How travel insurance helps for medical repatriation.
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When you take yourself on an adventure to the far ends of the Earth—whether it’s dog-sledding with Huskies across the snow in Scandinavia or riding the waves in Japan, accidents (or illnesses) are bound to happen. And if they do, there really is no place like home when it comes to receiving the best medical care.
Differing to medical evacuation, which may be able to help transport you to the nearest medical center in an emergency, the medical repatriation benefit offers coverage to get you home for further medical treatment, recovery, or rehabilitation.
If things go sideways while you’re overseas, we’re here to help. Here are just some of the ways we can assist with medical repatriation for you and your family.
After World Nomads and your local doctor have given you the go-ahead to return home, then we may cover:
While your safety and health are our utmost concern, we don’t cover everything. Always check your policy wording. Here’s an overview of what’s not covered.
We don’t cover:
Depending on your Country of Residence, you may have access to cover for repatriation if you’re diagnosed with COVID-19. If you are diagnosed with COVID-19 while overseas, your cover may include:
To find out what cover applies to you, read our What's Covered for Coronavirus article, which has all of the details, including benefit limits, conditions and exclusions.
Coverage depends on your Country of Residence and varies between plans.
Our policies aren’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 that there are no surprises if you need to use it. If you’re not sure if something is covered get in touch.
Here are some of the ways we’ve been able to help Nomads get home for the medical assistance they needed:
I was driving home with my friend Nick on the back of my motorbike, when, out of nowhere, a car hit us on the side. The impact immediately trapped my right leg between my motorbike and the front of the car… Nick stood up and looked at me and the first thing he said was “Don’t look at your leg. Don’t look at your leg,”. Of course, I looked at my leg, and it was gone.
Without the 24-hour medical assistance World Nomads provided, I don’t know what we would have done.
Peter,
World Nomads customer from Australia
I fell on my side and heard the sound of dry stick breaking, I realized my leg was broken, then I just lay on the beach... The first phone call I got was from World Nomads and they basically told me, you don't worry about this Anton, just focus on getting better...and we'll take care of the rest.
Anton required surgery after breaking his leg and wrist in a fall while traveling in Thailand. We called Anton daily to check on his progress and once cover was confirmed, we took care of his medical bills and his hospital admin.
After his surgery, Anton couldn’t travel back to Iceland without help, so we sent Luke from our Emergency Assistance Team to Thailand to meet him while in hospital. Luke was also there to help Anton carry his bags and escort him home on the plane to Iceland.
Anton,
World Nomads customer from Iceland
Here are our most frequently asked questions around medical repatriation. You can also find the answers to other questions in Help Center or you can ask the customer service team.
In some situations, we can send your mum 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. Check your policy wording and the conditions of your travel insurance policy to see whether you will be covered.
You can ask, and we'll see what we can do.
There are some countries which will not allow you to enter (even transit) with certain drugs, and in these cases, we will either reroute you or discuss with your treating doctor on alternate pain killers.
That’s a really bad way to end your holiday, and we hope you never end on life support. But if you do, we will look at the best possible solution to either get you home or get your family over there to say goodbye.
It’s essential that you get in contact with our Emergency Assistance team as soon as possible. Our team can support you from the time you get sick or injured until the time you get home.
To expedite your call, please be ready with the following:
Travel insurance doesn't cover everything. All of the information we provide is a brief summary. It does not include all terms, conditions, limitations, exclusions and termination provisions of the plans described. Coverage may not be the same or available for residents of all countries, states or provinces. Please carefully read your policy wording for a full description of coverage.
About World Nomads
World Nomads polices are designed by travelers for travelers to provide simple and flexible travel insurance – and it’s often cheaper than you might think. Featuring coverage for more than 150 activities, quotes are fast and can be done online at www.worldnomads.com. All the information we provide about travel insurance is a summary only. It does not include all terms, conditions, limitations, exclusions, and termination provisions of the travel insurance plans described. Coverage may not be available for residents of all countries, states, or provinces. Please carefully read your policy wording for a full description of coverage.
It’s essential that you get in contact with our Emergency Assistance team as soon as possible. Our team can support you from the time you get sick or injured until the time you get home.
To expedite your call, please be ready with the following:
With World Nomads you can buy travel insurance before you go or when you're already traveling any time anywhere 24-hours a day. Get an instant quote today.
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.
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Whether you need medical assistance or emergency evacuation, our teams are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year before and during your trip.
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Contact the teamHere are our most frequently asked questions. You can also find the answers to other questions in our Help Center or you can ask the customer service team.
Before your trip, check the latest government advice for any travel alerts for your destination.