World Nomads Travel Insurance

World Nomads insurance is terrible when a real issue arises. I am currently travelling and last leg is on 25th December to Cambodia. After multiple emails, they cannot let me know if the area I plan to travel to will be covered. It’s in the “yellow” zone, not the “red” zone and therefore not officially a no travel area, but also not safe. My… Read more

policy covers chance to flight if something arises, but they cannot confirm if they will cover costs if I amend flight to go home instead and avoid Cambodia, as I’m flying in to a “yellow” zone. No clarity, their advice to me is to do what I think is best and then they might or might not refund flights and if I do go I might or might not be covered!

Terrible experience claiming trip cancellation due to my Mother’s passing. She passed away on the day I was due to travel from a long cancer battle, it was sudden and not expected as she was doing so well with the treatments. The trouble first started when World nomads insisted on me providing a medical certificate and hospital admission papers… Read more

for my mum, even though I had provided a statement from the ward doctor and the death certificate. I made a complaint and this was resolved with them agreeing the provided evidence was sufficient.

Next comes the part where they will only pay maximum $2000 due to a chronic illness even though she was not travelling or covered by the policy. So I guess I’m raising awareness to really review the policies and don’t expect a great customer experience when making a claim.

I am an Australian, who was resident in the US when I took out travel insurance to cover a trip to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Canada. I needed medical treatment when I was in Canada, and have been attempting unsuccessfully to claim ever since. … Read more

World Nomads now uses a second company to process claims. It's sole purpose seems to be to deny claims for whatever reason it can find., First they make it impossible to contact them. When I finally found a way to contact them and to send documentation through, I was told the photographed copies of my treatment weren't flat, and were hard to read (not true) so I re-sent them. But I was also told I would need to submit my claim through the US Medicare system first to try to gain reimbursement. And only once that was surely rejected and I provided proof of that, could I seek to claim Yeah right. I have since returned to Australia. World Nomads is junk insurance. Dont bother.

Already recommend to anyone travellIng, so glad I had it – The staff at the emergency response are amazing, after doing ligament damage to my knee in Bali they organised everything to fly home and sort out medical stuff from home, they helped immediately and answered all of my questions and checked to see how I was. No complications yet just waiting for medical reimbursement now. Show details

Excellent experience with World Nomads – I would like to thank the World Nomads team especially Sam, Marie, Jenna and Dean for their continuous support provided to me during my trip to the Everest Base Camp. I was evacuated and had to undergo medical procedures to deal with my Acute Mountain Sickness/High Altitude Pulmonary Edema. I was very surprised to see administrative formalities… Read more

getting completed without my intervention. I never felt alone and it was like the entire team was with me during my bad times. I will never forget this experience and will surely recommend World Nomads to others who need to explore their adventurous dreams and want to have a hassle free insurance experience.

August 14th 2019 Update: A different experience

This is my second review for World Nomads. I have been assisted throughout my Nepal journey by World Nomads. This time I would like to that Michelle from the claims team for her support in sorting my helivac claim. The claim took a while to sort but all parties were happy at the end. Again this is not any marketing strategy from the World Nomads but an honest feedback from a client. My experience with them was amazing and will surely recommend World Nomads in future.

Got paid eventually – I had to provide A LOT of information and proof, it took many weeks but eventually I did receive some money for my claim. Not all of it but enough to have justified the time spent. Make sure you keep as many of your travel documents and receipts as possible. I think I did okay compared to some of the reviews I have read here. I was surprised to… Read more ·  1

receive a good response. One woman even called me on the phone to chat one day about my claim which was a pleasant surprise! I think they are fair but like all insurance companies expect to work for it.

LOST? – World Nomads are the last travel Insurance Company I would use after my experience with them. They refused to look at my situation nor listen to my story. I had previously had travel insurance with 1Cover and they were so helpful. I should not have changed. My claim was minor as my backpack was put on the wrong bus and I tried to get it back but… Read more

couldn't find the company. I put in a claim for replacement of the phone charger and ear pods and this was refused as they said it was lost and they didn't cover that. So what is the point of insurance if you can't claim lost items (that isn't your fault)??

