Travel Insurance - Why Every Traveller Needs One?
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We travel multiple times a year, so we have continuous travel medical insurance even though no one necessarily requires it. Our travel medical insurance is always valid whenever we exit Finland. In this article, we explain why having insurance is crucial, even when visiting only neighbouring countries. Read this article and learn what you should know about travel insurance.
Covered in the Article
What is Travel Medical Insurance?
Travel medical insurance is a way to limit your unexpected health-related expenses. When an accident or illness happens on a journey, it usually comes with costs. These unexpected costs arising from needed treatments and related costs can be so high that you probably can't easily afford to pay them from your pocket. This is when travel medical insurance becomes so important to have. It will help you cover the extra costs of sudden illness or accidents while travelling abroad. Although most trips are incident-free, travel medical insurance is a valuable way to prepare for the worst, providing you with peace of mind throughout your journey.
Travel medical insurance covers unexpected healthcare costs and sometimes an insurance holder's belongings to a certain amount. The exact terms vary between insurance plans, so it is essential to understand the actual coverage of a travel insurance policy before purchasing it.
Short-term Trips
Most leisure travellers have short-term trips lasting only a few days to weeks. The frequency of your travel abroad in a year determines which travel insurance type is best for you. If you make a trip only once a year, it may be wise to have fixed-term insurance covering only that certain trip period. On the other hand, having continuous travel medical insurance is the best option if you travel multiple times a year if you travel multiple times a year. Continuous travel medical insurance remains valid throughout your travels, eliminating the need for renewal before each journey. For example, we always have continuous travel medical insurance valid outside Finland.
Nomadic Life or Longer Trips
Nomadic life is a special case of travelling. You are not just travelling anymore, but living abroad in different destinations. Since remote working is becoming hugely common worldwide, more and more people live nomadically. Your "trip" may last for years in a foreign country, and you need travel medical insurance that is always valid.
Many usual travel medical insurances have a limit for the maximum duration of the journey, but some insurances are also suitable for nomads. SafetyWing's Nomad Insurance is a perfect example. Regardless of your travel style, it covers both short-term trips and nomadic travel journeys.
Understanding Insurance Terms
You should never buy any insurance abruptly without first fully understanding what the insurance covers. Especially pay attention to the following things when purchasing travel medical insurance:
Coverage
Good travel medical insurance covers costs related to accidents and unexpected medical conditions, such as sudden illness. The upper limit must be high enough to cover even the most expensive treatments. Pay attention to whether the consequences of natural disasters are covered and whether the insurance covers an ambulance flight back to your residence.
Less critical things to be covered are your belongings and delays during your travel period. It is a common fact that most travellers nowadays travel with expensive phones, laptops and drones. What if any of these valuable devices get stolen?. With this in mind, it is, therefore, a wise decision to have travel insurance that also covers your belongings.
Limitations
Insurances always come with limitations. Typically, travel medical insurance has geographical restrictions. Insurance is not valid in some regions of the world. Insurance companies usually exclude pre-existing health conditions from the policy. Accidents caused by alcohol, drugs, or similar behaviour result in no compensation.
When buying travel medical insurance, read the terms carefully to understand what is covered.
Excess
Sometimes, insurance's compensation amounts include an excess part. This is part of the costs you must pay yourself in the case of an incident. For example, think of a situation where your medical incident costs are 5,000 euros and the excess is 50 euros. Your part of the cost will be 50 euros, and the insurance company will cover the remaining amount of the bill.
Excess may be charged from every incident or once on the insurance term. Refer to the terms of your insurance plan.
Excess is a way to limit incidents. When travellers should cover a small part of the costs themself, they will be more careful while travelling, technically minimising the chance of untoward incidents. This factor will lead to a lower insurance price.
Why You Should Never Travel Without Medical Insurance
With the information already presented, it is becoming obvious why you should never travel without valid travel medical insurance. You probably can't afford a serious health issue. Depending on your destination country, hospital treatments can cost more than 100,000 euros and an ambulance flight back home 50,000 euros. Most likely, you won't receive treatment if you don't have valid medical insurance. So, it can be a matter of life and death.
