Travel insurance is one of those purchases that feels like wasted money every time you do not need it and essential in retrospect every time you do. The challenge is that most travellers buy it without understanding what it actually covers, which means they either have the wrong coverage for their trip or discover an exclusion at the worst possible moment.
Here is what you actually need, and the questions worth asking before you buy.
Medical Coverage: The Non-Negotiable
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Medical emergency coverage is the reason travel insurance exists and it is the component that should receive the most scrutiny. The critical number is the medical coverage limit. A policy with 100,000 USD in medical coverage sounds substantial until you consider that a medical evacuation from a remote location to a hospital with appropriate facilities can cost 80,000 to 100,000 USD on its own, before any treatment.
For travel to remote areas, developing countries with limited medical facilities, or adventure activities, the minimum medical coverage should be 500,000 USD or equivalent. Many standard travel insurance policies provide far less than this. Read the policy document rather than the marketing summary.
Pre-Existing Conditions: Read the Small Print
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The most common reason for a travel insurance claim to be denied is a pre-existing medical condition that was not disclosed or was excluded by the policy. The definition of pre-existing condition varies between insurers and some definitions are broad enough to include conditions you might not consider relevant.
If you have any ongoing medical condition, however minor, disclose it when purchasing the policy. The additional premium is almost always less than the cost of a denied claim, and the specific exclusion wording in the policy document tells you exactly what you are and are not covered for.
Trip Cancellation: What It Does and Does Not Cover
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Trip cancellation coverage reimburses pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses if you are forced to cancel for a covered reason. The covered reasons are typically: your own illness or injury, the death or serious illness of a close family member, a natural disaster affecting your destination, or jury duty. They do not typically include: changing your mind, a travel advisory issued after you booked, or a pandemic unless you specifically purchased cancel-for-any-reason coverage.
Cancel-for-any-reason policies cost more but provide exactly what they say. If flexibility matters more than cost, they are worth the additional premium.
Adventure Sports and Activities
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Standard travel insurance policies exclude most adventure sports. Skiing, snowboarding, scuba diving, rock climbing, motorcycling, and white-water rafting are among the activities that require either a specific policy or an activity endorsement added to a standard one.
If any of these form part of your trip, the standard policy is inadequate. World Nomads is a commonly recommended insurer for adventure travellers because their base policies include a wider range of activities than most standard policies, though the definition of what is and is not covered still requires careful reading.
Recommended Approach
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Use a comparison site to identify three or four policies with adequate medical coverage limits. Read the full policy document for each, specifically the exclusions section. Choose based on the coverage you actually need rather than the price. The difference in annual premium between a policy with adequate coverage and one without is usually modest. The difference in outcome when you need to make a claim is not.