Very bad - do not use world nomads – Absolutely terrible, I had always used world nomads around the world to unusual countries (Afghanistan, Central Asia, DR Congo, Somalia, ect ect ect) but never needed to claim anything until I flew to timor-leste (East Timor) whilst there I was hiking the tallest mountain in the country when the airline I had used (called “Air North” - never… Read more

again) emailed me with a new flight that departed the day after I received the email when I wasn’t due to fly for another 3 weeks hahah. They sent me a new flight 21 days early. I rang them and explained firstly that that date didn’t suit me and they wouldn’t budge explaining they had to change it. I rang world nomads and explained the situation and they wouldn’t help in the slightest. I lodged a claim for my flights home and accomodation after being stranded by the airline. I’ve had friends who had received zero help from world nomads in times of trouble and I wouldn’t wish for anyone who actually travels properly with their insurance to be subject to the scam that is world nomads.

Get covered but just don't claim – There are two main reasons for travel insurance, missed flights and medical. I missed a flight and they denied my claim. They have a vague clause that claims deniability if they determine the airline has control over your delay. There's no visibility on how they determine that. Its as close to a scam as I have seen, pity for me I didn't see other reviews before I paid. Show details

Login broken – I used WorldNomads for close to 30 trips over 10 years, but it looks like this company has gone downhill in the last couple of years. Their website doesn't even let me login any longer, and yes I tried different browsers and even different laptops. It accepts username and pw, but no longer shows previous insurance policies or even user name. I… Read more

also reset password to make sure that wasn't the problem, but still the same issues. Thank god I never had to make a claim as it seems this would have likely been unsuccessful based on all the other user reviews.

For Scuba divers joining a Liveaboard!! – If you are a scuba diver joining a liveaboard and looking to get your equipments covered by this insurance, LOOK someplace else. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME and MONEY getting it from World Nomads!!! I'm extremely disappointed with World Nomad’s / AIG’s handling of my claim for my damaged scuba diving equipment which is a Seac BCD. The whole point of… Read more

purchasing insurance was to ensure that I would be covered in case of such incidents. However, when I filed my claim, they denied it, asking for the BCD receipt from which I purchased years ago. Ridiculous! This experience has left me feeling frustrated and cheated, as I specifically chose their policy for the coverage it promised. I will definitely be looking for a more reliable and transparent insurance provider in the future. I should have chosen DiveAssure instead. Pay a little bit more and GET covered for accidental damage to your gear.

DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY – It was an absolute waste of money. Buyer beware! Read the PDS very carefully as you will find most of the basic stuff is excluded. Show details

The worst insurance ever – It was recommended to me by the friend and and good and ethical company. It ended up to be way more expensive than many others. The extras of $100 is not clearly explained to you and I spend 6 h waiting on a phone, week waiting for email reply! Ever time hearing the same story.... Sorry but we expecting more the usual amount of calls/claim we… Read more

apologise for a waiting and inconvenience blah blah.... Here is the email to make a complaint. Horrible experience. Ale the extras I only claim $400 so I received $300 and I paid $173. I will never never use them again or recommend it!

Stay away beware – I was in Phillipines and was robbed and bashed of all my gear.. I have police reports everything needed for my claim … I paid 1600 dollars for insurance which I thought was a reputable company but it’s been month that have not even responded to my emails or any thing … all I have recieved from them is a blank statement blaming Covid for delays lol … what a scam … better of using a bigger insurance company these people are crooks Show details

Claim denied – Claim denied after trip cancellation due to an emergency presentation the day of the flight. The insurance claim is denied because the condition is pre-existing despite never having been treated or diagnosed. Symptoms of abdo pain existed prior to going into Hospital therefore it was considered pre-existing. I am disappointed as I have used World… Read more

Nomads many times and will now carefully review all travel insurers PDS. The old saying "Insurance is great until you make a claim". The funny thing is the claim was approx $2000 in total and I usually spend $500 on travel insurance most years. I love travel and adventure and this was my first ever claim. I will invest my money elsewhere to ensure cover when I need it. Happy travels and please always read the PDS thoroughly

Massive Loophole Warning – Conditions that are "similar", but unrelated to, a condition that was subject to a previous claim ARE NOT COVERED.  In their own words: "If you were to develop a new stomach condition not related to the previous stomach issue but a similar condition you would not be covered due to it would be considered pre-existing unless it was due to an… Read more

injury or something totally unrelated." 

