One of the most overlooked topics when it comes to travel. I never thought I would see the day where I would be recommending a travel insurance company as someone who never bought travel insurance in the past. I always said to myself, “what’s the worst that could happen?” If I only knew at the time.. *sheds a tear*

In my past regrets, I learned to NEVER board a plane without insurance and I will be sharing the wisdom and lessons to be learned from having neglected buying this inexpensive thing. More importantly, I will shed light on how I ended losing $5,389 on unpaid insurance claims and how you could avoid the same mistakes I made.

Contents

• What is a travel insurance
• What travel insurance do I need
• What’s the worst that could happen
• Travel insurance for Indian travelers
• Buy your insurance online
• Budget travel insurance Oman

What Is A Travel Insurance 

What is a travel insurance you ask? it’s literally THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU COULD BUY, period.

Now that I got that out of the way let me proceed to tell you more about what it is. 

A travel insurance is the same thing as your local insurance, just for travelling. So what does it cover? your travel insurance should cover all of the following:

• Trip cancellation 
• Pre-trip cancellation 
• Trip delay 
• Lost luggage
• Medical coverage
• Medical evacuation 
• Private hospital 
• Emergency rooms

What Travel Insurance Do I Need?

There are many travel insurance covers available at your disposal. Let’s look at the Top 3 Things that a good Travel Insurance should do for you when you are in Oman. 

#1 Cover limit

Travel Insurance does not have to cost you much; you could be good-to-go on $2.5/day coverage. Most important thing is that you should not go cheap on your cover limit.

Reason being for the above is that a $100,000 coverage for you 12 days in Rome trip could cost you $72,00, while a $20,000 coverage might be around $23. It doesn’t take a scientist to figure out which one is a better dea: the $23 one! Even rich people like a cheap deal.

I suggest you don’t compromise when it comes to this. In most hospitals in the west, or any hospital in a non-English speaking country that has an English speaking hospital, will charge you $20k as you walk through the door.easy!

Okay not really, but the costs are really damn high! For someone from Oman I was shook when I received my first eight thousand dollar bill when I went to the hospital for my first cold in the US. It’s very easy for a broken leg while travelling to cost you over $20k!

For this reason, I suggest that your travel insurance coverage be upwards of $100,000.

#1 Emergency Evacuation

Many people overlook aspect of travel insurance such as adequate coverage and emergency coverage. Imagine being on a 2 day layover to Istanbul when god forbid something happens the doesn’t allow you to travel again? Sadly, it has happened before and without the right insurance it could cost you tens of thousands to be accompanied by a medical person all the way back to your hometown. Your policy should be able to cover upto $300,000 for said emergencies. 

I pray none of this happens to you or anyone that you know.

#3 A Good Insurance Cares

Last thing you want is to call your insurance company and have them ignore you or have you call in an ungodly hour during the night. A good insurance will do that to you, a great one, won’t.

Your insurance should have the following listed in their terms

• Global coverage, including Oman. 
• Coverage for your valuable 
• Option to extend your coverage abroad 
• Allow you to book insurance when you are abroad
• Hotel cancellation coverage
• Financial coverage: In case your company goes bankrupt while you are stuck abroad

A Travel Insurance will not cover you for any preexisting conditions

Note: Most insurance companies will not allow you to book insurance when you have already started your travel. True Traveler insurance will cover you if you are a resident in the UK or US. Otherwise, World Nomads will issue you coverage. Keep in mind it will take up to 72 hours for your insurance to begin when purchasing abroad. 

But Really, What’s The Worst That Could Happen?

I remember saying that when since I was 18 and I proved myself right every single time. It wasn’t till my luck started running out shortly after I had turned 21. I will tell you a story that described a series of unfortunate events that I have had related insurance. A truly sad collection of stories.

Scottsdale, Arizona 2016

It was a fine summer day when I drove 6 hours to visit my friends cross-country. During a late night hangout, I started feeling eerie and I had stumbled on something that made me trip. Next thing I know I was in the ER. 

Luckily I had a high value insurance coverage that cost $500/month while living in the US. I had Ambulance coverage to take me to the hospital which otherwise would have cost me $1,500 for a 10 minute ride! My friend did know that and so I was escorted on a golf kart. 

I ended up with a scar on my forehead and overall bill of  $8,532, an expensive scar had I not had full coverage insurance.

Total cost: $0

Huntington Beach, California 2017

My dental insurance had just expired at the beginning of 2017 and I had not filed for renewal as my studies were coming to an end. Little did I know that the tooth fairy had been plotting against me for some time. 

I visit the doctor’s and share with him my sorrows, and pains. I walked out with a bill that listed my required treatments for $4,208! That’s a lot of money for the tooth fairy.

