World Nomads vs Travelex: What Insurance Is Better For You?
Written by Antonio Cala.
Table of Contents
Choosing the right travel insurance is essential for a worry-free journey. World Nomads and Travelex are two prominent providers, each offering distinct coverage options tailored to various travel needs.
World Nomads is known for its flexible and affordable plans catering to adventure travelers, while Travelex offers comprehensive packages suitable for families and expedition-type travelers.
This article provides an in-depth comparison of World Nomads and Travelex travel insurance policies, highlighting their coverage, pricing, and unique features to help you make an informed decision on which provider best meets your travel protection requirements.
If you would like to know more about insurance options for adventure travel, make sure to check out our Complete Guide to Adventure Travel Insurance.
World Nomads vs Travelex Overview
World Nomads
World Nomads works as a traditional travel insurance policy focusing on affordable policies with good medical coverage, decent trip protection and some equipment coverage under the same plan.
Travelex
Travelex on the other hand is a great fit for American residents going on high-ticket adventure trips like adventure cruises (or other adventure trips that cost over $5-10k) and don’t need more than $50k of medical coverage.
World Nomads in Detail
Nationalities: Most nationalities can purchase insurance from World Nomads, including residents of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Australia, or New Zealand. However, as of the current writing, most European residents are unable to buy a World Nomads policy.
Pre-existing conditions: Not covered.
Seniors Over 65: Travelers aged 70 and over are not covered.
Trip Duration: All plans cover trips up to 365 days.
Groups: Insurance policies for solo travelers, couples and families are available.
Reasons To Buy
The price is competitive.
Reasons To Avoid
Prices and coverage vary greatly by the country of residence.
Some European nationalities are not covered.
Pre-existing medical conditions not covered
Max age is 70 years old.
Emergency Accident & Sickness Medical Expense: Up to $100,000. Coverage is for medical expenses for emergency treatment of an accidental injury that occurs during the trip. Emergency treatment must be medically necessary and performed during the trip. Refer to the certificate / policy for complete details.
Emergency dental treatment: Up to $750. Coverage is for emergency dental treatment for accidental injury to sound, natural teeth. The injury and treatment must occur during the trip.
Emergency Evacuation: Up to $500,000. Coverage is for an accidental injury or sickness occurring during the trip that results in your necessary emergency evacuation. An emergency evacuation must be ordered by a physician who certifies that the severity of your accidental injury or sickness warrants your emergency evacuation. Refer to the certificate / policy for complete details.
Trip Cancellation: Up to $10,000. Reimburses for prepaid, non-refundable cancellation charges if you must cancel your trip (after the effective date) due to covered sickness, accidental injury, or death of you, a family member or traveling companion; inclement weather, unforeseen natural disaster at home or at your destination, strike or other covered reasons. Refer to the certificate / policy for complete details.
Trip Interruption: Up to $10,000. Reimburses for prepaid, non-refundable, unused expenses if you must interrupt your trip (after departure) due to a covered sickness, accidental injury, or death of you, a family member or traveling companion; inclement weather, unforeseen natural disaster at home or at your destination, strike, or other covered reasons. Refer to the certificate / policy for complete details.
Trip Delay: Up to $3,000. Coverage is for unused portion of pre-paid accommodation or additional expenses, on a one-time basis, if you are delayed en route to or from the trip for 6 or more hours due to a defined hazard as explained in the certificate / policy.
Baggage & Personal Effects: Up to $3,000. Reimbursement is for loss, theft or damage during the trip to baggage and personal effects (including sporting equipment) owned by you, provided you have taken all reasonable measures to protect, save and recover the property. Per article limit of $500.
Activities covered based on 4 groups. You pay more for higher group. The Explorer plan includes more activities than the Standard Plan. Extreme activities not covered (cave diving, free soloing, etc)
The World Nomads Explorer Plan is a great option if you’re looking for an affordable travel insurance with good medical coverage. It provides some trip protection but not as high as the one offered by Travelex
Travelex in Detail
Nationalities: All nationalities are covered, as long as they are US residents.
Pre-existing conditions: Yes.
Seniors Over 65: Senior travel insurance package is offered to seniors over 65.
Trip Duration: Travel Select and Travel Basic plans cover trips up to 364 days. Travel America plan covers trips up to 14 days.
Groups: Individual and family plans available.
Destinations covered: Covers worldwide, except Ukraine, Syria, Iran, North Korea, Libya, Belarus, and Russian Federation.
Reasons To Buy
The price is competitive.
Pre–existing conditions accepted.
Covers worldwide, except Ukraine, Syria, Iran, North Korea, Libya, Belarus, and Russian Federation.
Reasons To Avoid
Only available to US residents.
They receive mixed reviews online.
Emergency Accident & Sickness Medical Expense: Up to $50,000. It comes with a dental coverage sublimit of $500
Emergency Evacuation: Up to $500,000. It comes with an escort coverage limit of $25,000.