This is a shocking and appalling loophole, especially for a policy that is marketed towards long term travellers, who are likely to get separate but "similar conditions" - such as stomach issues, the most common travelers' ailment.  This company is unethical and anyone who promotes it without mentioning this loophole is irresponsible.  I can only assume they didn't know.  World Nomads will not provide any further details on how they define a "similar condition", so maybe save your one claim for any condition for something life-threatening/expensive.  Of course they don't issue any refunds after policy holders have discovered this loophole the hard way - it certainly is not explicitly stated anywhere in the policy!!  Who would buy it if it was?  I have confirmed this loophole multiple times, so I know it wasn't just one agent giving incorrect information.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY – I bought the most expensive plan to cover a trip I was taking and I was very careful to read all the fine print to understand what is and isn't covered. My trip was cancelled due to events outside of my control at Heathrow Airport this summer that resulted in missing a paid outdoor excursion. This should have been covered under the insurance I… Read more

bought through World Nomad. It was denied even after submitting 15 pages of proof and documentation. Just know that the company that actually insures the World Nomad Policies spends all their resources to DENY your claim. TripMate, General Global Insurance, that is who really insures these policies and they do not and will not pay out. Yes I could hire an attorney to fight this, and most likely win but I don't have time to fight this. It is really disappointing that World Nomad is as bad as every other company. So my best advice is save your money and buy refundable tickets, or make sure everything you book can be cancelled because Trip Insurance, no matter the company providing it is a total scam and waste of money.

They will not actually help you. They did nothing – When I try to make a claim online (at the world nomads website), I kept getting the following message: "Download & complete a claim form. Unfortunately, this type of claim is not yet supported online." So then I tried to find a phone number to call and tried to call this number twice: 1-844-207-1930 But both times I was told by the TripMate… Read more

agents that they can't help me make a claim through World Nomads. (They don't have access to the membership dashboard.) They also said that World Nomads doesn't have a phone number.

I tried finding every email I could and reaching out to them. Eventually, 3 days later, someone from TripMates got back to me. I told that correspondent about my claim and attached all my files. Then, when I hadn't heard back from them for 46 days, I sent another email asking for anyone to help me. Then 2 days after that, someone finally replied and told me to forward the required documents. I had already attached all the documents in a prior email, but I sent all of them along again anyways. Then, 23 days later, I received an email that attached a document, which said the following: "After careful consideration, we have determined the reason provided for your claim is not covered under the post departure benefits (i.e. trip interruption, travel delay or missed connection) underwritten by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company."

There is no further information provided. They did not explain why they determined my claim was not covered.

(If you've done the math, I spent over 75 days trying to get help before finally just getting my claim rejected.)

This is pretty unreasonable considering my travels and trips were in fact interrupted and delayed due to a stolen passport.

(You can review the plan policy I was given in their PDFs available online at their website.)

Under the section entitled: NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY TRAVEL PROTECTION INSURANCE POLICY GENERAL DEFINITIONS

Hazard means: c) Any delay due to lost or stolen passports, travel documents or money, Quarantine, hijacking, unannounced Strike, Natural Disaster, civil commotion or riot;

Then, under the COVERAGES section, it says:

TRIP DELAY The Company will reimburse You for Covered Trip Delay Expenses, up to the Maximum Benefit shown on the Schedule of Benefits, if You are delayed, while coverage is in effect, en route to or from the Trip for six (6) or more hours due to a defined Hazard.

Covered Trip Delay Expenses: (a) Any pre-paid, unused, non-refundable land and water accommodations; (b) Any Reasonable Expenses incurred. You must provide the following documentation when presenting a claim for these benefits: a) Written confirmation of the reasons for delay from the Common Carrier whose delay resulted in the Loss, including but not limited to, scheduled departure and return times and actual departure and return times.

Surely changed flights due to a stolen passport should qualify under any reasonable travel insurance policy plan. But I am now out thousands of dollars in flight tickets due to this stolen passport and unreasonable travel insurance.

I would never recommend World Nomads to anyone. In fact, I would actively discourage everyone from World Nomads.

