When I was young and I only started traveling, I never thought that having travel insurance would be essential to me when it comes to travel planning. My first time traveling solo to Vietnam, I managed to travel from the north to the south without having one. I didn't purchase it either during my Borneo trip, and I was fine.
The first time I decided to purchase travel insurance was when I planned my Indochina trip in 2020. Although the rest was history, I didn't buy it because of Covid-19. I did it because it was my first time traveling longer than two weeks, and boy was I right?!
On that trip, I got sick in Laos to the point that I had to cancel the rest of my travel plans. I made it to Vientiane, but only to visit the hospital and I got swabbed there before it was even a thing during the pandemic. And it was darn expensive!
Thankfully, I purchased travel insurance before my trip, so I could claim it although I had to pay a lot of money at the hospital in Vientiane for my visit. But I've learned the hard way that if it weren't because of the travel insurance that I got before my trip, I wouldn't get that money back!
Ever since then, before planning a trip I always make sure to get travel insurance first before my departure. Getting sick in Laos was a wake-up call about how anything could happen when you travel, even worse when you travel alone!
So in this post, I'm going to share my insights about why you may want to prioritize getting travel insurance before your next travel and how to choose the best travel insurance for your next trip. Here we go!
Table of Content
Why You Need Travel Insurance
When you plan for a trip, it's understandable that you tend to focus more on the fun side of it without thinking about the probability of how things could go wrong in a split second. I've learned that the hard way, so you don't have to.
Just when I thought it was enough for me to learn how frustrating it could be to get sick when traveling solo overseas, another bad thing happened on the next trip after that. I got pickpocketed in Serbia, and I lost both my debit and credit cards in the process.
At the time, when I got stressed about what I had to do to be able to survive with the emergency cash I put aside, a part of me was quite grateful that I learned better from my previous experience how important travel insurance is.
While I had to deal with the paperwork as soon as I got home when I was sick in Vientiane, it was a tremendously valuable lesson learned for me when I planned my trip to Turkey and Serbia. That's why I got myself covered with travel insurance that enabled me to report a claim online. While getting my wallet stolen sucked, I wasn't as frustrated as when I got sick in Vientiane and broke after paying the medical bills.
These two events really opened my eyes to how essential it is to have travel insurance for your trip.
So, if you still doubt whether you need one, trust me on this… I had to make a claim two times in a row with two different travel insurance companies for different cases, so I know a little too well about how you couldn't really predict what might happen during your trip. Even if you don't want to.
8 Things to Consider When Choosing the Best Travel Insurance
Well, I may have some kind of bad omen when it comes to traveling since I've experienced all the bad things about traveling against my will, and it cost me time and money in the process.
And because of this, I want to share some insights about choosing the best travel insurance for your next trip. I know there are a lot of companies out there that seem to offer similar plans for your travel, but considering which one is the best for you can be challenging.
Doing your due diligence can help you decide which one is the best travel insurance for your type of travel. It can be different for everyone, pretty much the reason why I chose two different travel insurance companies when I traveled to Indochina and Serbia.
So, here are some tips for choosing travel insurance for international travel!
1. Plan your trip to determine the type of travel insurance you need
Before researching travel insurance plans for your next trip, it's important to outline your travel itinerary first. You also need to determine the kind of coverage you need or what kind of activities you want to do during your travel.
Most travel insurance companies don't cover pre-existing medical conditions, so it's a smart move to look for travel insurance that has got you covered in the front if you have a specific medical condition like asthma or diabetes.
The same goes for your travel activities, as not many travel insurance plans cover extreme sports like skiing or scuba diving. So if you're planning to do any of those activities, make sure to check travel insurance that specifically has this type of coverage for your peace of mind.
The length of your travel also matters because most travel insurance usually only covers you for up to 90 days after you leave your home country. The good news is that we now have travel insurance like SafetyWing that is available for travel insurance on a subscription basis, so you can still get yourself covered for medical or liability insurance for as long as you travel!
2. Read the coverage types on each plan carefully before making a purchase for your travel insurance
I remember the first time I bought travel insurance with MSIG before my Indochina trip; I was so overwhelmed when choosing the travel insurance plan that suited my needs. At the time, I never thought something bad would happen so the extra budget to buy travel insurance was my main concern.
All the plans I saw looked similar, but when I read each carefully, I realized that the coverage was a tad bit different. Since I bought one from the Indonesian branch of MSIG, I bought the Asia-Pacific plan for the travel insurance that covered countries that I visited at the time (Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand).
When I checked their coverage plans, I noticed the differences between each plan were in the amount of reimbursem*nt for each case covered. Since the budget was my concern, I bought one that outlined the eligibility to get 70% of the total bill for reimbursem*nt for each case, whether it's for medical or liability insurance.
Keep in mind that some travel insurance may only cover medical coverage, so if you want to get flight delay or trip cancellation coverage, you may want to purchase extra flight insurance too to get you covered!
3. Compare plans from various insurance providers
Each travel insurance provider usually has several plans to consider on its own, but it's also worth doing a travel insurance comparison to make sure you choose the best one for your next trip.
For instance, if you're planning to travel to the United States, chances are you will have to pay extra for your travel insurance because of the high healthcare cost in the country.
Some travel insurance companies may have cheaper plans with a reimbursem*nt system for medical coverage, in which case it's probably worth paying extra for another insurance provider if they can guarantee cashless transactions if anything happens in your destination.
No one knows what you need in travel insurance better than you, but it's always better to be prepared than sorry when it comes to purchasing decisions for your travel insurance!
4. Read reviews from other travelers
While you may find some reviews on the travel insurance company's website, I think it's worth digging deeper and googling the firsthand reviews for each insurance provider beyond just their official website before purchasing travel insurance for international travel!
