As the editor of a travel guide, over the years, I have had most of the big insurance companies asking me if I want to promote their stuff in return for a little affiliate fee. I’d rather not, though.
Most insurance companies get average marks, and they tend to cover everything, except the things you might actually want cover for. World Nomads is very popular with travel bloggers thanks to their generous commission model, and they’re ok, I guess (I have never used them), but it’s difficult to recommend companies like that since they simply resell: everyone ends up with a different insurance company based on their location and nationality.
Below, a couple of tips to keep in mind when choosing a travel insurance provider for your Silk Road trip.
Table of Contents
What to look for in an insurance policy?
Country cover
In standard policies, there are 2 ways to exclude countries from coverage. They often end up excluding a decent part of the area we cover with Caravanistan.
The clear definition
Mostly in Anglo-Saxon countries, it seems, the policy will say something to the effect of: “We cover all countries except those that have specific Government ‘Do Not Travel‘ warnings. There is a split here: some companies cover “MFA advises against all but essential travel“, but not “MFA advises against all travel”. Other companies also exclude countries that are in the all but essential category.
This definitely sucks when you are about to embark on a trip to a country deemed safe by your government, to suddenly see an unexpected event (eg. coronavirus) turn the map red.
The fuzzy definition
Something along the lines of: your cover may be limited if you decide to travel to a country or region where the following specific events are occurring;
a war, invasion, acts of a foreign enemy, hostilities (whether war has been declared or not), civil war, terrorist acts, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, civil commotion, military or usurped power, martial law, riots or the acts of any lawfully constituted authority, or army, naval or air service operations (whether war has been declared or not)
Very broad terms here like civil commotion and terrorism. If this is in your policy, be sure to ask for a clear explanation, since ‘civil commotion’ is quite common in the world (and definitely in this part of the world).
Afghanistan
You have to go to a specialist insurance company for travel to Afghanistan. A regular insurance company will exclude it by default.
Activity cover
Big range of options here depending on the insurance provider. When comparing policies, find out the maximum altitude you are covered for when you go hiking.
While most basic insurance policies have a premium option for winter sports (again, read what is included!), if you are planning to do paragliding or mountaineering, you will need specialist insurance.
Double-check if any search and rescue expenses are covered. They often aren’t, even in more adventurous insurance policies.
Flight cancellation
Think you are covered? Watch out for these sneaky exclusions:
- flights that are not to/from your home country
- having to cancel your trip for anything other than illness
- Cancelling your trip before you left (you would think that is a basic, right?)
Lost, stolen or broken stuff
Have a really careful look at what exactly is covered. Your policy will usually cover you for stolen goods, but beware: “all valuables must be kept within reach and view at all times.” It has to be stolen while you were looking at it.
Before buying, also look at per-item value limits (the maximum they pay you back for 1 item) versus the total limit. If the per-item value limit is 100$, your policy is useless to insure your expensive gear.
Excess is the other side of the equation you need to look at: it is the initial amount you need to drop before they start paying you back.
In short, you want the excess to be low and the per-item value limit to be high.
Why not World Nomads?
World Nomads is the big player in the online insurance world, so I should take a moment to explain what I have against them.
World Nomads is not an actual insurance company, it is a sales and marketing company that sells insurances from different providers. Depending on your country of residence, the provider will change. Different companies means different policies. Read the fine print based on your country of residence!
Their success is based on their attractive affiliate program that has every travel site promoting them, from Lonely Planet to Blonde Girl on the Road. There is a big chasm between the rave reviews from travel bloggers and the real user reviews, though.
Seeing how World Nomads works with different companies across the world, their policies are not necessarily the worst, but there are better, cheaper alternatives out there.
Recommendations
I am not an expert, so definitely do your own research.
- Columbus Direct is a cheaper, better-reviewed alternative to World Nomads.
- battleface is expensive but has good cover for war zones and other places that few others want to cover
- The forum has a discussion on options for horse riding insurance.