There is a big debate in the traveling community about insurance. There are those who feel that it is an unnecessary expense, especially in countries with low cost health care systems; and there are those who would never leave home without a good policy.
We definitely fall into the latter category.
We are convinced that travel insurance is an essential part of a safe trip around the world. Of course, one always hopes that everything will go well.
But the reality is that risk does exist and, without getting into a whirlwind of unnecessary paranoia, preparation seems to be the key.
My personal experience has proven to me time and time again the value of insurance. When I started traveling around the world in 2015, I think I visited a hospital in each of the South East Asian countries I travelled through, for reasons as diverse as several bouts of food poisoning, including a very severe one with too high a fever in Thailand, gynecological problems, a clumsy fall that left me with infected wounds in the knees, and a severe ankle sprain.
And when I was presented with bills in the order of 500USD, I was delighted to know that my insurance would cover my expenses! Because no, even in Thailand, medical care is not always low-cost and yes, there can be a refusal of care in case of inability to pay… (you will find under this link the terrible story of Sofiane, victim of a scooter accident in 2016).
In our opinion, travel insurance is therefore essential for a peaceful trip… especially if you travel by bicycle. But how do you choose your insurance?
In the course of our nomadic years, we have had the opportunity to test a number of them. Before taking out a contract, the first thing to do is to look at the exclusions. Does the insurance I want to take out cover the activity I plan to engage in? What are the coverage limits? Do I have a pre-existing condition when I take out the policy?
Because let’s make no mistake, and again, I speak from experience, having worked in an insurance company myself, the first reflex of most companies will be to find a way to exclude you from the contract and therefore refuse to cover you.
I have to admit that I have been very disappointed with most of my previous insurance companies. Either the procedure for taking out cover involved sending in paperwork and very cumbersome formalities that were not adapted to traveling abroad; or the agent contacted was an intermediary who was completely unaware of the specific features of the contract taken (I was told several times, despite my round-the-world contract and 100% cover, to contact the French social security system… even though I haven’t had it for a long time!); or I was hung up on directly; or the processing times were horribly long. When you are ill or have an accident in a foreign country, having to fight against your insurance can become a real ordeal.
It is therefore a real pleasure to have chosen an insurance company such as IATI Seguros. Based in Spain, this insurance company offers contracts adapted to each trip and each activity. Of all the insurances tested, IATI is the one that offers the widest and most complete coverage and, in these particular times, guarantees the risk in case of COVID.
We opted for the IATI Mochilero policy, which also specifically covers our cycling trip. We had (unfortunately) the opportunity to test their reactivity during a kidney infection in Costa Rica, and we were amazed by their availability, their benevolence and the simplicity of the procedure, from the opening of the file to the reimbursement, through the acceptance of the guarantee.
IATI Seguros is by far the best insurance we have ever taken out and we would never consider traveling without being covered by them.
If you are also interested in this travel insurance, we invite you to have a look at their webpage. You can also benefit from a 5% discount on any IATI contract by clicking on the following link https://www.iatiseguros.com?discount=013866653595