World Nomads Travel Insurance - Explorer Plan

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

Helpful and supportive all the way through the claim – I needed to fly home for surgery and Global Nomads system for helping out was efficient and supportive. They were prompt in their emails, and got on the phone when needed. They didn't hesitate to pay for flights and got me home as quickly as possible. Thoroughly recommended.  Show details ·  2

Great cover and easy to deal with! – World Nomads were great. I was travelling from Germany via London and on to South East Asia mainly in Thailand and Vietnam. I purchased the comprehensive cover which included all these destinations. Had a great time in Thailand but became ill just before flying out to Vietnam. Once we arrived I checked into medical centre and found out I had… Read more ·  1

dengue fever. My girlfriend got straight onto the phone with world nomads and they were very easy to deal with and made regular phone calls to check on my status. We did have to pay a deposit before being admitted but world nomads reimbursed this fee so I was completely covered after paying Te excess fee in my cover plan. They even rang after my discharge to finalise the claim and let me carry on my holiday. Over all great cover and easy people to deal with. Thanks Wolrd Nomads!

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

Explorer doesnt cover what you would expect. Never using them again – Airline (air france, never using them again either) failed to get me to my destination of tokyo for a ski tour. Stranded in charles degaulle airport without my luggage (they lost that too) for 16 hours. No hotel provided by air france. I gave up and flew home after being awake for over 36 hours. Tried claiming for a trip cancellation- they said… Read more

‘nope, you’d left your country of origin’. I’d made it as far as my connecting airport.... that’s it. Then tried claiming for trip abandonment (i was going to miss my rendezvous with the tour and no snowboard gear means little point in carrying on). But I couldn’t claim for trip abandonment once i’d started my journey.

There is no provision for cover (even explorer cover) for the loss of gear that precludes the point of the trip in the first place. Marketed as for ‘explorers’, if the airline loses your ski, snowboard, scuba, surf gear etc what are you supposed to do? Rent gear in the backwoods of northern Honshu? Replace gear worth thousands in a foreign country with the hope you might be able to claim it back? You can’t claim for the total loss of the trip despite not having the gear needed for said trip.

I lost over £2k through this sham of ‘explorer cover’. Don’t do the same. Make provisions, do your research.

Absolute Scam for Adventure Sports, AVOID – Although their Explorer policy appears to be the best travel insurance for adventure sports like back country skiing or snowboarding the moment you try and make a claim you realize that they are a complete scam. I had to get helicopter rescued in Switzerland as I was stuck at the top of a 300 foot cliff, but they didn't pay as I didn't have a… Read more

medical condition at the time of rescue. I was at risk of dying if I moved any direction, however as my leg was not broken I was not covered. I had thought this was the exact type of situation I was buying Explorer coverage for?!

Also, I had a trip cancelation due to unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances out of my control and they also did not cover this although I provided all documentation.

It sucks because I had purchased World Nomads many times before and I thought this was the best insurance for my travels and sporting interests.

I started to realize it was probably a scam when I was attempting to navigate their member's portal on their website. It seems to be intentionally buggy, requires you to login multiples times, the claim section is somewhat hidden, and then a lot of claims can't be made online anyhow. Even when you call them they can't look up your policy by being given your policy number. What?!

It really sucks that the difference between their website and sign-up process is so different to when you actually have to make a claim. If buy special adventure travel insurance for backcountry snowboarding and needs to be rescued literally to avoid death but it doesn't cover, why not just buy regular travel insurance?

Although their marketing makes them seem like the best choice for adventure activities they'll do their best to avoid paying any claims.

Don't expect support when you need it! – Purchased the Explorer plan (Most Expensive) and when I had a Injury and had to go to 2 different hospitals (very poor one available on the village in and big one after in the city) there was no support before or after the claim. The insurance always asked me to pay up front and never helped with any support (either information on where to go or… Read more

how to proceed). I spent more than 400 Eur between Doctor Appointment fees and transportation to go on the city and do the necessary exams. When you presented the exhausting list of documents required they ask you 2 weeks to analyse the case and with good lawyers find a way to interpret the insurance contract and escape from paying anything.

In my case they told: I did not get their prior approval for traveling to a better hospital in the city.

Although I reported the accident and told them I was in a Indonesian Island with a very poor hospital (smaller then a house) with no equipment and might need to do exams in a bigger hospital.

The insurance replied: We hope you feel better and please pay up front and make the claim after on our web site form.

I would like to mention I did send pictures bleeding a lot on my chest and later medical reports about the dislocated shoulder injury together with all the paper work requested on the exhausting Online Claim section of the World Nomads.

