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Travel Insurance

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Overview:

Tobi bike touring towards the Chimborazo Volcano

If you are considering getting insurance by Dr-Walter, please support us by using our affiliate-links:

PROTRIP-WORLD Travel Insurance
PROTRIP Travel Insurance

Travel Health Insurance

Why do I need travel health insurance?

  • A medical emergency, whether you are sick or injured, can occur anywhere, but is especially likely when traveling

  • Depending on what kind of treatment you require (and also in which country you are in), the costs can really add up

    • For example, a basic doctor consultation in the USA starts at 100 USD, a surgery can cost 100,000 USD or more

    • While the US is one of the most expensive countries for health care, this is still a good example of how fast prices for urgent medical treatment can skyrocket

  • With a travel health insurance you don’t have to worry about having to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on the medical care you might need 

  • And most importantly, the safety net of an insurance means you don't have to hesitate about going to a doctor if you are unwell or hurt

  • If you have insurance (either public or private) in your home country, first check your policy, maybe you are actually covered while being abroad

  • As we are from Germany, we can only really speak for the insurance there:

    • Public health insurance:

      • If you are traveling within Europe, you should be covered in all EU countries as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, Switzerland and Serbia

      • You should also be able to use your electronic health card in these countries - but if the doctor or pharmacy doesn’t accept it, you have to pay in advance, and later get the money back from your public insurance

      • You still might have to pay a deductible though and not everything is covered

      • Outside of Europe, Germany’s public insurance doesn’t cover anything

      • If you stop working to (long-term) travel, you probably won’t be insured by the public health system anymore anyway

    • Private health insurance:

      • You should have full health insurance throughout Europe

      • You might have time limited coverage for traveling outside of Europe as well

  • Either way, check back with your insurance to know if it applies abroad and what exactly is covered on your travels

  • For example, medically reasonable return transport to Germany is often not part of the coverage, even in Europe

  • So in most cases of traveling, but especially if you are planning to be abroad longer than just one or two weeks, a dedicated travel health insurance makes sense

  • On a journey like ours you should definitely not be without insurance

Liability Insurance

  • Same as the health insurance, liability insurance is important to have

  • Why?

    • You can be held liable for any kind of damage caused by you (e.g. you accidentally damage a car while riding your bicycle)

    • Whether it’s personal injury or some kind of property damage, this can cost you huge (maybe even unpayable) amounts of money

    • A liability insurance protects you from this as it covers the costs for the damage caused by you

  • Should you already have liability insurance in your home country, first check back if it also covers you while being abroad and if so, under what conditions

  • If you don’t have any or it doesn’t cover your travels, better take out a travel liability insurance

Accident Insurance

  • Accident insurance can be a good addition to your health insurance

  • It’s not for covering your treatment, but rather everything around or after an accident you had

  • For example, our accident insurance offers coverage of rescue costs, a disability benefit, plastic surgery as a result of an accident, an accidental death benefit and more (all up to certain monetary limits, of course)

  • For us, it definitely makes sense, as it is not unlikely for us to have some kind of accident at some point on our journey

  • In November 2023, we went hiking in the Himalayas, and there it was actually mandatory to have an insurance that would also cover rescue costs

  • If your budget allows it, better be safe than sorry and go with an accident insurance

Assistance Insurance

  • To be honest, we actually only have assistance insurance because it was included in the package we purchased

  • So while we wouldn’t have taken it out separately, it can definitely be helpful on some occasions

  • What is it for?

    • Help in case of loss of travel funds or documents

    • Support in case of legal prosecution

    • Emergency home visit or, in case one of us is injured, an emergency visit abroad by one close relative of the injured person

Baggage/Gear Insurance

  • We didn’t take out baggage and/or gear insurance but would definitely consider it for our next journey

  • It especially makes sense if you are traveling with lots of expensive gear or the manner of your travels make it more likely that something gets damaged or lost

Finding The Right Travel Insurance

These were the most important questions for us when we were looking for travel insurance:

  • Is urgent outpatient treatment covered (such as sudden illnesses, injuries etc.)?

  • Is prescribed medication covered? 

  • Is inpatient treatment covered (incl. necessary surgeries)?

  • How are claims made and how does the communication with the insurance work?

  • Is Covid-19 covered? (We started our journey in 2021, so this was still quite important back then)

  • Are injuries caused by sports and outdoor activities covered?

  • How long is the maximum possible duration of the insurance?

  • Which countries are covered by the insurance?

    • Often, there are two options:

      • Worldwide excl. USA & Canada

      • Worldwide incl. USA & Canada - This one is more expensive as the costs for medical treatment in these two countries are quite high

  • Are countries for which the German Federal Foreign Office (or your equivalent) has issued a travel warning covered?

