The 7 Best Travel Insurance Companies in 2019 (Ranked & Reviewed)

Posted: 6/17/2019 | June 17th, 2019

Planning a trip can be a lot of fun. Researching amazing bucket list activities, daydreaming about picture-perfect beaches and epic hikes, booking the cheap flights that will take you to the world’s most amazing destinations — it’s the fun part of planning. It gives you ownership of your trip and lets you imagine all the amazing adventures you’ll get into.

What is significantly less fun (yet equally important) is searching for the right travel insurance plan for your trip.

Reading through the fine print, searching out reviews you can trust, picking the best plan — it can all be a little tedious.

And if you’re a new traveler, it can also be a little overwhelming.

There are hundreds of companies out there – all offering the “same” plans. They all have different prices too. Which one is the best? Which review is right?

To help you stay safe during your next trip, I wanted to share my thoughts on the best travel insurance companies on the market. I’ve been backpacking since 2004 and researching companies for a living since 2007. I’ve spent a lot of time reading the fine print (have you ever read NY’s insurance compliance laws? Well, don’t.)

To save you time, I’ve compiled a list of the best travel insurance companies. Whether you’re heading south to escape from work or traveling abroad on a round-the-world trip, this list will help you find a company that works for your trip – and your budget.

 

OUR TOP PICK: World Nomads

I’ve been using World Nomads for the past decade and have never been disappointed. Their plans are comprehensive and great for travelers visiting more than one country in a single trip. It’s easy to read their policies and see what’s covered (and what isn’t), and their customer service is top notch. And if you want to learn more before you purchase or have questions after you sign up, their customer support is there to help.

This company is perfect for adventurous travelers who plan to do things like hiking, kayaking or canoeing, and even some extreme sports like rock climbing bungee jumping. With 100 different activities are covered, World Nomads is the best choice for the active traveler.

Here’s a quick overview:

• Emergency medical and dental coverage
• Coverage for trip cancelations, delays, and interruptions
• Baggage protection
• Emergency evacuation (for medical emergencies and non-medical emergencies such as natural disasters)
• Medical transportation
• 24/7 customer assistance

They are the perfect company if you’re a backpacker or long term traveler. The company was founded by backpackers so they keep people who travel long term in mind in their plans and customer service. This is my go-to insurance company and one I’ve been using for years. If it sounds like the company for you, you can use the widget below to get a quote:

 
(Want to learn more? Check out my comprehensive World Nomads review!)

Medjet

Medjet is the premier membership program for medical transportation. Their extensive plans focus on crisis response and emergency transportation and they have amazing staff on hand to help you through it all.

While many insurance companies will just evacuate you to the nearest hospital in an emergency, MedJet goes above and beyond to ensure that you’re repatriated and not stuck in a foreign medical facility away from your friends and family.

They have both short-term and annual plans, too, so no matter what your travel plans are you’ll be able to find the affordable coverage that you need.

Here’s a quick overview of MedJet:

• Extensive medical transport coverage
• Limited time spent in foreign medical facilities
• Both short-term and annual plans
• Available for residents of the US, Canada, and Mexico

Medjet is the perfect company for anyone looking to avoid time spent in foreign medical facilities should an emergency or crisis occur.

Insure My Trip

Insure My Trip isn’t actually an insurance company that issues its own plans. Rather, they recommend plans and help you compare prices so you can buy the plan that’s best for you.

With Insure My Trip, you can compare plans from almost 30 different insurance providers. They are the go-to company for senior travelers as well, since many travel insurance companies won’t cover travelers over 65. Insure My Trip provides comparisons from insurance companies that cover older travelers, making them the best option for retirees and other senior adventurers.

Here’s a quick overview of Insure My Trip:

• Guaranteed low prices
• Coverage for senior travelers over 65
• “Anytime advocates” ask the insurer to give your claim a second look if you think it was unfairly denied.
• Comparisons from 28 different companies to ensure you get the best plan

Insure My Trip is the best choice for older travelers looking for comprehensive coverage over the age of 65.

STA

STA is an online travel agency that is known for its flights and travel packages. But they also sell affordable travel insurance too. STA provides budget-friendly plans for students and teachers, offering coverage for as little as $99 USD for 1 year.

It’s the best choice for anyone studying abroad or teaching overseas. You’ll also get an ISIC card, which includes tons of additional perks and discounts!

