Buying COVID Travel insurance when already abroad

Travel insurance is confusing.

Add in more terms for COVID-19, and it becomes SUPER confusing.

I spent many hours reading policies, and messaging insurance companies trying to understand what the hell I would actually be covered for.

In this post, I explore the travel insurance options I have as a Canadian who is already abroad.  Here is a quick breakdown:

• My personal requirements
• Understanding types of travel insurance
• Options not available for me
• Options available for me
• What I ended up buying

My personal requirements

The main thing I'm worried about when travelling post-COVID is not actually getting sick.  I'm more worried about testing positive, then being forced to quarantine past my intended stay. This would mean missing non-refundable flights, having to pay for quarantine hotels, and all the extra related costs.

Of course, I also do not want to get sick...

Here are the four main things I was looking for in my coverage.

• Available for Canadian residents (or international / no specific residency)
• Available for people already abroad (i.e. already started travelling)
• COVID related trip cancellation / trip interruption / quarantine coverage (i.e. If I miss a flight because I am forced to quarantine, is it covered?)
• Basic health coverage (for COVID and non-covid related issues)

Understanding the different types of travel insurance

It took me a little time to realize that there are two types of travel insurance.

One is travel HEALTH insurance.  The other is travel TRIP insurance (i.e. for trip cancellations, delays, etc.).

Most trip insurance policies also have some health coverage.  On the other hand, there are some policies purely for health/medical coverage.

There is also flight insurance for cancelled/changed flights. You can typically purchase flight insurance directly from the airlines, or wherever you purchased your flight tickets.  It's usually pretty expensive though.

Options not available to me

Since I am already abroad, I found that my options were quite limited.

I was first looking at NZ based insurance companies (AA,  1cover).  They were reasonably priced, so I thought it would be great. I have NZ car insurance, so naively thought I could also buy NZ travel insurance.  Unfortunately, I could not.  For NZ travel insurance (and probably most other countries), you need to be a resident to qualify. (Yes, seems obvious now 😅)

I then looked at some Canadian companies (Manulife, Bluecross, various banks).  They all required that you had not already departed on your trip.  So, I was ineligible for these as well.

Many credit cards also have some sort of travel insurance coverage if you use it to pay for your trip.  Unfortunately, my Canadian credit cards had expired, and I did not have a NZ credit card.  I have a Visa Debit card, but that doesn't include any coverage.

So, what choices did I have...

Options available to me

Basically, my options were limited to:

1. A NZ based company that provides insurance for foreigners
2. A few international insurance providers like WorldNomads, Heymondo
3. Don't buy insurance; risk it all!

I did not really want to risk it all, as I'm getting older, and think there is a decent chance of getting COVID when travelling.  

Below are a few companies I considered.  I used the same start/end date (period of 2 weeks/15 days) to try and get a valid comparison.

NZ based insurance for foreigners - Orbit Protect

There are a couple of companies in NZ that provide insurance for foreigners/visitors in NZ (i.e. non-NZ residents).  One is Orbit Protect .  They will cover you in NZ/Australia/Pacific Islands.  I used them previously when I realized I was going to be stuck in NZ for awhile due to COVID.  I never had to make a claim though, so not sure how good their service is.

Their current COVID-19 coverage is not very good.  Basically, they only cover direct medical costs, but not trip delays/cancellations, quarantine costs, or anything else.

Another NZ company is SCTI, but they have no COVID coverage for visitors / non-residents.

World Nomads

World Nomads is probably the most famous travel insurance company on the web.  The best thing about them is you can buy a policy when you're already abroad.  You just need to wait for 48 hours before it becomes effective.  You can also keep extending the policy for as long as you travel.

They have insurance coverage for residents of nearly every country (prices will differ).  Ironically, they have recently stopped providing coverage for NZ residents due to border closures.

I have actually used World Nomads a few times in the past.  When I first arrived in New Zealand, I was on a World Nomads plan.  I had bought a one year policy for around $700 CAD (about $560 USD, or $860 NZD).  I made one claim through them when my laptop broke.  The process was straightforward, and I got paid pretty quickly.