  • Can we quit the insurance earlier than anticipated if something goes wrong and get a refund for the remaining months?

  • And of course: Which provider offers the best value for money?

PROTRIP-WORLD by Dr-Walter

After comparing many different travel insurance providers, we decided to go with Dr-Walter as we found they offered by far the best value for money.

​

  • PROTRIP-WORLD is available for all nationalities (if you are German or Austrian, you can also consider PROTRIP below)

  • Outpatient & inpatient treatment, prescribed medication and Covid-19 treatment is covered

  • Sports & outdoor activities are covered without a monetary limit (e.g. cycling, (water) skiing or hiking)

  • The insurance covers much more, check out all the benefits here

  • 24/7 emergency support

  • Easy communication 

  • Access to the Air Doctor App

    • With the app you can find doctors in your location and book appointments

    • Payment is managed via the app, so you don’t have to pay the treatment in advance

  • Worldwide coverage

  • Home country cover in case of an interruption of the stay abroad

  • The maximum insurance period is 24 months, so two years 

  • Possible additional package with liability, accident, baggage & assistance insurance

    • Liability insurance, for example, covers personal injury or property damage caused by you

    • Accident insurance, for example, covers rescue costs and offers a disability benefit

    • Baggage insurance covers damage to your valuable goods up to 2,000 EUR

    • The assistance insurance would help you, for example, in case of lost travel funds & documents or would support you in case of legal prosecution

  • The price of the insurance depends on:

    • Your age

    • The length of your journey

    • The countries you want to visit

    • The package you book

    • Deductible: Yes or No?

  • Purchasable online within a few minutes

  • Still possible to purchase after your departure

  • Modification & extension also possible online

  • If you decide to take out PROTRIP-WORLD, please support us by using our affiliate-link

Our Insurance: PROTRIP by Dr-Walter

Louisa sick in bed in Nicaragua

In Nicaragua we got seriously sick for the first time.

Tobi sick in a local hospital in Peru

In Peru, Tobi had to go to a local hospital due to severe digestive issues.

After comparing many different travel insurance providers, we decided to go with PROTRIP.

Note: PROTRIP is available for Germans & Austrians only (for other nationalities see PROTRIP-WORLD above)

​

  • PROTRIP offers similar benefits as PROTRIP-WORLD, but there are some differences

  • Dr-Walter gives you a complete overview of all the included benefits of the two insurances, so if both are an option for you, best compare them precisely

  • The most important reason for us to choose PROTRIP over PROTRIP-WORLD was the maximum insurance period of 60 months, instead of 24 months

    • We initially took out the insurance for two years, but extended it for 18 more months in the summer of 2023

    • Since the extension we have been collaborating with Dr-Walter because we were very happy with PROTRIP the first two years

  • It was the best value for money we could find

    • We paid 1,800 EUR per person for a two-year-package of travel health, liability, accident & assistance insurance, incl. the USA & Canada

    • The price of the insurance depends on:

      • Your age

      • The length of your journey

      • The countries you want to visit

      • The package you book

      • Deductible: Yes or No?

  • Outpatient & inpatient treatment, prescribed medication and Covid-19 treatment is covered

  • Sports & outdoor activities are covered without a monetary limit (e.g. cycling, scuba diving, surfing, rafting, bungee jumping, skiing, etc.)

  • 24/7 emergency support

  • Easy communication 

  • Since 2023, PROTRIP also includes access to the Air Doctor App

    • With the app you can find doctors in your location and book appointments

    • Payment is managed via the app, so you no longer have to pay the treatment in advance

  • Worldwide coverage, incl. countries with a travel warning​​

  • In case you want to visit your family, intermediate stays of up to four weeks in Germany or Austria per year are insured

  • Possible additional package with liability, accident & assistance insurance

    • Liability insurance, for example, covers personal injury or property damage caused by us

    • The accident insurance, for example, covers rescue costs and offers an accidental death benefit

    • The assistance insurance would help us, for example, in case of lost travel funds & documents or would support us in case of legal prosecution

  • Purchasable online within a few minutes

  • Modification & extension also possible online 

  • If you decide to go with this insurance, please support us by using our affiliate-link

Important: While travel health insurance covers quite a lot, especially considering the price, bear in mind that it doesn’t cover every kind of treatment - otherwise the price would have to be considerably higher.

For example, treatments for chronic diseases that could be expected before embarking on the journey aren’t covered by our travel health insurance.

So before you take out any travel insurance, check the inclusions & exclusions carefully and make sure to go with the one that suits you best on your journey.

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