The pandemic is their excuse not to pay your claim – They simply declined our claim, stating that the incident we had happened during a pandemic. We had extra expenses because of an unforseen change of plans and there was nothing we could do about it. When we submitted the claim, their negative answer was justified by "it happened during a pandemic and pandemics are not covered". Show details

Worst Insurance Provider – Took two months to provide any correspondence on claim, unable to answer emails and calls. Unable to provided decision on claim. They don't answer the phone, I left my number for a call back but they haven't, I've filled out online enquiries but they don't respond. Loads of bad reviews in the last few weeks for this insurer. STAY AWAY from world nomads Show details

No point to the insurance, they won't help when needed. Better keep the money – I had used World Nomads (WN) in the past several times. Since I never had any problem in my travels, I never needed to activate the insurance. Well, everything changed this time. 1st I had an ear problem midway into my journey, my ear was completely shut after snorkeling and I lost almost all earning: anyone that experienced this before knows how… Read more

impairing this is. I decided to contact WN to go to a nursing facility. Well, the answer got back and they would only cover medical treatment in excess of 70 euros, needing me to go to a medical doctor. Suffice to say that since what I needed was a treatment in a nursing home that would be about 60 euros. There was no point.

Anyway, this was the small problem. I thought, maybe it was my fault since I didn't read all the legalese that said they wouldn't pay medical intervention up to 70 euros.

Now, the problem was coronavirus. I bought the trip and the insurance and started the trip when COVID 19 wasn't a pandemic. It was a disease constricted to a province in China. Well, oddly enough WN doesn't cover any expense related to it, since, according to them, the virus was already an epidemic in China when I bought the insurance. See, if there is an epidemic anywhere in the Globe, let's say in Brazil, and you are going to a totally place, let's say Russia. World Nomads will not pay you anything about it in case it becomes an epidemic.

I ended up having to pay all my extra flight expenses I incurred due to having to get an earlier flight before the borders closing.

Bottom line: There's no point to buy this insurance. They will get their way out of anything, so better keep the money to yourself.

World Nohelp – Great company, as long as you don't have to face a pandemic after having bought a policy. When you need the travel insurance, they're completely absent. When they want you to pay for your plan, they are always there for you. Show details

Orrible Experience – I have used the World Nomads policy several times attracted to advertising on the Lonely Planet. They have always been ceremonious and kind in emails but because I never needed them. On the first occasion of a trip cancellation complaint, the situation changed radically. After sending the complaint, a month passed and despite repeated reminders… Read more

they literally disappeared. No communication even after I send the requested additional information. The worst company ever used. At this point I am aware that I will never have any refund but I am motivated to assert my reasons. I will certainly write to ADR and invite everyone to do it. I also want to report Lonely to report that they stop advertising this fraudulent service and I urge all of you to do so to prevent other travelers from being cheated in the future.

dont expect them to disclose any information just trying to get your money – we organised for a policy for my son to Peru from Australia in February. We spoke to them and then bought it on line. At no time were we informed that he would not be covered for the coronavirus. There were no alerts concerning travel in Australia or Peru, no alerts at all for anywhere except China at the time so no you cant say everyone was aware… Read more

of the situation and it was a known issue from 31/1/2020. If you couldn't cover him then fine but you were either accepting new insurance polices and not informing people of the coverage for coronavirus or you have retrospectively changed your coverage to avoid liability. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Scam travel insurance. Avoid at all costs – I had my luggage and valuables stolen in the train at Barcelona. Made a claim in accordance with their instructions and submitted all required documentation which took a very long time. They required further information and/or documentation until they come across one which you cannot produce, at which point they refuse assess your claim and do… Read more

not pay you. They took an average of 10 working days to reply to each of my emails (which is the maximum time requirement for them to reply to you). In my case, they are now refusing to assess my claim as I cannot submit my train ticket which was inside the stolen luggage. This is ridiculous. I cannot stress enough for any potential customers to avoid World Nomads at all costs. It is very easy to pay for the travel insurance with World Nomads as is the process to make a claim because their website is very easy to use. However, the claim process takes a very long time, and in the end, if you are not frustrated into giving up the claim, they always find a way to not settle the claim and do not pay out. If this is not an example of a scam, I don't know what is. Please read the other reviews very carefully - most of the good reviews on World Nomads is in regards to how easy it is for you to use their website to pay and make a claim, not getting your claim paid out. Avoid at all costs.

