Best Travel Insurance 2024: Our Tips and Experience

1) Is travel insurance a requirement in the country you are travelling to?

Although it is recommended to buy a travel insurance, in many countries it is a requirement, either at the time of entry or when applying for a visa. Some examples are:

• If you are going to apply for a visa, for example a visa for China or Iran
• If you are going to do a Work & Holidays
• To obtain a study visa

2) Adequate health care coverage when travelling abroad

This is the main thing you should take into account for when looking for the best travel insurance policy. Bear in mind that while most countries require a minimum amount of cover, in other destinations it won’t be enough if you have a serious health problem.

This is especially true if you are travelling to the United States or Canada (see point 4). Some insurance companies charge extra to your policy fee to cover you in these countries.

3) European Health Insurance Card or Travel Insurance for travelling in Europe?

European Union residents can travel within the 27 countries with the European Health Insurance Card, which allows you to receive emergency care as if you were a local (i.e. if someone in that country pays for something, you would also have to pay for it).

However, for peace of mind, you should also take out a travel insurance. The coverage (and prices) are usually lower than if you travel to the rest of the world. Also, the European Health Insurance Card does not include repatriation, so keep this in mind and choose the best travel insurance.

• More information about the European Health Insurance Card here.

4) Check your travel insurance coverage in the United States (PRICES!)

In the United States and Canada, a coverage of less than €100,000 will not be enough in case something serious happens to you. For these two countries we recommend that the coverage is higher than €1,000,000.

Details: 1 person from August 5th to 25th – 3 weeks only – travelling to the US.

5) Pre-existing or chronic illness

The vast majority of travel insurances (if not almost none) do NOT cover pre-existing medical conditions. If this is your case, we recommend that you consult your doctor about what to do if you suffer a relapse during your trip.

6) Childbirth and pregnancies

Same applies if you are pregnant. While an airline may let you travel while you are pregnant if you have a certificate of approval from your doctor, most travel insurances do not have full coverage for these cases. They usually cover unforeseeable complications, but not the obligatory ultrasounds (check-ups), voluntary interruption of pregnancy or high-risk pregnancies, for example.

7) Excess or deductible

The excess or deductible is a minimum amount that the insured has to pay in the event of a claim. In other words, one has to pay UP TO the amount established by the deductible, the rest will be paid by the insurance company.

Many companies include it because the claim procedures are usually costly and so that travellers do not abuse or use the insurance for anything that happens to them.

So if you don’t usually get sick or go to the doctor, if you just want to comply with an immigration requirement, if you don’t mind paying an excess in case something happens, and, even better, you want a cheaper travel insurance, this point may save you money, but you should still know that it exists.

And finally, even if you think that the illness you have is not important, tell the insurance company. As mentioned before, a fever I had in Malaysia could have been dengue fever and days of hospitalization. So you’d better let the insurance know why you’re going to the doctor.

8) Adventure sports

In general, travel insurance policies include some adventure sports, as long as they are NOT done professionally, precautions are taken (renting a motorbike and wearing a helmet) and they are not the main reason for the trip.

So if you go scuba diving, skiing, mountaineering, or any other sport, make sure that your insurance specifically includes them and, if in doubt, ask.

9) No advance payments but, if there are, that the claim process is straightforward.

Advancing expenses is paying for medical care yourself and then being reimbursed by the insurer. However, this occurs generally for primary medical care and not for hospitalization.

Some travellers are not willing to do this and prefer to have the insurance company take care of everything from the very beginning, so it is important to know whether you have to advance expenses and then be reimbursed by the insurance company.

Other travellers see this as an advantage because of its flexibility, i.e. by advancing expenses one can choose the closest place to be treated. Otherwise, if the insurance company is in charge, you would have to travel to the medical centre where the insurance company has an agreement.

Anyway, insurer claims team may request original copies of documents as medical receipts, diagnosis reports, treatment given, etc. so keep them safe.

10) Check other coverage (baggage, delays, cancellations and other unforeseen events).

These are not concepts that usually interest us when it comes to buying the best travel insurance, given that normally many conditions have to be met for these indemnities to be paid, and in the fine print, within what is luggage, they usually leave aside computer equipment and materials of great value or, in some cases, they limit them.

It is better, for the latter, to buy specific insurance for the valuable baggage you are carrying, especially if your equipment is your work tool.

11) Check coverage for repatriation due to illness or death, and compensation.

A horrible subject, but one to think about. Not only for ourselves, also for our family.

Our case is very particular. We are Argentinians living in Spain, so if we usually buy insurance in Spain, and the repatriation in case of illness or death will be to that country.

If we buy an insurance in Argentina to travel around the world, we have to prove that we are leaving from Argentina, which we cannot do.

So, the solution we find is a repatriation with an indemnity for relatives, so that if we have to be transported to Spain, we ourselves or someone from our family receives money to take us to Argentina.

12) Check that your travel insurance includes all the countries you are going to visit.

When buying the best travel insurance for you, if you don’t know which route you are going to take, or you are planning to visit several countries in different continents, you should choose “World” or “Rest of the World” from the “destinations” options.

Nowadays, most insurance companies include assistance everywhere. But if you know you will be travelling to a country with a particular conflict (such as Iran or North Korea), make sure you will be covered in case of an accident.

13) Read all the conditions of the policy thoroughly

To know if you are buying the best travel insurance, you need to read all the policy conditions carefully. Especially what is “not included”, as this is where misunderstandings with insurers tend to occur.

In any case, you should also be aware of what is included and, in the event of any problem during your trip, check it again. There are many concepts that it does include that may help you to get through a setback.

14) Buying insurance while abroad

There are companies that allow you to buy a travel insurance once you have already started your trip, although you should bear in mind that it will not cover you for illnesses or accidents that have already occurred. There may even be a waiting period.