What Travel Insurance Does Everyone Get?

Bill on 06/07/2024 - 00:06

Hi, I have a big trip planned in less than 2 months. This will be my first time doing anything remotely close to this, so I'm quite lost in where to start. I know a lot of cheapies users are well-traveled, seasoned jetsetters, so I'm hoping to gain as much of your worldly knowledge as possible before I leave.

I plan to go to China, stay for ~15 days, and then move onwards to Europe, where I'll travel around the continent for 1 year.

I have heard that travel insurance is a must, and in order to get the visa for 1 year, I need medical insurance for the full duration. No matter how I slice it, it seems I will be buying travel insurance.

I would obviously like the lowest price possible and I don't mind cutting out the extras. My belongings will be not of any value, my trip plans won't be severely impacted by flight delays, and the cost to self-insure these things will be relatively low.

I have found the price range for travel insurance varies incredibly widely and I don't have any experience with buying insurance. I also have not found any options to buy travel insurance for more than 365 days. I am wondering for people that have experience with this, where do you buy your travel insurance and what advice can you give me + any general advice?

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  • Kiwi on 06/07/2024 - 01:05
    +1

    Sounds fun Bill, enjoy it!

    Can't really help with a provider for a trip that long, you likely won't find an NZ credit card and may not find a standard provider (as opposed to some form of nomad or backpacker insurance) for longer than 12 months, but all I can really add definitively is don't mistake an "annual plan" for something that covers the whole year, it will only cover a year worth of trips up to x days (often around 50 or 60, similar to the cover provided by credit cards)..

    We're currently using Mix&Match (Allianz reseller) because it was the best value I could find for our 6-month Asia trip. I wonder if you could contact some providers and determine what the definition of a return ticket is, assuming you are buying one before you leave. I know that most stipulate that you hold a return ticket, but it may be possible to buy 2 policies to cover the full length of your trip, I don't know the answer though.

    Let us know how you get on.

  • mdsl32 on 06/07/2024 - 00:45

    Southern Cross is what i used before getting a CC but not sure if they will cover for a whole year onwards.

  • c3rn on 06/07/2024 - 07:55

    I work for a travel insurance company so I won't mention company names but cheapest is not best. Check Google reviews. Sounds like your main concern is medical expenses so you're right that a basic plan will work.
    you just want the service to match your needs. If you're lying in a hospital bed in China, you don't want your insurance company mucking around.

  • Kiri007 on 06/07/2024 - 10:06

    I have used 1cover for a lot of my travel and have had to claim in the past, with no issues.

  • gardengirl on 06/07/2024 - 14:40

    if ur credit card has a complimentary insurance policy, it saves hassle n costs to purchase a separate travel insurance. check out if it coves everything u r concerned about.

  • L3tstaxth1s on 06/07/2024 - 19:02

    I always use TINZ for my overseas travels. Used to use SCTI but found TINZ better for pre conditions so switched over a few years ago.

    • ABCDEFG on 06/07/2024 - 21:35

      I've also used TINZ a couple of times. They were really easy to deal with when we need to claim, and they covered us for 15 months of travel. However, that was pre-COVID which hit that industry really hard and I don't know from experience whether or not they've managed to maintain that same level of service.

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