Totally a Scam!!!!!

Do NOT use World Nomads – I am living in US and I purchased their most expensive explorer insurance plan for my Nepal trip (EBC hiking) this April. I had acute mountain sickness when I arrived Gorak Shep (5200m) after returned from the Mt Everest base camp. I got a terrible headache initially and by the middle night my blood oxygen dropped to 30 and felt sleepy. Literally,… Read more

my life was in danger. My friends and our guide could not find any doctors around and it`s dark and helicopter rescue was also not possible. The only "doctor" we could find was a Sherpa mountain guide who has the medical background, he is leading a France team for the trial and Island peak climbing. He examined my situation and deemed it`s very dangerous because my blood oxygen kept dropping down. He had me take a pill of diamox and hooked a bottle of oxygen for me to take back my oxygen saturation. This helped me and I went down to Dingboche the first thing in the morning. The sherpa guide wrote all his diagnosis and the blood oxgyen measurement data in paper, together with the oxygen receipt. After I came back to US and got recovered, I filed a claim to reimburse this medical expense that actually saved my life, but was told by World Nomads it`s not covered without giving me any decent reasons, just its not covered. How come your life is in danger and the medical resource (oxygen) that saved you is not covered ??? So basically what I learned from them was you can buy whatever insurance plan they provided, they will not even cover any medical expenses spent to save your life if it`s not from a certified doctor, which it`s not possible to find when you are hiking in the mountains, especially when you had some acute sickness that needs immediate help. So this is my experience with World Nomads, and I am not sure if this is unique to US residents, but I would like to alert anyone here please stay away from them, and look for some decent insurance companies for traveling. I will never never never use them again or recommend to anyone.

Very disappointing – After having spent more than 1000 EUR for a year long travel insurance for my travels to Latin America I was extremely disappointed and unhappy with the way World Nomads handled my claim. In a nutshell: I had taken out an additional special insurance for my phone in case it gets stolen and lo and behold, that's exactly what happened. When making a… Read more

claim for that very object, I was told that the way it was stolen does not qualify (say whaaaat!?!?). I can't say it was a very friendly exchange of emails, which of course added insult to injury, seeing as this sort of thing is every traveller's nightmare and World Nomads should know this! I was lucky enough not to have any other major issues happen to me during my travels but this experience was enough to make me boycott World Nomads for my future travels.

Very disappointed – I had a pregnancy-related issue and ended up in the hospital during a trip to Europe. The bill wasn't even that expensive, but since I had purchased 'coverage', I decided to claim. World nomads didn't even initiate my claim. I was told to contact my regular health insurance company. Totally untrustworthy! Complete waste of money and time. I will never purchase again!  Show details

They offered the world, until it came to claim – Myself and partner chose the 'explorer' package, for some flexibility with cover, as we were hiking and going outdoors a lot in the Philippines. When an event occurred and it came time to claim, I was treated rudely and denied my claim without question. I would not recommend personally if you are worried about your belongings.  Show details

World Nomad uses Tripmate and they are a Nightmare you will never wake up from – My husband and I purchased World Nomads insurance for our 12 month Round the World trip. Thinking they will be great and they are one of the companies specialising in more adventurous travel. Little did we know until I broke my arm in Bolivia and had to have surgery. My husband was very carefully filling out all the claim forms while I was in the… Read more

hospital and getting all the medical reports from the doctors to get the claim started. We than found out that all claims go through tripmate and that they are the company who will determine if the claim is approved or not. We flew home for recovery, which according to our policy is a trip interruption and should be covered. We paid all the medical bills up front and bought our return flights home as well. This all happened in August and we haven't seen a reimbursement check yet. Tripmate kept telling us that they are missing documents that we have emailed them at least 4 times. There was a period of time I called every day to try to talk to a supervisor or get some answers with no luck. Just imagine after a serious break and surgery you have to deal with a company you doesn't care about you for months. We finally got one claim approved, but apparently they send the check out on Oct 17 and it is Nov 7 now. Once again I have to keep calling to check on it. My advise to anyone from the US thinking of purchasing insurance from World Nomad make sure you read the reviews on Tripmate, because that is the company you will be dealing with and who is going to pay you or not. I am still hoping to wake up from this Nightmare. We are back out in the World traveling and still have to deal with them. We will definitely look into different insurance if our trip is going to be longer.

