| Package Tours | Hotels & Flights | Contact Us |
| Package Tours | Hotels & Flights | Contact Us |
Travel insurance for independent travelers and their families. You’d rather not think about all of the things that might go wrong on your trip, but these things can and do happen. World Nomads travel insurance has been designed by travelers for travelers, to cover your trip essentials. Even if you run out of travel insurance or leave without it, World Nomads can cover you. We don’t just keep you and your family protected, with us, you’ll travel smarter and safer.
Whilst we do our best to ensure your tour runs smoothly, travelling is an adventure and sometimes the unexpected happens. Whether you lose your luggage at the airport, fall sick during your travels, or your flight gets delayed, it’s always a good idea to have travel insurance to back you up for those unexpected moments.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) and travel – Need to know before you buy
There is NO COVER available for travel to any country or part of it with a COVID-19 travel ban, and any events that arise when you travel against any government bans or warnings.
Ready to hit the road? Before you buy, check your local government travel warnings and make sure you understand the impact coronavirus (COVID-19), and the the associated travel warnings, may have on travel insurance coverage. When getting a quote, review the policy wording for cover terms, conditions, limits and exclusions.
Just like any other sickness, COVID-19 can be covered under your plan benefits. These benefits include emergency medical and trip interruption coverage for you personally or a travel companion who contracts COVID-19 or goes under quarantine when traveling. They also include travel delay coverage should your scheduled transportation be set back for at least six hours for say, a border closing or travel ban that has been announced during your trip. Also, If you unexpectedly catch COVID-19 at home before you leave for your trip, you may also be eligible for trip cancellation coverage, which represents compensation for any pre-paid non-refundable travel expenses such as flights, hotels, and excursions.
Travel insurance can help with emergency medical treatment for unexpected sickness, including COVID-19. You may also be eligible for Trip Interruption benefits if your travel arrangements have changed mid-trip because you’ve contracted the COVID-19. Or you may qualify for Trip Cancellation coverage if your doctor advises you not to travel after diagnosing you with COVID-19. Fear of travel is never a covered reason for any type of coverage. In no instances can you get reimbursed for canceling your trip because you’re worried about how the COVID-19 outbreak may impact your travels.
If your flight is delayed or cancelled, Trip Interruption and Trip Delay benefits may be available. Please check your specific travel protection plan for terms and conditions. Time restrictions may apply. Also, please check with your travel provider to determine your options.
A refund: To qualify for a refund, you must not have started your trip or made any claims, and your trip costs must have been refunded in their entirety by your travel suppliers without any cancellation penalties or travel credits. Read ‘How do I cancel my Travel Protection Plan?’ ‘Do I qualify for a refund?’ and ‘What’s the fastest way to get a refund?’ for more details.
An amendment: If your trip dates have not passed and your rescheduled trip is to the same destination and the same number of days as your original trip, and within 365 days of the purchase date, then you can change the dates of your Plan to cover you on the new trip. To do so, just log into your membership. If you don’t have a membership, you can create one here. Travel Protection Plans can only be amended prior to the departure date shown on your Plan documents.
If you’ve already started your trip but had to end it early, unfortunately, you won’t be able to get a refund for the remaining days of your Plan. You also won’t be able to put your Plan on hold to reactivate at a later date.
No two travelers are the same, so why should travel insurance be one-size-fits-all?
You might be at the ski lodge in Queenstown or Sapporo, and half your crew are heading to the café while you hit the slopes. Or maybe your sister always rents a car when she travels, while you prefer to bus it. World Nomads offers different plans with different levels of cover so you can choose one to suit your needs. World Nomads offers two plans – a Standard Plan and an Explorer Plan – each with different benefits, limits and sub-limits of cover.
Standard Plan: Includes a range of benefits such as overseas medical, cover for your belongings, pre-trip cancellation and certain adventure activities.
Explorer Plan: Has all the benefits of a Standard Plan and a few more, and is more expensive to buy.
Please choose carefully from the outset, as you can’t upgrade from a Standard Plan to an Explorer Plan mid-trip. Depending on your country of residence, you may also need to add adventure activities to your quote as another type of cover upgrade as you can’t add this mid-trip.
That depends. If your strict isolation is imposed by a government authority or physician to prevent the spread of disease, then the plan will provide benefits under the Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption or Travel Delay sections of your policy. A “shelter in place” mandated by the government does not normally falls under the definition of a covered quarantine. Generally speaking, you must be under strict quarantine for at least 24 hours – that means complete isolation (not leaving your home for the grocery store, going outside for exercise, traveling, etc.). However, many healthy people are choosing a self-imposed quarantine, which does not qualify for coverage. Voluntary quarantine or an embargo preventing you from entering a country do not represent covered risks under your policy.
No, World Nomads does not offer a Cancel for Any Reason upgrade. Having to cancel your trip last minute because of COVID-19 can be inconvenient and expensive. Instead of purchasing the costly upgrade offered by other insurance companies, you may want to check with your airline, hotel, or tour operator first to see what their policies are regarding travel during the COVID-19 outbreak. In these unusual times, they’re being more flexible – loosening up their cancellation policies or offering refunds, credits for future travel, or alternate dates so that customers can stay safe and travel at a time when they’re feeling more comfortable. If you’re waiting to book, it’s easy to purchase a World Nomads travel insurance policy at the last minute.
If you become ill with COVID-19 prior to your departure and after the effective date of your plan, you may be eligible for Trip Cancellation coverage. These claims will require a confirmed diagnosis from a physician with proof of illness that states you are medically unable to travel at the time of departure.
If you become ill with COVID-19 while on your trip and your plan includes medical expense coverage, you may be covered for Medical Expense and Trip Interruption benefits with a confirmed diagnosis, including proof of illness from a doctor. Please review your specific plan for the details and limits of such coverage.
If you’re already a World Nomads member, you’ll just need to sign in, follow the steps to start a new claim and attach your supporting documents.
If you’re not a member, you can either create an account which lets you make most claims electronically or you can get in touch with our customer service teams, who’ll send out a paper form for you to complete.
Soon after you’ve made your claim, we’ll email you a confirmation with a reference number, so you can keep track of your claim’s progress.
This varies depending on your country of residence. Broadly speaking, though:
An Explorer Plan has benefits not available in the Standard Plan.
An Explorer Plan has higher benefit limits and/or sub-limits than the Standard Plan.
An easy way to see the differences is in the benefit summary when you get an instant online quote. The quote page will also tell you how much each plan costs and has links to the policy wording, which details the coverage in full.