Here’s a quick overview of STA Travel Insurance:

• Budget-friendly plans
• ISIC card benefits in over 125,000 locations
• Basic coverage options
• Great for students/shoestring backpackers.

STA is the best choice for student travelers and teachers working overseas who only need basic travel insurance coverage.

IMGlobal

IMGlobal provides insurance plans that are more akin to your standard US health insurance. They have comprehensive coverage for long-term travelers, plans for non-US citizens, and affordable plans for visitors to the US as well. They have basic plans for students and budget-conscious travelers as well as more robust plans for families and expats.

Their plans cover single trips; however, they also have multi-trip plans for travelers heading out on more than one trip per year.

Here’s a quick overview of IMGlobal:

• Best for expats and long-term travelers
• The closest option to normal US health insurance
• Available for non-US residents
• 16 different plans to choose from

IMGlobal is the best insurance company for expats and long-term travelers who want coverage beyond medical emergencies.

Clements

Clements focuses on insurance coverage for expats as well as coverage for high-end gear (such as laptops, smartphones, and cameras). Many travel insurance companies only provide minimal coverage for your expensive electronics, which means you’ll have to pay a lot of money out of pocket to replace them should they get lost, damaged, or stolen while you’re abroad. They also offer plans with low or no deductibles so you can rest assured that, should the worst happen, you can replace your valuables without breaking the bank.

Here’s a quick overview of Clements:

• High-end electronics coverage
• Low (or no) deductibles
• Premium plans with unlimited coverage
• Available both inside and outside of the US

Clements is the best insurance option for anyone traveling with expensive electronics who need comprehensive coverage.

Honorable Mention: Credit Card Coverage

While not the most comprehensive, many travel credit cards will include some degree of travel insurance. Coverage is often limited and might only apply to trips or items purchased with the card. And there may be limited dates of coverage too.

However, something is better than nothing! But while it can be tempting to go for a free insurance plan from your credit card company, their plans are usually not that comprehensive and have minimal coverage and/or limited compensation. These free plans are best used as supplemental coverage in addition to a plan from one of the companies above.

But it’s always great to have options (especially free ones). Be sure to learn more about the best travel credit cards before your next trip (you’ll have to read the fine print).

***

Nobody plans on getting hurt when they travel. And in a perfect world, we wouldn’t. But we all know that this isn’t a perfect world.

My bags were stolen when I was traveling in South Africa.

I popped my eardrum while diving in Thailand.

And I was even stabbed while backpacking in Colombia.

Obviously, I didn’t plan for any of these things to happen.

But they did.

And I was lucky I had travel insurance to help me cover the costs. So before you head out on your next trip, make sure that you’re covered. Invest in your own safety and peace of mind. I promise you, it’s worth the money.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

• World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
• Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and that will save you time and money too!

The Incredible Reason Why Richard Branson Started Virgin Atlantic

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Thirty five years ago, Richard Branson was stuck on a tarmac trying to leave Puerto Rico for the British Virgin Islands. His flight was grounded, and he’d been away from his girlfriend for three weeks. Needless to say, he was over it.

What do you do in this situation? My answer is typically to lean into my fate and order a glass of wine, resigning myself to an eternity stuck on an airplane.

Branson walked to the back of the plane and asked for a chalkboard and a writing implement. He figured out how much it would cost to charter a plane to BVI — and how much it would cost each passenger if the expense were pooled. And then he went for it, walking up and down the aisles of the grounded airplane selling tickets. On the chalkboard he wrote, “$39 one way to BVI.”

And that was Virgin Atlantic’s first flight.

Branson told us this story in a downtown Los Angeles warehouse space, where we gathered to celebrate a new Virgin Atlantic flight path — Los Angeles to Manchester — and the company’s 35th birthday. Which is perhaps why he explained that, 35 years ago, after chartering that one flight to the British Virgin Islands, he decided to call Boeing when he got back to England to ask if he could buy a secondhand 747.

On the phone, Boeing asked which company he was with. To which he replied, having already founded Virgin Records, “Virgin.”

What sticks out when hearing Branson tell his founding story firsthand — from chartering his first aircraft, to creating a full-fledged airline — is the humor and genuine humanity in every step. At no point does building a company sound corporate when coming from Branson’s mouth. It instead sounds honest and authentic.

He said when he was branding Virgin Atlantic that someone told him, “Nobody, nobody will ever fly on an airline called ‘virgin.’”

