BootsnAll Travel Community

In three weeks I'm going to Ecuador for what will be the start of a 6-12 month South America trip. In my insurance research I've found my best option to be World Nomads, which quoted me $150 for three months. I'm having trouble deciding if it's worth it or not. They offer theft protection and health insurance with ~$100 deductible.

Trip facts:
-I'll be staying mostly in hostels and in cities. I'm not the outdoors adventurous type and don't see myself doing dangerous activities.
-I'm in good health and can afford a trip to the doctor for minor illnesses. Something like a broken bone though would be hard for me to afford.
-I'm taking a laptop and digital camera with me on the trip. Total value is around $1200. I'm more concerned about theft than health problems but I will be taking sensible precautions.

I'm leaning against taking on insurance at the rate of $600/year for items worth $1200 and health coverage with a high deductible. As an alternative I was maybe thinking of getting insurance only for the first 3 months as I get more seasoned while there. Thoughts? Thanks!

I would strongly advise you to get at least medical cover. It would be too bad if you are involved in an accident and can't get proper treatment. These things happen rarely, but they do happen and paying for repatriation (in the worst case) could bankrupt you or your family.

Maybe there are cheaper deals around for medical cover only.

Medical, yes. Otherwise - nope. Never had a travel insurance - and probably never will. The money I saved so far would probably cover a complete gear replacement in case of theft.

I'm with the others here on getting teh medical cover. Its just not something you can control and without teh insurance you could get well and truely screwed.

As far as personal effects is concerned, I probably wouldnt but its your call on takling teh laptop etc and to be fair thats a risk you decide to take. Personally I dont take one with me as its more aof a hinderance than a help and I dont want to have to worry about it.

A quickie on WorldNomads... This Thread should probably be read by anyone thinking about travel insurance especially with World Nomands. Its Whalewatchers story and theres a lot of important things to think about in there!

Things to remember with Nomads...


--You are NOT covered in the US, so don't get sick or injured once you come back.


--Emergency medical coverage has a $50,000 limit. If you were to end up in a hospital, you would kiss that money goodbye really fast.



If you want real medical coverage, look at IMG (imglobal.com). I'm getting a 1-year policy with worldwide coverage (US included) for $750. That includes a $1000 deductible and $5 million lifetime coverage.

Static - why? why are they bad, and what do you use?

See what LondonCard wrote above:

quote:

A quickie on WorldNomads... This Thread should probably be read by anyone thinking about travel insurance especially with World Nomands. Its Whalewatchers story and theres a lot of important things to think about in there!

For your electronics you could look into a personal articles policy. I got one for $35/year covering any damage or theft to my DSLR camera ($1k) and laptop and small digital camera, total cost over $2K.

Who did you get it from? Have you ever tried to collect?

I had been planning on going with World Nomads, but I think I need to change my mind. Has anyone had positive experiences with a company?

quote:

Originally posted by static:
Who did you get it from? Have you ever tried to collect?

I don't know what travis had, but those types of personal articles policies are available from reputable agencies like State Farm. They are incredibly cheap. I have about $4,000 of coverage on a variety of things for $52 per year for scheduled items (i.e., I have to show reciepts and declare value of each specific item beforehand). It is absolute coverage - drop-and-break, theft, whatever. Anywhere in the world.

I haven't tried to collect, but I've heard stories about similar policies. Anecdotally, the No. 1 danger seems to be that you'll be cancelled afterwards, particularly if it's a big claim within say the first year.

I ended up getting Multinational Underwriters (mnui.com)

6 month policy, $500 deductible, $500,000 max benefit
$223

The cheapest insurance I could find that only covers medical is http://www.jsinsurance.co.uk/travel_insurance/ but I thankfully didn't have to claim so no idea if it's any good. I don't tend to cover personal items just because I always hear about how difficult it is to actually make a claim. Not worth the headache and as someone else said, the money I've saved over the years would pay for anything I lose.

I'm curious to hear positive stuff about World Nomads too because it is such a popular policy for backpackers. If you do decide to go with them enter JCBDEJ as the promo code to save a whopping %5.

quote:

Things to remember with Nomads...
--You are NOT covered in the US, so don't get sick or injured once you come back.

Another important thing to consider with World Nomads beyond just getting sick when you come home.. if you do get hurt in another country and require ANY sort of follow up treatment (physical therapy, surgery, etc) It is NOT covered the moment you set foot back in your homeland. Even if it is a result of an injury while you were away.

Take it from me: THOSE are the expenses that really add up.