My brother in law died thinking he had cover from these cold hearted scammers!! – Accurate facts are. ..after paying a whopping three hundred pounds , my brother in law thought he was covered for a lifetime trip with World Nomads. He was on a motorbike travelling through all these countries in South America...yet nobody here thought to ask what his mode of transport was . He could have been on a camel or a skateboard when the… Read more

drunk driver hit him and we would have him home with us today. But no, they used their get out clause in the 140 pages listed of what your not really covered for to allow him to die. I will always keep posting this. His story won't be forgotten! And how you sleep at night is beyond me! Mrs Ali Peck

Scam, do not use this company – Can't access to their claiming portal, they have not given me access despite reiterated intends. I have six pendant claims which resolution I have waited more than 4 months, they have not refunded anything. Do not use this company or you will be in medical debt. Show details

Scam insurer – Scam company. The policy wording and agreement documents are misleading and should be illegal. I am making a formal complaint. This is the second time i have booked the first time i had no issue and i'm lucky because I was doing Everest. Had anything happened to me i'd probably be dead they wouldn't pay out and i now know that. The second time… Read more

they refused to pay me for items lost in checked luggage despite it being locked. Travel insurance is supposed to protect you!! DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS SCAM COMPANY. They will find any way not to pay you. My items were taken from my locked bag on a Qantas flight and somehow thats not covered??

One star just because zero is not an option – I am quite disappointed for the process I went through with claiming my damaged and lost items. I barely received feedback from World Nomads, all the communication was really slow and I have not received the assistance I needed or a reimbursement back. I have been talking with the customer service for 3 months and they were keeping asking me the… Read more

same kind of questions; in the last email they asked me details it was not possible to provide anymore. After all, I have to say that taking the insurance with World Nomads it was just a waste of money and I definitely will not take any deal anymore with this company. I feel I have been cheated, this is not the kind of assistance I was expecting. Important to know, if that is not a fraud: as normally happens with the insurances there is an excess applicable to your policy, but... World Nomads takes one claim per damaged/lost item and every time they count the excesses separately. Ofc the purpose is to make every claim under the excess amount. This is crazy, the excess amount should be exceeded just one time per package you buy. If my health insurance would follow the same philosophy of WN I would have died many times already.

Stay Away From World Nomads! – Stay Away From World Nomads! As I can see from previous reviews I'm not alone. DON'T buy insurance with World Nomads, they don't answer the phone, I left my number for a call back but they haven't, I've filled out online enquiries but they don't respond. Loads of bad reviews in the last few weeks for this insurer. STAY AWAY from world nomads. 15… Read more

years I have been paying for insurance with them, thankfully my first need to claim is not leaving me $1000s out of pocket . Stay Away From World Nomads!

Bad choice – As they are a recommendation of Lonely Planet I purchased travel insurance for years with them, did not need it until my last trip. I had problems with my visa in Africa when crossing the border from South Africa to Namibia, so I needed to organize another mean of transportation, but they refused to pay for it. On the same trip my brand new bag… Read more

got damaged, I filled out the claim, it took a while untill they reacted, finally I got a compensation of 5 USD for it, sent them a message if it was a joke but they did not bother to reply. Big disappointment, so I will check other insurance companies in the future.

Never allowed to file a claim - unfair! – I have used World Nomads in the past and never had a problem with them. Now that they use TripMate it appears that they are trying to get out of paying for anything. I had two cancelled flights during a seven week trip and racked up $1200 in new flights and new accomodation. When I went to begin my claim, they said I had chosen the wrong plan.… Read more

According to them, I do not qualify for my own country's policy even though I followed all the information on the website. This means that nonexpat or nomad traveler could ever use World NOMAD insurance. How ironic. I would give them 0 stars if I could. I recommend this company to NO ONE!

Slow and unreliable service. Do not recommend it – I do not recommend World Nomads to anyone seeking travel insurance. I had a bike accident in early September and needed to return earlier to London for treatment. I prepared a detailed list of documents and submitted the refund claim through their website on 26 September (a refund for travel costs and medication). I had no response for about two… Read more

weeks and needed to contact World Nomads by e-mail and telephone for the second time on the 9 of October. They responded asking for more documentation which I provided on the same day (plus another round of documentation sent to World Nomads on the 24 October). Two weeks have passed and they did not respond to my e-mail again! A total of a month and a half have passed and I still do not have a response of what is my refund amount and refund date. It is clear to me now that World Nomads does not provide Simple & flexible service neither the support when goes wrong as marketed on their website. I do not recommend Word Nomads for anyone considering to purchase travel insurance from this organization.