Travel Insurance for Long Trips: Mind the Day Limit
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Travel insurance isn’t the exciting bit, but it’s one of the most important. If you get ill or have an accident abroad, medical bills can run into thousands.
The three main options
- Single-trip, which covers you for that one trip.
- Annual multi-trip, which covers lots of trips across a year.
- Cover you take out after you’ve left, while you’re abroad. Really useful if you end up staying longer than you planned.
Watch the per-trip day limit
Annual policies often cap each trip at a set number of days, say 30 or 50. If you’re travelling for four or five months, that won’t cover you. On my trip, I have cover for 100 days, and then I’ll take out insurance while I’m travelling for the rest of my time away.
Buy the top-up before your cover runs out, because policies bought abroad usually have a waiting period of one to three days before you’re fully covered.
One option that can be bought once you’re already abroad is SafetyWing. If you’re looking at it, check the policy wording and make sure it suits you and your trip before you buy. I’m not giving advice on which policy is right for you.
Before you buy
- Declare any medical conditions, even small ones. If you don’t, they might not pay out.
- Check the excess, the amount you pay yourself on each claim. A cheap policy can have a big excess.
- Check the gadget cover. Phones, cameras and laptops often have low single-item limits.
- A GHIC isn’t travel insurance. It gives you state healthcare in the EU at the same cost as locals, but it won’t cover private treatment, flying you home or lost bags, and it’s no use in Asia.
Tip: Know exactly when your cover ends, and top it up before it does.