Insurance is a billion-dollar business, and everyone wants their hand in the cookie jar, thus you face a mind-numbing number of choices that can be confusing and overwhelming. And, often, in the fine print, you’ll find that plans aren’t as good as you thought.

First, make sure your travel insurance offers a high coverage limit on your medical expenses. A good company will provide up to 100,000 in coverage care, though more expensive policies will cover you for higher amounts. The maximum coverage limit you can find is around 1,000,000 USD, though I’m not sure why you would ever need a limit that large. High coverage limits are important because if you get sick, injured, or need serious attention and have to seek professional care, you want to make sure your high hospital bills are covered. The worst thing you can do is go cheap and get a policy with a 20,000 coverage limit, break a leg, and reach that limit before they are done taking care of you. Don’t be cheap with your health. Get minimum coverage of 100,000.

Second, you want to make sure your travel insurance policy also covers emergency evacuation and care that is separate from your medical coverage. If you are hiking in the woods and you break your leg, your policy should cover your evacuation to the hospital. If a natural disaster occurs and you need to be evacuated to somewhere else, your plan should cover that as well. This protection should cover an expense of up to 300,000 USD.

Additionally, evacuation also should mean from the hospital to your home country. Standard emergency evacuation usually includes this provision, but it’s important you double-check a company will cover the cost of your flight back home if you need it.

Third, great travel insurance plan will always include the following provisions:

    Cover most countries in the world
    Some coverage for your electronics (and have the option for a higher coverage limit)
    Cover injury and sudden illnesses
    Twenty-four hour emergency services and help (you don’t want to call to be told to call back later)
    Cover lost, damaged or stolen possessions like jewelry, baggage, documents, cameras, etc.
    Cover cancellations such as hotel bookings, flight, and other transportation bookings if you have a sudden illness, death in the family, or some other emergency
    Cover emergencies, strife in the country visited, etc., that cause you to head home early
    Have financial protection if any company you are using goes bankrupt and you are stuck in another country

A quick note on electronics: Most companies only have a small limit, usually up to 500000, as part of their basic coverage. You can often buy supplemental insurance to get a higher amount of coverage. For instance, Clements Insurance offers special coverage for your electronics. Prices vary depending on the country you visit (14500-19500 per plan). Moreover, many regular and home insurance companies such as State Farm offer insurance plans that can help you cover your electronics. Be sure to check if you find a travel with a lot of gear!
What’s not covered by your travel insurance

Know what is also not covered by your plan. Most policies do not cover:

    Accidents sustained while participating in extreme adventure activities such as hang gliding, paragliding, or bungee jumping unless you pay extra.
    Alcohol- or drug-related incidents,
    Carelessness in handling your possessions and baggage.
    You won’t get reimbursed if the problem happened because you were reckless (how “reckless” is defined is a matter up to each company).
    Pre-existing conditions or general check-ups. For example, if you have diabetes and need to buy more insulin, you won’t be covered. If you want to go see a doctor for a general check-up, you aren’t covered either.
    Cash
    Your theft coverage won’t cover you if you left something in plain sight or unattended.
    If civil unrest makes your destination unsafe but your government hasn’t called for an evacuation, you’re probably out of luck too.

Travel Insurance Loopholes: What To Look For

Even the best travel insurance have their limits. Often, in the fine print, you’ll find that plans aren’t as good as you thought.

The medical portion of travel insurance is more about emergency care than being a replacement for your normal healthcare. A lot of people purchase travel insurance get disappointed when they find out they can’t go get an annual physical with it.

Remember you will get what you pay for. Maybe you see two companies offer similar plans but one is really cheap? Why? Usually it’s because the devil is in the details and they could have smaller payouts, take longer to process claims, deny more people, or have so many rules in the fine print that it turns out you aren’t going to get paid when you think you are!

Travel insurance is accident insurance. It is there to protect you in case of emergency and, if need be, get you home in a hurry. If you want a global health plan (because you now live in Beijing), you need a completely different type of plan.