Hope noone dies when your overseas, because they'll make a difficult time even more difficult – These guys don't even deserve 1 star, I just had to put it in to post this review! Whilst traveling overseas my partner and I had to return to Australia due to the unforeseen death of my partners father. We followed their overly onerous rules on making a claim to the letter apart from suspending one of their required processes for a couple of… Read more

flights that we we're trying to get refunded, thinking that we had already done enough as described in their PDS (the requirement of which was communicated very poorly to us even when directly requesting them to inform us as to what it is that we needed to do to make our claim successful).

Whilst trying to satisfy that requirement (which we communicated that we were planning to do to them quite clearly) they finalised our claim paying out a fraction of what we're entitled to under our policy. We have since been requesting (3 times by email) to explain how they came to rule against our claim in respect to certain components and have been completely ignored every time.

Avoid this travel insurance agency at all costs!!!

Disappointed – I have been a loyal World Nomad customer for years and travel at least 4 or 5 times a year on trips which include hiking and scuba diving. On my last trip I had a medical emergency which required immediate care (within 24 hours). I called their doctor and asked for a second opinion. That doctor gave me the complete wrong advise!! Later I found out… Read more

from a specialist hospital that I should have taken an extra vaccination which was not recommended by the Nomad doctor, even when I asked for it specifically. Then when I put the claim as I came back the claim was denied because they said that I bought the insurance after I travelled. Well: first of all: I bought the insurance one day before and second they say on the website that serious medical emergencies are covered even if you buy the insurance after you left already. Anyway, I had to actually email them my flight ticket to prove that I had left after I bought the claim and only then I was reimbursed. I am still waiting to see what they will say about the doctor's advise. I am embarrassed to admit that I recommended this company to my friends and am looking now for a different insurance company for my next trips.

Disgusting – Excellent when you want to insure reasonable prices but make a simple claim and of not a chance to get anything from them, tell the truth and you get nowhere wish I had claimed for things we didn't loose and made them suffer, no wonder people make so many dodgy claims because it takes your money and run business. Wouldn't recommend them to anyone… Read more

again and setting up a webpage to collect together other complaining clients lets see if we can get them shut down.

Beware! – This company is very reluctant to honor a claim. Their online form is very restrictive and you must be very careful to read the fine print. A bag containing my medication disappeared and I was not sure exactly when it went missing...at the hotel I departed in the morning or when my bags were being taken to my room at the next hotel. I called… Read more

WorldNomads and the lady told me to go to a doctor for a prescription and then to send them the receipts. I followed her instructions and then filled out the online claim form. There was no provision to add any attachments. I assumed that they would get back to me asking for them. Instead I received an email saying that they refused my claim. I was told to call someone at an insurance company called 'Cerberus' which appears to be the real insurance company behind WorldNomads. The 'supervisor' told me that they would not be honoring the claim because the bag had to be 'damaged' or 'stolen'...not 'lost'. I got the feeling that they will use any tactic to avoid paying a claim. I have been traveling a lot over the past 20 years for my work. That was the first time I used these people and I would never use them again.

Terrible, definitely would not purchase again – I am traveling and studying in Europe for almost four month so I purchased a travel insurance just in case. Two month in my credit card information got stolen and someone used my card for a purchase of 200 euro. I was told I am not covered for that and I should seek help from the bank. Okay. Just two days a go, on my trip to Spain, my luggage… Read more

was stolen on a bus. I thought well as least I am covered for personal belonging theft. Well, apparently not. They explained to me that this incident is a "simple theft" as I left my personal belonging unattended in public space. I put my luggage in the luggage shelf like everyone else would do.

I read their policy, which sates that you need to be witnessing the theft occurring. I think that would cover only a small percentage of theft.

Even if you do witness the theft, you need to prove that you do own that baggage and everything inside. I guess you need pictures or receipts of everything in there and you need to prove that you do own them. I just realize how nearly impossible this is. I don't keep every receipt of my clothes or make up. Even if I do, how do I prove I do bring them with me? Well, I would never know. Because they did not bother answering my question and just denied the claim. All of my personal belongings were stolen and I did not get anything.

The exchange with them were cold. They didn't even bother to copy paste some words to comfort me. All I've got is "We’re sorry to hear you had a loss on your travels." The bus company did a better job in helping me with this incident(helping me contact the police and retrieving surveillance footage).

I saw on the website they value customer's satisfaction and dissatisfaction is a rare case, so I expressed how I am upset with their service. Their response was "We appreciate your feedback."

I don't even know why I bothered to pay so much more for world nomads' insurance. I guess if you have medical bill it is easier to get covered. But if your belongings got stolen, they would just blame you for "ineffective supervising".

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