It also helps if you can find some blog posts or vlogs that talk about the travel insurance provider, though I understand that some content creators may be biased about their opinions so I also encourage you to dig deeper and find more genuine reviews on some related forums!
You can check the reviews of the travel insurance companies through websites like TrustPilot, Reddit, or Quora to convince you before making a final decision for your travel insurance.
5. Pay attention to the process of filing a claim if anything happens
Dealing with paperwork to get reimbursed for my first claim when I got ill in Laos opened my eyes to the practicality of getting covered by travel insurance online.
The issue with MSIG was that although I could purchase it online, when I filed a claim when I got sick in Vientiane I had to go through the typical Indonesian bureaucracy where I had to compile all the documents and post them physically to their office to get reimbursed. And I tell you what, these limitations to make a claim online were NOT practical at all!
That's also why I switched MSIG to Axa Mandiri when planning my trip to Serbia and Turkiye. I had to double-check whether I could make a claim online before purchasing their annual insurance, and apparently they did.
It was proven when I got pickpocketed, as processing insurance claims online was much more seamless for many reasons!
When I got sick in Laos with the travel insurance that required physical documents for my claim, I was struggling with money when I had my quarantine in Laos after spending it on my medical expenses. I had to wait until I got back home to receive the reimbursem*nt!
But when I got pickpocketed in Serbia with online travel insurance, I could seamlessly send all the documents needed when I was in Serbia and they reimbursed the money to cover my travel fund after the incident there.
I honestly couldn't imagine if that happened when using MSIG for my travel insurance in Serbia. I still had 1.5 months more until the scheduled flight back home, and I barely had the tools to withdraw money in the first place, as all the cards I used had been stolen.
But thanks to the online travel insurance, I could make a claim as soon as I got the police report for the incident and a week later, I got my compensation in my bank account!
6. Make a comparison between the cost of the travel insurance policy and the coverage provided
I've learned the hard way that cheaper travel insurance isn't always better when it comes to making a claim. And that's why, I wouldn't recommend getting the cheapest travel insurance you can find for your next trip… Especially if you're planning for a trip to places like America!
It's important to focus on the value they bring to the travel insurance policy, rather than how much you should pay for it!
7. Check for the possibility of upgrading with adds-on
If you've already purchased travel insurance for international trip, you may also want to check if your insurance provider offers some adds-on that may include some coverage for your travel activities.
Some travel insurance companies offer add-on coverages, including extreme sports or rental car insurance, to protect yourself during international travel.
It can be a great addition to your peace of mind, and even better if you can get all the coverage under the same insurance provider so your claim process can be more seamless!
8. Check with their customer service
We all know how annoying it can be when you're looking for help, only to find out that the company you contact only uses bots or AI to handle their customer service. That's also my kryptonite when making any purchasing decision these days!
If your travel insurance provider has a chat box on their official website, it's worth checking before choosing it for your travel insurance. Does it have a good user interface? How about the user experience? Are you satisfied with the answer to their problem?
The way they treat their prospects really say a lot about their customer service, so you can take advantage of it before choosing the best travel insurance for your next trip.
It's also important because if anything happens, you want to get direct access to their customer service as soon as possible. And it'll be frustrating when an emergency emerges only to get a template response from AI, won't it?
FAQs About Choosing the Best Travel Insurance for Your Next Trip
As usual, I'm going to list some of the frequently asked questions about purchasing travel insurance before your trip. In this section, I'm going to answer some based on my firsthand experience of using travel insurance on my previous trips!
Is travel insurance worth it?
Coming from someone who once got sick when she traveled alone and also got her wallet stolen on Christmas day, travel insurance is definitely worth it!
Ever since these incidents, I will never travel without insurance just because I've learned well enough that the scary part about traveling is also its unpredictability. And while traveling is all fun and games, when you get hit by a storm in a foreign land, the misery is worse multiple times!
Can you purchase travel insurance after booking your flight?
Depending on the travel insurance company, most travel insurance can be purchased after booking your flight.
However, keep in mind that depending on your nationality and travel destination, sometimes you need both travel insurance and flight tickets in advance as a part of visa application requirements.
In this case, the best way to do it is to get your travel insurance in advance and maybe secure an onward flight ticket before purchasing the real flight ticket for your next travel.
Can I get travel insurance if I've already started my trip?
Some travel insurance is only valid if you purchase it when you fly from your home country. That's also why it's so important to read the blueprints first before making any purchasing decision for the best travel insurance for your next trip.
The good news is that insurance company like SafetyWing is designed for nomads or those who travel a lot, as they make it possible for you to start subscribing to their insurance policy plans wherever you are!
Conclusion
Travel insurance has become an essential item when planning a trip for me, and for good reasons!
If you're planning to travel soon and you're contemplating whether you should purchase travel insurance or not, then take it from me… You'll never know what can possibly happen during your trip, so it's better to be prepared than sorry.
For those who have never purchased travel insurance before, I hope these tips for choosing the best travel insurance for your next trip can help you make a final decision to get you covered during your trip.
So, have you ever made a claim during your international travel? Do you think travel insurance is essential as a part of your travel plan? Share your insights in the comment below, and cheerio! 😉
Marya The BeauTraveler
I am the founder and main editor at The BeauTraveler. I spent 4 years working in the aviation industry but ironically got to travel more right after quitting the industry in 2015. Born and raised in Indonesia, I started working remotely in 2017, and while I stay at home most of the time, I also regularly spend 2-3 months living a semi-digital nomad life elsewhere every year.
Disclaimer:
This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.
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