Do I Need Travel Insurance? Hell Yes and Here’s Why

I decided to get travel insurance only because I had expensive camera gear. The chance of me getting sick was slim to none according to me. Oh how wrong I was. And the crazy part, I got sick before even leaving the U.S. Travel Insurance is one of the best and most important investments you can make for your trip.

My Eyes Were Quickly Opened

The original trip was for three months. I decided to go with World Nomads for my travel insurance. They offer two policies. Standard at $206 and Explorer at $295. I opted for Explorer because it sounds cooler. Explorer has extra coverage that everyone should get. Trip Interruption and Trip Cancellation. It’s $2,500 in standard but $10,000 in Explorer. Plus you get $35K in rental car coverage. All this for an extra $89 total. BOOM!!!

Before leaving the U.S. I wanted to visit family in Cleveland and Chicago. Mind you, it’s winter at this time. EVERYONE was sick. I thought I escaped it. Nope. I began to feel a little ill in Chicago but thought it was simply the cold weather after being in warm Texas for so long.

I started my trip back on Feb 21st. When I landed in Houston,Texas for an overnight stay in route to Harlingen,Texas I began to feel ill. I met with friends for dinner and became nauseous. I took some Pepto Bismol and went to my room where I got worse. Violent vomiting and diarrhea all night. I felt better in the morning and went to catch my flight. Once in the air I began vomiting again on the plane. I landed in McAllen and went straight to the medical center where I was diagnosed with a stomach flu and put on medication which prevented me from driving for three days. I was forced to get a hotel in McAllen, Texas as I couldn’t drive to Harlingen until Monday as the doctor made it clear that driving on this medication is equal to drunk driving. The hotel refused to refund the $244 I had already paid and I had to get a hotel for $294.

 

My Claim Process Was Fairly Smooth

Initially I chalked this up to bad luck and a money loss. Then I remembered my travel insurance policy. World Nomads covers you 100 miles from your home. OH YEAH. So began the claims process because clearly I had trip cancellation and interruption. I contacted World Nomads and couldn’t be happier with the claims process.

World Nomads isn’t actually the insurance company. A company called Travel Guard handles your claim. You go to your policy online and file the claim. I filed my claim on March 2nd. They contacted me on March 6th for the following:

CANCELLATION TERMS & CONDITIONS 
* Copy of Tour Operator’s( ORIGINAL HOTEL THAT WAS BOOKED) brochure showing their cancellation terms and conditions; this is the Tour Operators’ printed cancellation terms and conditions, explaining, in writing, what happens if you cancel your trip. 
VERIFICATION OF TRIP PAYMENT 
* A copy of the check, credit card statement, or a cash receipt for each and every payment you made toward the trip. (original air, original hotel) 
MISCELLANEOUS 
* A copy of the trip invoice issued.(origianl air and original hotel) 
* Original receipts for the additional expenses incurred.(new hotel, meals,etc) 

I provided the information and proceeded to go back and forth a bit with them regarding the hotels cancellation policy. I can’t remember exactly what the issue was but something about a non refundable hotel policy. Because I used a third party site (Expedia) to book my insurance had to talk with them. This took about two weeks.

World Nomads agreed to pay for my hotel room in McAllen and Harlingen. $538 deposited into my bank account in about 6 weeks from the date of my claim. I had paid $295 for my policy and it had already paid for itself before I even left the U.S. I was instantly converted. I mean they cover everything. If your sister in law gets sick and you want to cancel you trip, COVERED. Say you get hurt and a friend has to come and stay with you, COVERED. A country is taken over in a coup, COVERED. You get hurt in the middle of a jungle and need a helicopter evacuation,COVERED. 

Getting Robbed on a Train. A Cautionary Tale

Things happen on the road. No matter how safe and careful you are something will go wrong. From you getting sick to someone stealing your things. I’ve seen it all too often. Someone has everything stolen and didn’t think they needed insurance because they were going to “safe” places. Here’s another quick example.

Recently myself and two friends took a train from Belgrade,Serbia to Sofia, Bulgaria. As usual, I wrapped the strap of my gear bag around my arm and placed it under me while I slept. About 6 hours into the trip I woke up to the police checking compartments for passports. After I was checked, I went to speak with my friends. Apparently two guys had been robbed while they slept. Someone went into their compartment, took their phones, cameras, passports, and cash. All which were in their bags. One bag was found in the bathroom empty. Did they have insurance? I sure hope so.

If you’re going to travel get insurance. World Nomads has made the cost negligible when compared to what you aim to lose without it. Anyone that travels without insurance is asking for trouble. World Nomads is the best in the business for travel insurance and I invite you to follow one of my links to estimate the cost for your next trip. Here are a few testimonials courtesy of World Nomads. 

True Claims Story: Mountain biking accident

 

True Claims Story: Dengue Fever

Claim outcomes will vary depending on the policy purchased, please read your Policy Wording to see the full terms and conditions of your coverage.

 

Minority Nomad is an affiliate partner with World Nomads/Travel Guard. All opinions and testimonials are solely from Minority Nomad.