Their policies are now updated for specific COVID situations. There's a lot to go through, but this is the most important part for me:

Specifically, if at any time after the policy effective date, or during the trip, a policyholder receives a confirmed and document diagnosis of COVID-19, the policyholder may be eligible for benefits under the Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption and Trip Delay sections of the policy.

I do not think I would qualify for Trip Cancellation, since I've technically already started my trip.  I tried to contact them to ask, but never got a reply (not a good sign).

After reading the policy wording more carefully, I think I would qualify for Trip Interruption ($2500 / $5000), as well as maybe Trip Delay ($700 / $1400), if I were to get COVID.   Also, I could get basic medical coverage.

World Nomads has no deductible / excess (for Canadian plans anyways).

Heymondo

Another company that provides travel insurance for international residents who are already abroad is Heymondo.  If buying when you're already abroad, you need to wait 72 hours before the plan becomes effective.

I've never used them before, but they have some pretty good options.

Their COVID specific coverage includes medical as well as generous quarantine expenses ($1500 or $2250 depending on plan).

It also provides trip cancellation coverage, but nothing for interruption or delays.

Unfortunately, I do not qualify for trip cancellation though, because I am already abroad.  This is what their customer service told me:

Since you are already abroad there is no cancellation guarantee, this is because this guarantee is only valid in your country of residence.

You also need to purchase within 7 days of your travel booking, which I did not..

Even if the cancellation guarantee was valid abroad, for it to be valid, the policy must be signed on the day the travel booking is confirmed or within seven (7) days following such confirmation.

I got a really quick reply from them though, which was nice.  World Nomads never even replied to my messages!

*The basic plan requires a $250 deductible / excess.  Other plans have $0 deductible.

There is also a "Long Stay" plan, which was $257 for first 90 days.  You can then extend it for $76 per 30 days after that.  

Worldwide Insure - "Globehopper" option

Another international travel insurance provider I came across was Worldwide Insure.  Their website looks really bad; like it hasn't been updated since the '90s.  I initially thought it was some scam company.  They have good reviews on Trustpilot though.

Unfortunately, they do not provide COVID coverage for non-UK residents.

I just put it here in case someone from the UK drops by.

SafetyWing / WorldTrips - Nomad Insurance

The last company I looked at was SafetyWing.  They seem really popular these days in the travel blogger universe.

They focus exclusively on travel health/medical insurance (i.e. not trip insurance), and their product is specifically targetted at nomads who are already overseas.  Well, sounds perfect!

According to their policy, COVID is treated like any other illness.  So, if you need to be hospitalized or treated, then it will be covered accordingly.

They also provide some minimal COVID quarantine coverage -- $50/day for up to 10 days.  So, a max of $500 (USD).  Not much, but better than nothing I guess.

There's only one plan to choose, which cost $42/month (USD) until cancelled.  You can also choose a specific time frame if you want.  For sake of comparison I chose two weeks:

You do have to pay $250 deductible / excess though.  The deductible is not needed for quarantine coverage.  Full policy here.

They also seemed to have very good customer service, as they replied to my questions very quickly.

What I did

I chose... #3. Don't buy insurance.  Risk it all!

Just kidding.

In the end, I chose the World Nomads plan.  It seems they had the most comprehensive coverage for COVID related issues that could arise.  This included medical, as well as trip interruption/delays (i.e. cancelled flights).  The only thing I'm worried about with them is they never replied to my message!  If I need to make a claim, will they also not reply?  I've used them in the past though, so have semi-confidence it will be OK.

Heymondo is around the same price, and has good COVID quarantine/medical coverage. They do not offer any coverage for trip interruption though.  I also do not qualify for their COVID related trip cancellation, since I've already left my country of residence.

If I decide to stay in one country for an extended period, I would consider purchasing SafetyWing, as it is quite cheap.

Summary

Getting travel insurance when already abroad can be a major pain in the butt.   There are not that many options available, and you really need to read the fine print.

I think World Nomads is great if you are already travelling, and looking for comprehensive coverage (trip + medical).   If you just want medical, then SafetyWing seems like an awesome choice.

If you have a valid credit card, you should also look at what coverage it provides.  Most decent cards will have travel insurance coverage for things like flight/trip interruptions and delays.  You could save a lot of money, and maybe just add some extra health coverage with SafetyWing.  

I should definitely get a new credit card.. 😅