Travel Insurance for Medical Repatriation
When your illness or injury stops you in your tracks and you have to get home for treatment.
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Serious accidents or illnesses can happen at any time during your trip, whether you’re trekking through the Eurasian Steppe or (not so) simply crossing the road in Vietnam. And if it’s bad enough to end your trip mid-way or if our medical teams recommend you return home for treatment, our repatriation cover can help get you home as safely as possible.
The cost of medical evacuations can vary, depending on a number of circumstances, including the remoteness of the location from which the evacuation might occur, as well as the type of medical care required for injuries or illnesses incurred. That's what our emergency medical, evacuation and repatriation insurance in all of our plans is designed to cover.
Cover available under this travel insurance policy is in excess of any statutory health insurance, or any available reciprocal health agreements (including your Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) or European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). Where urgent medical assistance is required, contact our 24/7 Emergency Medical Assistance team before incurring medical costs. You must let us know how you are going and keep in contact with our Emergency Medical Assistance team until you no longer require treatment or assistance.
Our 24/7 Emergency Medical Assistance teams are trained to help in these situations, negotiating the complexities of hospitals, specialist transportation, airline approvals and medical escorts so you (and your family) can focus on your recovery.
How World Nomads travel insurance can get you home
Travel insurance is made to cover emergency treatment overseas and, if necessary, cover to rearrange your initial travel plans or for specialist medical transportation to get you home. If our medical teams believe it’s necessary to bring you home for treatment or ongoing care, there’s cover in all of our policies for:
- Air Ambulance
- Sea Level Aircraft
- Ground Ambulance
- Flight changes, upgrades or just more space
- Flight upgrade + medical staff.
Please note that cover is up to the amount shown in your Policy Wording and is subject to our Emergency Medical Assistance team or us, on the advice of a medical practitioner appointed by us in consultation with your medical practitioner overseas, first deciding that:
- Transportation is medically necessary; and
- The style and timing of the transportation are reasonable and appropriate; and
- You're medically fit to be evacuated; and
- You should be transferred to the United Kingdom.
World Nomads offers benefits for medical issues related to Coronavirus (COVID-19) under the 'Emergency Medical Expenses & Medical Repatriation' section. If you are diagnosed with COVID-19 while overseas and it’s not considered a ‘pre-existing medical condition’ under our policy your benefits include evacuation or repatriation if deemed medically necessary by us and in consultation with your attending physician.
You can check out our What’s covered for Coronavirus which has all of the details, including benefit limits and exclusions.
I need help now – what do I do?
The first step when you have been admitted as an inpatient for at least one night is to contact us as soon as possible (or get someone else to do so on your behalf). Our 24/7 Emergency Medical Assistance team can make arrangements and get pre-authorisation for your repatriation home if it's required. Our doctors and nurses have seen some horrific accidents and illnesses and have helped thousands of travellers get home safely to fully recover.
What's not covered by World Nomads travel insurance
Travel insurance isn’t designed to cover everything. There are some cases where it's just not possible to provide cover:
- Flight upgrades, new flights or changes without our approval (or where it's not medically necessary).
- When you refuse to return home for treatment.
- Changing your mind to not continue your trip, even if you're fit to travel.
- Medical expenses once you're back in your home country.
- A joy flight to get down off the mountain after you've reached Base Camp.
This is not a full list of what's covered and what's not covered. There are limits and conditions that apply, so for more information check out our article on medical transport and repatriation
The policy isn’t designed to cover everything so take the time to read the terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions in the Policy Wording for full details, so there are no surprises if you need to use it. If you’re not sure if something is covered get in touch.
Get a quote today.
How to get medical assistance.
It’s essential that you get in contact with our Emergency Medical Assistance teams as soon as possible, so that our teams can support you from the time your fall sick of get injured until the time you get home.
So that our Emergency Medical Assistance teams can assist you quickly, please be ready with the following:
- Your policy number
- A contact number for where you are now
- The nature of your problem
- Your location
Abdominal pain in Myanmar
On my second day in Burma, I woke up in the middle of the night with intense abdominal distress. I was rushed to the Asia Royal Hospital and immediately taken for evaluation and an ultrasound. I had a large mass in my abdomen and evacuated to Bangkok that evening to see a specialist. I was admitted to Bumrungrad International Hospital, where I stayed for eight days for a battery of tests, including several ultrasounds, a CT scan, and two aspirations of what turned out to be a renal cyst. After a conditional discharge, where I was restricted to rest, I was deemed stable enough to be evacuated. Two days later I was on a flight back to the U.S., where I am now continuing treatment.
Travel Insurance Benefits: how we can take care of you
Trip Cancellation
Protect your trip from unexpected cancellation.
- Explorer Plan: £5,000
- Standard Plan: £3,000
Trip Protection
- Unexpectedly hospitalized?
- Travel buddy unfit to travel?
- Close relative suddenly dies?
We’ve got your back.
Emergency Abroad Medical Expenses
Take the pain out of medical costs while traveling abroad.
- Explorer Plan: £10 million
- Standard Plan: £5 million
Emergency Medical Insurance
- Need meds quick?
- Accidentally injured?
- Suddenly sick?
We’ve got your back.
Emergency Medical Transport
Expenses included in Emergency Medical limits.
Evacuation and Repatriation
- Banged up abroad?
- Need a hospital urgently?
- Medivac home?
Help starts here.
Protect your gear
Cover your lost, stolen or damaged gear and tech.
- Explorer Plan: £3,000
- Standard Plan: £1,500
Protect your gear
- Passport or tech stolen?
- Airline lost your gear?
- Bags delayed?
Help starts here.
- Emergency Medical Expenses
- Baggage & Personal Belongings
- Cancellation
- Trip Curtailment
- Personal Accident
- Loss of Passport or travel documents
- Personal Liability
- Legal Expenses (Personal Liability)
You are not eligible to buy a policy if you travel against medical advice, travel with the intention of receiving medical treatment, or have a terminal illness. World Nomads policies cannot cover claims due to Pre-Existing Medical Conditions (PEMC), regardless of whether the condition is serious or not. You can still purchase a World Nomads policy, but the PEMC exclusion cannot be removed, and you will be responsible for any related costs.
For information on travel insurance providers that offer cover on PEMC, visit Money Helper or call 0800 138 7777.
24/7 Emergency Medical Assistance
If you need medical assistance or emergency medical evacuation our team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year before and during your trip.
Wherever you are, we’re here 24/7 to help you in any emergency.
Are you in need of Emergency Medical Assistance right now?
For policies purchased on or after 27 June 2024
+44 (0) 144 444 2021 (Call via an operator reverse charges. Not toll free.)
For policies purchased before 27 June 2024:
Phone: +44 (0) 203 093 1750 (Call via an operator reverse charges. Not toll free.)
FAQ
Here are our most frequently asked questions. You can also find the answers to other questions in our Helpdesk or you can ask the customer service team.
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Can my mum (or other family member) come and get me?
Yes, in some situations we can send your mum or a close family member over to pick you up if you need mobility support. If you’re on any kind of administrative medication, then we might send you a nurse or doctor.
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Can I choose the sex of my nurse or doctor?
You can ask and we'll see what we can do.
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What if I'm on really heavy drugs as pain killers while I'm coming home? Will I be allowed to transit in all countries?
There are some countries which will not allow you to enter (even transit) with certain medication and in these cases we will either reroute you or discuss with your treating doctor on alternate pain killers.
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What happens if I’m on life support?
That’s a really bad way to end your holiday, and we hope you never end up on life support. But if you do, we will look at every situation on a case-by-case basis and will try to find the best possible solution.