Lucky for me, me and my main doctor are on good terms and as an uninsured student, he revised my suggested list of treatment and eliminated some things he considered unnecessary & applied some special discounts for me. I ended paying two thousand dollars less but still two thousand dollars high!

Total cost: $1,823

Konstanz, Germany 2018

Remember the treatments mentioned above? well one of them had moved from its place and I had assumed the teeth to be injured again. At this point I was on a self-imposed summer holiday in Germany and did not have the means to cover the costs of treatments of $275.

 I refused to undergo treatment as it would’ve only costed me $50 in Oman.

Total cost: pending

Muscat, Oman 2018

I was so wrong. 

My doctor in Muscat turned out to be incompetent. I somehow knew that but her sweet talks made forget when I would visit her on my summer break. Bleeding & numb, she left me and referred me to a random doctor while she left for her annual leave – mid-treatment! I choose my doctors carefully and so I left in search of another doctor.

A Colombian doctor I found in a private clinic patched me up in 20 minutes. I was never as satisfied with a treatment as much I had with him. Till he hit me with the bill that is..

Total cost: $320 (after pushing the first clinic to refund me)

Shanghai, China 2018

At this point, I have learned my lesson and have made all arrangements to ensure that I am covered. The difference I thought is that this time I have an American Express, and nothing goes wrong when you have an American Express (Amex).

And I was right. Amex offered the best insurance experience I ever had. I will always recommend this card to anyone with the means to afford one. The insurance was provided by AXA but the level of service was that of preferred clients. AXA is a good insurance company as well. However, I still had to pay  a deductible of $112.

My mistake here was: I did not get coverage for the whole period. 

Amex offers you a two months insurance whenever you travel. I was in Shanghai for 3 months. I thought to myself: What’s the worst that could happen in one month? 

Everything went wrong. Two weeks before my flight I had an emergency that had to be treated, otherwise I would not be able to fly. I tried being patient and wait for the departure day but after three days the pain was unbearable. I had to go to the hospital.

The problem with visitng an english speaking doctor was: it was expensive. Shanghai had doctors who spoke all languages, and they made sure they charged a premium for it. I did not trust going to a Chinese hospital as I wanted to be sure the doctor fully understands what I am conveying. However, that is not to say that there is anything wrong with a Chinese doctor as the one that treated was one. 

Anyways, turned out I would need a simple surgery to relieve the pain and expel the issue once and for all. It came at a price that I am not too happy to share.

Total cost: $3,134

Bottom line

Now as I share this story, sure you could assume me as being someone who irresponsible to have made all these errors. In one respects it is true that I should have been responsible in knowing the importance of travel insurance, however, despite all my travel not one person had mentioned it to me in the past.

I did however, have the top of the range insurance during my residency in Europe & the US, relieving me of costs of upwards of $100k for all my miscellaneous visits over the years. 

The reasons I share this with you today is becasue I realize that travel insurance is the cheapest kind of insurance to buy. Yet, you would be surprised how many people actually buy it. Let’s think of  my costs had I had medical coverage when my costly incidents occurred.

World Nomads Travel Insurance Costs

for Shanghai: $120/month

Oman: $80 for the time I was there

Konstanz: $85/ month

That’s a total of $285, or 5.3% of my overall costs without insurance! 

Point I am trying to make here is this: It is not worth it to travel without insurance. Travel insurance is cheap, it is an investment and literally a life save. Don’t go cheap on it.

If you can’t afford travel insurance then you can’t afford to travel.  

*Cost vary based on country of origin, destination & age.

Travel Insurance From India To Oman

This piece of information goes to anyone travelling from India to Oman. However, I highlight this trip specifically due to requests from my Indian followers.

If you are flying from India to Oman, you have a number of options at your hand, primarily AXA and Omani Qatari Insurance Company. I would going for AXA as they are the lead provider in the gulf region and my experience with them has been pleasant in the past.

However, the above assumes you are moving to Oman on a long term basis. If you are travelling to Oman for primarily tourism,as in visit wadis & mountains, then the following recommendation applies to you. World Nomads is the best insurance to buy as 

Buy Travel Insurance For Oman, Online

Alas, are the days of buying Insurance offline. Forget your travel agent and come aboard to new time. Buying your insurance online saves you money as opposed to buying from a travel agent. Unless you have your own travel designer.

Cheap & High Value Travel Insurance For Oman

World Nomads is the best insurance to buy for any traveler looking to visit an of Oman’s outdoor landscapes. It offers the highest level of coverage for any adventure related injuries. Most insurance companies might reject you if you have been involved in any extreme sports :World Nomads understand. Their cover includes any injuries that you might experience due to abseiling, hiking or even paragliding. It is worth every dollar there is. 

Get the best insurance coverage here.

*Review individual insurance terms carefully before making a purchase.