But when you crash on the slope, or step on some sharp coral, or twist your ankle hiking in the mountains the first thing that hospital outside of the county is going to ask for is a giant deposit. So unless you happen to have founded a leading search engine someone recently, travel insurance is a good idea all around.
Nomadic Matt runs down the things you should consider when evaluating travel insurance.
His list of things to consider when buying travel insurance (it is a great list):
1. Covers most countries in the world
2. Make sure they cover electronics
3. Cover injury and sudden illnesses within the country and abroad
4. Twenty-four hour emergency services and assistance
5. Cover lost, damaged or stolen possessions like jewelry, baggage, documents, etc.
6. Cover cancellations such as the trip, hotel bookings, flight, and other transportation bookings
7. Cover emergencies, strife in the country visited, etc that cause you to head home early
8. Cover hazardous activities such as jet skiing, scuba diving, sky diving, paragliding, etc.
9. Policies should include personal accident coverage
10. Cover any legal expenses if incurred
11. Financial protection if any company you are using goes bankrupt and you are stuck in another country
The company that Matt recommends is one that we’ve also heard good things about but have never used – World Nomads. The team here at the Gator often equates diving with vacation so we do have experience with the folks at H2O Insurance and have had nothing but positive experiences with them. You’ll need to be a DAN member to take advantage of their equipment policies.
Here’s hoping you never need travel insurance but if you do, you’ll want to make sure it is from a company that will stand behind you no matter what.