Seriously, insert crying laughing emoji here. And speaking of self-aware hilarity, Branson also told us that on his inaugural flight, they screened “Airplane.” Because, how could you not?

As for sheer humanity, Branson left us with the story of the “BA Christmas bonus.” Branson has long since touted the idea that it’s the people who really made his business what it is today, and thanks to an illegal maneuver by a competing company, he was able to show every employee his gratitude with a bonus.

Here’s the abridged version of the story: in the 1990s, British Airways went as far as having a team illegally access Virgin’s digital information. They then called Virgin Atlantic clients, pretending to be from Virgin, to say the customer’s flight had been canceled and rebook them on British Airways.

Virgin Atlantic is a company rooted in the notion of beating the odds. Indeed, even when Virgin’s fleet was significantly smaller than nearly all of their competitors’, they fought to stay a contender. So even up against the adversity of British Airways using flat-out illegal means to try to put them out of business, they didn’t back down.

Instead, they took British Airways to court, where they won the largest libel suit in British history. Virgin then took the almost $1 million in damages and distributed it equally to Virgin Atlantic employees — hence, the BA Christmas bonus.

What sticks out in hearing Branson recount the evolution of Virgin Atlantic — other than the humility and the lolz — is the actual desire to make a better product than what was already offered. Isn’t that the essence of entrepreneurship? Branson, beyond his status as a founder or a billionaire, is an entrepreneur first, attracted to good ideas that successfully fill a necessary niche.

And when it comes to the travel industry, there are still endless opportunities to make offerings more effective, more advanced, more environmentally friendly, or what have you. Branson proves it’s all about identifying the flaws or gaping holes in the industry, even if inspiration strikes when grounded on a Puerto Rico tarmac.

The 12 Best Walking Tour Companies in London

Updated: 7/10/18 | July 10th, 2018

As you may know, I’ve been basing my travels lately around a theme in order to make them a little more than just a checklist of the top attractions. Having spent some extended time in London recently, I decided to focus my trip around a thing I love to death: walking tours. I wanted to see this city on foot and learn about it from the ground up.

Since London is a megacity filled with a mega number of walking tours, from free tours and literary tours to pub crawls and specialty food tours and quirky tea tours, I had plenty of options to choose from. By the time my ten days were over, I had taken over 25 walking tours!

London is not an easy city to walk around as it is so spread out, but these tours do a good job of breaking it down into manageable bites while giving you a lot of good history and context. Here is what I think are the best walking tour companies in London:

Free Tours by Foot

I’ve taken (and loved) this company’s NYC tours, so when I found out it had a London branch, I had to take a couple. Their London tours are just as good as they are in NYC: well written, well presented, and very insightful, while covering the major highlights of each area. They offer a seemingly endless number of tours that run throughout the day. Some of better ones are the Westminster, Harry Potter, Soho, ghost, and street art tours. Most walks last 2–2.5 hours. Pre-booking via the website is preferred.

London Walks

As one of the biggest walking tour companies in London, it offers dozens of tours as well as day trips to the Cotswolds, Oxford, Cambridge, Stonehenge, and Bath. They usually have four or five tours scheduled throughout the day. You don’t need to prebook and you can pay when you arrive. Most tours last 2–2.5 hours. I really dug their tours: they have very animated guides and a kept up a good pace. I highly recommend the Shakespeare tour, the one on classic London, and any of the pub crawls (alcohol not included)! Each tour is 10 GBP, but if you buy a 2 GBP “frequent tour” card, you can save 2 GBP off all your future walks.

Take Walks London

London is the newest city for this company that also offers walks in Italy, New York City, Paris, and Barcelona. You get the best access on their tours. The Parliament tour (89 GBP) will take you behind the scenes and show you places other tour companies can’t go. They aren’t cheap, but they are worth it if you’re looking to go deeper. Their a new WOWO (Walk On, Walk Off) pass offers the best value. It allows you to take up to 12 tours for 59 GBP. That’s less than 5 GBP per tour if you were to take them all! These tours are hyper-neighborhood-focused to minimize walking around and run about 60-90 minutes, which to me is the perfect length of time. (I mean, I love walking tours, but when they hit three hours, I start to tune out!) If your guide is Andy, you’re going to be in for a real treat! That guy was a walking encyclopedia.

