online even after you've left home.
Unlike many companies who have strong regional boundaries
WorldNomads insurance is available to travellers from over 150
countries and cover a wide range of adventurous activities.
Some great features we really liked are:
- Buy online while away from home
- Available to people from over 150 countries
- Designed for student and gap year travellers
- Patented online claims and extensions
- Covers overseas medical, evacuation and
baggage
- Covers adventure activities such as skiing
& snowboarding
Please note that where policy wording is concerned, this
really depends on the country of residence of the customer (and
it does change periodically too), so is too tricky to provide
a generic list which is relevant for all residents in the information
below and you need to check it out yourself.
Underwritten by Lloyd's among others (depending on where
you are from in the world), World Nomads offers
good value travel insurance in over 150 countries. With
24/7 assistance anywhere on the planet provided and
online claims and extensions from anywhere in the world
while you are still away.
Great value.
World Nomads offers some of the best value
online travel insurance available. The prices reflect both
the efficiencies of the internet and the level of cover, which
has been designed to meet the needs of young, adventurous, long-term
travellers.
World Nomads travel insurance. Policy details,
more covered than you might expect.
Worldwide cover
The level of worldwide cover in travel insurance policy
recognises the needs of young, independent and adventurous
travellers. So there is cover for skiing and diving rather
than for travel delays and missed connections, which most
world nomads take in their stride as part of the trip.
And of course, everything is online. From changing your
details to making a claim, you can do it all online.
Cover your Adventure
World Nomads travel insurance covers every country in
the world, and from Bungee Jumping in New Zealand to white-water
rafting in Nepal or skiing in Colorado, we also cover most
adventure sports. Find out if what you want to do is covered
with our simple guide to adventure.
Extend and claim online, while you are still away
Travel plans often change. That is what's exciting. Unlike
other insurers, who don't allow you to extend or purchase
again outside your country of residence, World Nomads allows
you to extend your policy indefinitely.
And since you will probably be away for a while we recognised
that you can't wait until you get home to make a claim,
so we put it all online. You can submit claims, but more
importantly also liaise with the claims department until
it is settled.
And you can do so 24/7 from anywhere in the world.
Digital camera's, iPod's and computers
Because it's your duty to make your friends mad with
envy, you probably travel with a digital camera to email
your pictures back home. It's why we cover such items as
well as iPods, laptops and other valuable equipment
24/7 Global Emergency Assistance
24/7 Global Emergency Assistance is provided by
Mondial Assistance, the largest travel assistance company
in the world, with over 37 call centres in 28 countries.
Underwritten by some of the best insurers worldwide
For peace of mind, World Nomads partners with some of
the best insurers in the world including Lloyd's, World Access and Millstream Underwriting
Limited.
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A few supporting partners....
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