Travel Insurance:
What You Actually Need
vs What You
Don't
I've filed three claims and helped two friends navigate their disasters. Here's what the policy actually needs to cover
A friend of mine broke her wrist snowboarding in Japan. Uninsured. Her bill was ¥480,000 — approximately $3,200. Her entire trip budget was $2,800. She came home with a debt, a cast, and the kind of lesson that stays with you. I think about her every time I buy a policy.
Travel insurance is the most skipped and most misunderstood item in most people's travel budget. It's skipped because it feels like paying for something you hope never to use — which is, of course, exactly what insurance is. It's misunderstood because most people either buy far too much (the comprehensive policy the airline helpfully offers at checkout for €89) or far too little (the basic plan that doesn't cover what will actually go wrong).
I've had three insurance claims over ten years of travel. A flight cancellation in 2019 that cost me €340 in rebooking fees — recovered in full. A stolen camera in Marrakech in 2022 — partially recovered (I learned something important about documentation). A brief hospital visit in Thailand in 2023 — covered completely, which was the one I was most grateful for, because the bill without insurance would have been $1,800.
Here is what I've learned about what actually matters.
The One Coverage That Is Non-Negotiable
Before anything else: medical coverage and emergency evacuation. Everything else is optional depending on your trip. This is not.
Healthcare costs in the United States, Japan, Australia, Switzerland, and several other developed countries are extraordinarily high for uninsured foreign patients. In the US, a single emergency room visit can exceed $5,000. A medical evacuation — being flown home when you can't travel commercially — can cost $50,000–100,000. These are not theoretical numbers. They are the costs I've seen people face.
Broken wrist in Japan: ¥480,000 ($3,200)
Appendicitis in Thailand: $4,000–8,000
Emergency evacuation from Southeast Asia:
$40,000–80,000
Flight cancellation + hotel
rebooking: €200–600
Lost luggage settlement
(airline): Usually €350 max
Stolen electronics:
Depends entirely on your policy
What You Need vs What You Don't
Check What You Already Have First
Before you buy anything, do this: check your existing credit card benefits. Many premium travel cards — Chase Sapphire, Amex Gold, certain Visa Signature cards — include meaningful travel protection as a card benefit. Trip cancellation, rental car coverage, and sometimes basic medical coverage are included if you booked the trip on that card.
Check your home or renters insurance. Electronics and personal property stolen abroad are often covered under your domestic policy. The deductible may be lower than what travel insurance would pay out after their own deductible and depreciation calculation.
If you're traveling within the EU and you're an EU citizen, your EHIC/GHIC card covers emergency medical treatment in participating countries. This doesn't replace travel insurance — it doesn't cover evacuation, trip cancellation, or treatment in private hospitals — but it significantly reduces your medical coverage needs within the EU.
Where to Actually Buy It
InsureMyTrip.com and Squaremouth.com are comparison platforms that let you filter by the coverage amounts that actually matter. I use Squaremouth. You set your medical minimum, your evacuation minimum, and filter from there. You're not buying blind from an airline checkout page.
For longer trips and nomads: SafetyWing is designed for people who travel for weeks or months at a time — it bills monthly and covers you continuously. Not the deepest coverage available, but genuinely good value for the price ($45/month for most ages) for continuous travelers.
For extreme sports or adventure travel: World Nomads is the standard recommendation and it's deserved — it covers a wider range of activities than most standard policies.
Every claim I've filed that succeeded had good documentation. Every claim I've seen fail had bad documentation. Police report for theft — get it at the time, not later. Medical receipts — keep everything. Photos of damaged items. Screenshots of cancellation notifications with timestamps. The insurance company's job is to find reasons not to pay; your documentation is the counter-argument.
How Much Should It Cost?
As a rough guide: travel insurance for a 1–2 week trip should cost 4–8% of your total insured trip cost (including flights and accommodation). For a $3,000 trip, you're looking at $120–240 for a solid policy. If you're being quoted significantly more, you're buying features you don't need. If significantly less, check the coverage limits carefully.
- Medical coverage: minimum $100,000 (ideally $250,000+ for US or Japan)
- Emergency evacuation: minimum $500,000
- Trip cancellation: covers at least your non-refundable costs
- Check: does your credit card already cover rental cars or trip delays?
- Check: does your home insurance cover stolen electronics abroad?
- Read the exclusions for pre-existing conditions
- Understand the claims process before you need it
My friend in Japan is fine now. Her wrist healed. She also now buys travel insurance without being reminded. Some lessons are expensive. They only need to be learned once.
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