Travel Insurance Recommendations For 6-9 Months Of Travel

Thanks for the advice everyone! After doing more research I found an aggregator site that gave me an low cost option backed by AIG (a big insurance company). I think going with a company that is backed by a larger insurance company should help if there are claims, but who knows. I got lots of quotes ranging from $500-2500 (and some at $7000+, yikes!) for 6 month long travel coverage. I chose the plan that was about $550.

In the end, it came down to having a plan that has medical evacuation of $150,000 per person and $15,000 emergency medical coverage. There are additional coverages, but I don't think those will come in handy and really I just found something that wouldn't wipe out my savings/investments in case of a large scale emergency. Thanks again to all that chimed in!

We used Cigna Global for about three years with both U.S. and international coverage. They reimbursed reliably and the customer service was good, but I wouldn’t recommend it long-term. It’s not ACA-eligible, so they don’t have to cover pre-existing conditions — and we learned the hard way that even with pre-authorization, they can still deny a claim in the U.S. on that basis.

Now, since we spend about half the year in the U.S., we carry an ACA plan here (the only way to guarantee pre-existing coverage in the U.S.). Abroad, we no longer bother with a comprehensive international plan — healthcare in most countries is so much more affordable. Even with ACA, we often prefer to get our medical care outside the U.S. and just pay cash.

A few examples:

• Asia is excellent for wellness checks (Prince Court in KL, Bumrungrad in Bangkok).
• I’ve had ER visits in Ecuador (free) and Slovenia (~€200 total for the ER, all follow-up medications, and a specialist).
• I’ve had multiple rounds of affordable dental care in Mexico and Portugal.

What I do recommend abroad is at least a catastrophic/evacuation plan. I’m fine paying $10–$500 out of pocket for most care, but I don’t want to risk a $50,000 evacuation bill. Looking back, the premiums I paid for global comprehensive coverage weren’t worth it compared to what I would’ve spent cash-pay abroad — but evacuation coverage is the one gap I wouldn’t want to be without.

I have traveled extensively and navigated this willfully and out of necessity. I can say with most certainty that most other places you visit will not honor your US based insurance. Some insurance companies will let you seek reimbursement for covered expenses that you pay out of pocket, but this depends on your carrier. We keep a family plan with www.allianztravelinsurance.com

Granted, this is travel insurance with some medical benefits. Primarily for catastrophic coverage and for the medical flight coverage back to the USA if we have a large event. Thankfully we haven't had to use it for that. However, we have filed several small claims and been reimbursed for all our medical events experiences abroad. We once had a kid fly a drone across my 8yr olds eye. I literally snapped a picture of me handing a cab driver $80 in cash outside the hospital, had no receipt, and was reimbursed... I don't expect that to always happen, but I was impressed. We have dealt with several cases of sickness abroad that needed a Dr Office visit, and generally, healthcare is so much more reasonable abroad we have always paid out of pocket, got our meds, kept going, and never felt the time to submit the paperworks was worth it, because if was cheaper than our deductible here.

There are several options for coverage like this, but this is what we use. Hope that helps!

Christina Gawlik who is the nomad behind A Suitcase and A Smile uses Genki. I'm not personally familiar with them but she travels extensively all around the world so Genki may be a good option to check out.

If you have questions, she is pretty responsive if you reach out to her by email (at bottom of her blog) or on the blog's Facebook page. I believe she's also a member of ChooseFI's Facebook group.

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