Travel insurance for backpacking. Should you or shouldn’t you? When planning a round the world trip, or any backpacking journey for that matter, the option to spend extra money for travel insurance can be off putting. When you think about it, maybe the money you could save can gain an extra month travelling somewhere, very tempting indeed.
I have been asked over the years wether it is worth it to get travel insurance or not, so I am going to give you a personal story from my own backpacking experiences since 1997, to give you an idea.
Starting out on my first trip in 1997, I had the usual thought processes of many backpackers: What to pack? Where to go? How much money do I need? How long do I go for? The question of travel insurance came up as well, and erring on the side of caution, decided to take it. It was relatively cheap insurance I got back then, so it wasn’t much of a problem money wise.
Fast forward to 2006, and I can say that up to then I always took out insurance. But the question in my mind was starting to get more strong. I have never had to use travel insurance for anything, do I really need it? Spending all that money I could have used for further travels, I had almost come to a conclusion in my head, that after the current coverage expired, I would stop taking out insurance.
Then something big happened that changed everything.
It happened early in 2007 in Kerala, India. I was on a beach enjoying the sun going down and then BOOM! I don’t really talk about what happened to me much, but I want to show people the absolute importance of why I believe that you should get travel insurance.
I basically have a blood clot in my brain that I have had since birth, but wasn’t even aware off its existence until that day in Kerala. Kochi to be exact. It was then at the age of 31 that the blood clot burst, spilling blood over part of my brain, causing me to go limp and collapse to the floor, have an extremely violent seizure, and waking up with amnesia.
I don’t want to go into all the details, but needless to say this was extremely serious. Spending over 10 days in hospitals in India, having various brain and blood tests carried out, and then being flown back to the UK first class with a private doctor, would have cost a lot of money by myself. Thankfully the travel insurance covered every single cost of the treatment I had in India.
Speaking with a neurologist in the UK, I was told I would have to adjust my life around my condition. Unfortunately the clot is in an awkward part of my brain to operate on it, so as off present I am still stuck with the bloody thing, pun intended! Being a travel addict and adventurous, I ignored a lot of the neurologists advice, and was soon happily back travelling again, and still am to this day. Medication mostly keeps the condition under control.
Needless to say I always take travel insurance!
Onto a different aspect of insurance other than health, I can say that in all off this time travelling, since 1997, I have had only one instance of theft. It is somewhat amazing considering all the places I have been. It was a rather violent theft, or should I say mugging. It was around 8 at night in the capital of Columbia, Bogota.
I had just gotten off the bus transit system and was walking on a relatively busy street, heading only a few hundred metres to reach a taxi to take me the last stretch to my hostel, when I was jumped from three different directions by several men. They threw me against the wall behind, and instantly I had a knife to my throat and another to my chest. They got everything I had, even my damn sunglasses!
Let me give you some advice. If anything like this happens to you, just let them take what they want, like I did. Your life and health are not worth some money and a passport. I have heard to many stories about people in these situations who decided to fight back, and ended up stabbed, some even dead. It’s not worth it.
The mugging lead to the annoyance off having to get an emergency passport sorted out. I had a secret money belt, not the kind you strap around yourself and hide below your trousers, but an actual belt with a zip on the inside where you can hide money and a photocopy of your passport. Showing the copy of the passport helped speed up the process, which is why I always recommend hiding a copy of your passport somewhere.
This time around the travel insurance saved the day again, covering all the losses, including getting the passport sorted out. The losses paid, easily was way more than what I had paid for insurance.
My advice is that you do need travel insurance, especially backpacking, as backpackers can easily find themselves in more adventurous situations, adding a certain amount of more risk.
I hear people these days saying that they never take out insurance because they have never needed it. Or people who have taken insurance, and like me back in 2006, started to question if they really need it.
The problem is that mentality. You never know when something bad will come your way, hopefully it never does, but be prepared for the worst.
What travel insurance to take?
With so many different companies and policies, it can be hard to choose. This advice is relevant as off June 2014. Things can naturally change in the future.
The two main ones I have used recently are as follows (I have no affiliate links with these companies).
ColumbusDirect. This has decent coverage for ok prices. I haven’t had to use them for any claims yet (thankfully!), but they get great reviews for their service, so I trust them to be good. This is the insurer I am currently using.
The second is WorldNomads. I can say that I, and from what I have read many others, have had a good experience using them for coverage. Their plans unfortunately can be a little expensive compared to some other budget insurers out there, but it is good.
Different countries will have their own insurance providers, so internet search for reviews of the best travel insurers where you are. Many insurers will need you to start in your country of origin in order for the insurance to be valid, while others will not. You may even get cheap travel insurance covered as part of a work medical plan, or a health insurance plan you are paying at home. Always check that first before doing anything else.
The best insurance for backpackers is generally the one specifically designed for backpackers (no surprise there then!) You will see that advertised on most sites as backpacker coverage. There are so many variable in the coverage provided. Do you need extra insurance (costing more money) for more expensive items such as a laptop? Do you need more insurance for certain adventure sports.
Then there are region specific insurance. If just travelling around Europe, you could get a coverage for just that part of the world, which will be cheaper than worldwide coverage.
The most important thing is to make sure you are with a reputable company that has good reviews, and to always read the small print in your policy. That last is very important, as if you have an accident white water rafting, for example, and your insurer doesn’t cover that particular sport, you will not be covered. Also check the excess, that’s what you will have to pay before the insurer starts covering you.
Here’s two screenshots taken on 12 June 2014 showing a quote from ColumbusDirect and WorldNomads to give you an idea. Both cover a period of six months and are aimed at backpackers.
Copyright © 2014 by Backpacking Man. This article was written by Jonny Duncan and originally published on backpackingman.com
*Image of Insurance claim form via Shutterstock