Trip Cancellation: 100% of insured trip cost. It comes with a limit of $50,000.
Trip Interruption: 150% of insured trip cost. It comes with a limit of $75,000.
Trip Delay: Up to $2,000. The policy comes with a daily sublimit of $200 and a minimum delay of 5 hours
Baggage & Personal Effects: Up to $1,000. Items sublimits apply.
Additional Medical Coverage. Increase your medical expenses coverage by $50,000 and up your medical evacuation coverage by $500,000.
Adventure Sports. Get protection for participating in professional athletic events, ziplining, skydiving, mountain climbing, and traveling on any air-supported devices.
Cancel for Any Reason. Protect yourself against the unexpected – whatever it maybe – and cancel your trip for any reason up to 48 hours before your scheduled departure date.
The Travelex Select Plan is a great option for American residents going on high-ticket expedition-type trips, like adventure cruises, safaris or polar expeditions. It covers 100% of your trip in case of cancellation (up to $50,000).
Comparing Coverage Details
Company |
Plan |
Medical Expenses |
Emmergency Evacuation |
Trip Cancellation |
Trip Delays |
Equipment Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Explorer |
$100,000 |
$500,000 |
$10,000 |
$3,000 |
$3,000 |
 |
Select |
$50,000 |
$500,000 |
$50,000 |
150% |
$1,000 |
Pricing
World Nomads targets the budget traveler offering affordable policies that are cheaper than those offered by Travelex.
A week-long travel insurance policy will cost around $243 for the Travelex Select and around $187 for the Explorers plan of World Nomads.
However, be aware that the main difference is in the trip protection coverage, where Travelex will cover 100% of your trip (up to $50,000) where World Nomads will offer much less ($10,000 max).
What's Covered & Who's Eligible
Company |
Nationalities Covered |
Preexisting Conditions |
Coverage for Seniors Over 65 |
Destinations Covered |
Adventure Activities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Many not covered |
No |
Yes, up to 70 |
Some not covered |
Some not covered |
|
|
Only US residents |
Yes |
No Age Limit |
Most countries covered |
Most of them |
User Reviews and Testimonials
Insurance companies normally get a lot of negative reviews online because of complex policy language, claim denials, slow processing times, and perceived unfair practices.
Both Travelex and World Nomads are not an exception and they get their share of negative reviews online.
World Nomads Online Reviews
Travelex Online Reviews
Conclusion
This debate is only valid if you live in the US, as Travelex is only available to US residents.
If you are on a budget or your trip cost is less than $10,000, the Explorer Plan from World Nomads might be a good option for you. It provides a substantial amount of medical coverage, and its policies rank among the most affordable in the market.
If you are planning to go on an adventure cruise, a safari or any other trip that costs over 10,000, Travelex-Select will give you a better coverage to protect your trip investment against cancellations.
Other Travel Insurance Reviews
If you would like to read more about other insurance companies for adventure travelers, you can check out our other reviews below:
- Allianz
- Dive Assure
- Divers Network Alert
- Global Rescue
- Faye
- Medjet
- Ripcord
- SafetyWing
- Travel Guard
- Travelex
- World Nomads
If you would like to read more about insurance options for other type of adventure trips, you can check out our other reviews below:
- Skiing & Snowboarding
- Hiking Trips
- Mountaineering & High Altitude Trekking
- Mountain Biking, Bike-touring & Bike-packing
- Rock Climbing, Ice Climbing & Bouldering
- Kayaking, White Water Rafting & Paddle Boarding
- Fishing & Spearfishing
- Diving Liveaboards & Freediving
- Sailing, Kite Surfing & Surfing
- Adventure Cruises
- Adventure Motorcycling
Other Reviews Online
If you would like to read more reviews to get a more complete picture of the differences between World Nomads and Travelex, here are some articles I found interesting.
World Nomads Reviewed: Who’s It For?—Plus Ideal Alternatives – by alittleadrift.com
Travelex Travel Insurance Review 2024 – by Forbes
About the Author
Antonio was born and raised in Southern Spain, and quit his job in 2013 to travel the world full-time with his wife Amanda for 10 years straight. Their passion for adventure took them to visit 150+ countries.
They cycled 25,000km + from California to Patagonia, sailed over 10,000NM around the Caribbean & Sea of Cortez, rode their motorbikes 30,000 kms+ across West Africa (Spain to South Africa) and visited Antarctica, among many other adventure expeditions. Today, they’re still traveling, currently around the USA with an RV.
Traveling to so many places, remote destinations and by different means taught them a lot about travel insurance, which policies to hold depending on the area and the type of adventure they were doing. Antonio now publishes regular content to help other travelers choose the best travel insurance for adventure trips.
Together, they also run the travel community Summit, the RV site Hitched Up, the boutique accommodation blog Unique Places and the popular newsletter Adventure Fix, where they share their knowledge about the places they’ve visited and the ones still remaining on their list.
Antonio Cala
Co-Founder of Adventure Fix