It is also mandatory to have travel medical insurance to enter certain countries. Since travel insurance costs less than € 100 per month, there is no need to consider whether to purchase one. You must select the best travel medical insurance plan with the most suitable coverage for your needs.
Our Incidents During Journeys
Our trips are covered by continuous travel medical insurance. We have been fortunate not to have had serious issues up to this point, but minor incidents have occurred due to our frequent travel. For example, we experienced severe water damage in Bali and had to have it repaired. A reason for the event was the insufficient lighting near the hotel's restaurant and water pool. We also had flu-like symptoms during our journeys in Cape Verde. It is always wise to have a doctor's checkup, even if you have basic symptoms, such as diarrhoea or flu-like symptoms, to confirm you don't have any severe conditions. For instance, you might think you have a common cold, presenting a fever as the initial symptom. Still, it'd be even more serious, say malaria or dengue fever, if our destination has this disease as an endemic. With travel medical insurance, the costs associated with your medical treatment remain low.
Travel medical insurance gives us peace of mind.
Where to Buy Travel Insurance?
Countless insurance companies sell well-covered travel medical insurance. Every country has its own local insurance companies, but there are also global travel medical insurance providers which target nomads and frequent travellers.
SafetyWing
SafetyWing is our favourite global travel medical insurance provider. It is a travel medical insurance created by nomads for nomads. You can purchase a policy even if your trip has started, and pause and resume coverage flexibly. You’re covered in 185 countries and don’t need to inform them about your itinerary in advance.
Even though nomads created the insurance, it is also suitable for infrequent travellers. If you travel only once or a few times a year, you can buy fixed-term plans to cover your travel dates.
In our opinion, SafetyWing has a few pros that make it suitable for travellers and nomads. The insurance is inexpensive compared to other similar products. Still, it covers the most important parts of your journey. Because the people behind SafetyWing are nomads, they know what kind of protection nomads and travellers need. SafetyWing no longer has an excess, so they will reimburse all eligible expenses.
SafetyWing also has some drawbacks. It is primarily suited for individuals with proficient English skills, and as a digital product, it lacks physical offices for claim processing. However, given the familiarity of digital nomads and travellers with online services, SafetyWing remains well-suited for the majority of active travellers
We recommend reading reviews of SafetyWing on TrustPilot and Product Hunt. Check out also an interesting vlog how SafetyWing covered costs caused by Measles and Pneumonia.
European Health Insurance Card vs Travel Medical Insurance
EU citizens who travel only in the EU area may apply for a free European Health Insurance Card. It guarantees healthcare in the EU area on the same terms as locals would receive.
The European Health Insurance Card is practical but insufficient. It does not cover belongings, ambulance flights, delays, etc. In addition, you need real travel medical insurance, such as SafetyWing to get the gaps covered.
Common Questions
- Is travel medical insurance necessary for travelling abroad?
- Yes, it is vital. If the worst happens while travelling abroad, you can't afford medical treatment costs yourself.
- Is having a European Health Insurance Card enough in the EU area?
- Unfortunately, no. Although the European Health Insurance Card is beneficial, it does not cover everything. It is advisable to protect your belongings by purchasing travel insurance.
- How do I know what my travel medical insurance covers?
- The only way to know is to read its terms carefully. Pay attention to the restrictions.
- Where to buy travel medical insurance?
- Why not get an instant quotation from SafetyWing? It is a travel medical insurance made by nomads for nomads.
Bottom Line
Holiday trips may cost you a lot of money. Travel medical insurance is a small extra cost that provides peace of mind while travelling abroad. The majority of the trips go perfectly fine, but you must be prepared for any unexpected events, too.
The most important is coverage for health-related issues like sudden illness and accidents. Secondly, protect your belongings and safeguard yourself against additional costs that may result from potential delays during your travel period. As smart travellers, we always have valid, well-covered travel insurance, which gives us peace of mind!
We hope you find this travel medical insurance information helpful. What are your tips for other travellers? Please share them in the comment section!
This article was originally published in in Finnish and later translated into English with minor edits.
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