Free London Walking Tours

This tiny company offers free walks from a few older British chaps that have an air of university professors. They tell silly jokes but also relate some of the most arcane facts of London history. Their tours tend to cover the dark side of London, like the “Fire, Pestilence and Plague” walk (about the plague) and Debauched London tour (about London’s history with beer). They tend to cover a lot of ground — physically and factually — but with their quirky stories, it never feels like a slog. The tours last a solid two hours. You don’t need to preregister.

Strawberry Tours

Strawberry Tours is a more “hip” tour company for young travelers (the guides are younger as well) as they advertise mostly to younger backpackers and travelers. They run a number of free tours, specialty tours, and paid pub crawls (which might explain the young audience). While I didn’t love the pub crawl, the Harry Potter, food, and London in a Day tours were fun and informative. The day tours are free and last around two hours.

Eating London

This London branch of a continent-wide food tour company offers three walks: one for the East End, one of historic pubs, and one for nighttime cocktails. The guides are super friendly and knowledgeable, and you’ll get to eat and drink a ton on the tour. Tours last about three hours and aren’t cheap: they begin at 79 GBP each (food and drink is included). I found the clientele tends to be a bit older (probably due to the prices.)

New Europe Walking Tours

This company has free walking tours all over Europe. They are sort of “the backpacker tour,” as most hostels promote this company exclusively and so most young travelers end up on this one. They are good for a general historic overview of the city. The guides tend to follow the script and don’t have some of the deep local knowledge you get with some of the other tours so do the general walking tour here and take more specific one with the other companies listed! Their London tours tend to last closer to three hours and usually have a short break in the middle.

Liquid History

This pub tour is a gentle two-mile walk that starts near St. Paul’s and ambles to the Strand and Covent Garden. The tour covers four traditional pubs and explains the country’s long brewing and drinking culture. Groups are small (capped at 14 people), and it’s the only tour company I know that offers a money-back guarantee. It lasts three hours and costs 25 GBP (drinks not included).

Jack the Ripper Tours

There are a million Jack the Ripper tours in London. When I took mine, there were four others following the same path as we did. Who knew Jack the Ripper was such a big draw? If you take one during summertime, your group is going to be 20-50 people! While I can’t speak for the others, I took the original Jack the Ripper tour and found it to be one of the best walking tours of the entire trip. While explaining the Jack the Ripper murder mystery, the guide really brought you back to 1888 London and made you imagine how the city was then. Be sure to get Mick as your guide. He was excellent. (He even wrote a book on Jack the Ripper!)

Context Travel

I love Context and have been a huge supporter of theirs. They offer detailed and in-depth historical tours led by experts and specialists in various fields; our guide on the ancient London walk was a historical architect and professor. This is what I love about Context tours: the immense knowledge their guides have. You know you’re gonna get a guide who will teach you some stuff! Their tours tend to cater to an older and family audience, as their cost (100 GBP) tends to price out most people. However, if you do have the cash, I can’t recommend these tours enough. Their tours last 3–3.5 hours.

Vayable / Get Your Guide

If you’re looking for something different and maybe a little bit more unique, check out Vayable or Get Your Guide and take a walking tour from a local who can offer any kind of tour they feel like! There are tea, street art, shopping, pub, park, and even dumpling tours — and everything in between. Prices and schedules are set by the guides, so be sure to inquire in advance, as you can rarely just jump on them like most of the companies above!

Honorable Mention: London Greeters

Greeter programs are local city initiatives that pair you with a local who will show you around the city for a few hours. These are passionate people who love their city and know a lot about their neighborhood! I didn’t have time to use the service in London but I’ve used it in other cities and am a huge fan of the initiative. It’s a fun way to learn about the city. It’s just you and your friends and the guide. The program is free but you’ll need to set up a time in advance.

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London is full of walking tours. The next time you’re in London, take one of these tours. So often as tourists we wander the city but never really know the history of what we are looking at. Walking tours fill in that knowledge gap: you get to wander, see the sights, take photos, and learn something. After all, that’s why you’re traveling, right?

Book Your Trip to London: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight to London by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines. Start with Momondo.

Book Your Accommodation
If you’re looking for a hostel in London, use Hostelworld. If you want to stay elsewhere, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates. (Here’s the proof.)

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. I never ever go on a trip without it. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. You should too.

Need Some Gear?
Check out our resource page for the best companies to use!

Want More Information on London?
Be sure to visit our robust London destination guide on London for even more planning tips!

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