Travel insurance is an essential item in the planning of any traveler, regardless of whether the destination is mandatory or not, as it is he who will guarantee assistance in case of any unforeseen events. In this article, I’ll explain everything about insurance, how it works, how to hire, how to choose and much more!
First, let me answer three questions very quickly.
| Questions | Answers |
| How much does travel insurance cost? | It depends on many variables, but you can find plans from R$ 15.00 per day of travel to international destinations. |
| Is travel insurance mandatory? | It depends on the destination of the trip. In Europe, for example, it is mandatory for 26 countries. |
| What is the best travel insurance? | What is better will depend on the profile of the traveler, the insurance company, the number of days of the trip and whether you need any specific coverage. |
What is travel insurance?
Travel insurance is a service offered by insurance companies that guarantees protection and assistance to the traveler in case of unforeseen events, whether related to health, flight, luggage, traffic accidents, documentation and others.
It is the insurance that will offer support and care in case any mishap happens during your stay away from home. This way, the traveler can be more relaxed to enjoy everything the destination has to offer.
Is it mandatory to take out travel insurance?
It depends on the destination .
There are many countries where travel insurance is mandatory and must be presented at immigration, if the agent comes to request the presentation of the document, just as there are many countries where it does not require any obligation.
What you need to keep in mind is that in countries where insurance is mandatory, there is also a requirement for specific coverage. See some examples:
- In the 26 countries that make up the Schengen Area, Europe travel insurance is mandatory and the requirement is that it has a minimum coverage of 30,000 euros (or the equivalent in another currency) for medical and hospital expenses (DMH);
- In Chile, before the pandemic, it was not mandatory to present travel insurance. However, the rules were changed and the country now requires insurance with a minimum coverage of USD 30,000 for DMH and that it has an extension for Covid-19 and repatriation in case of death from the virus.
Therefore, the ideal is to consult the rules of the destination before hiring travel insurance. And even if fate does not demand it, it is still highly recommended. As I said, he is the one who will guarantee your protection while you are away from home.
How does travel insurance work?
Travel insurance serves to guarantee protection and assistance to the traveler for various types of unforeseen events. So it works like this:
When planning the trip, the traveler must take out insurance and keep/print the policy. Hence, if there is a problem during the trip, the traveler should contact the insurer’s call center to receive guidance on how to proceed.
Need for medical care
If the traveler suffers a fall and twists or breaks a foot. He will be able to activate the travel insurance to guarantee medical and hospital care in an accredited health network. These networks are made up of private clinics and hospitals and the insurance company pays the bill.
Another example, and this one is a little tragic, but which can happen to anyone, is something very serious like an accident, heart attack, stroke or even the death of the traveler. In case of any fatality, the insurance will guarantee the transfer of the body or medical repatriation to the country of origin.
baggage loss
If the traveler has his luggage lost at the airport, he can obtain insurance assistance to locate it with the airline and guarantee a cash value of the complementary or supplementary luggage insurance .
problems with flights
Who has never had a delayed or even canceled flight? This is very common and can cause a lot of inconvenience to the traveler. If you face a long delay, cancellation, overbooking , lost luggage or any other stress with the airline, the insurer will ensure that your rights are met and you may even earn an extra amount of compensation.
In general, we can define travel insurance as being a traveller’s best friend. The one who accompanies you at all times, but especially in the bad ones, offering all the support in difficult times and in the perrengues of the trip.
What does travel insurance cover?
There are many types of coverage offered by travel insurance, but they will depend on the contracted plan.
There are more basic plans that only guarantee the fundamental assistance required by the Private Insurance Superintendence (SUSEP), as well as there are more complete plans that guarantee any and all protection to the traveler.
In general, travel insurance covers the following:
- Medical and hospital expenses (DMH);
- DMH by Covid-19*
- DMH for practicing sports;
- DMH for pregnant women;
- Medical transfer;
- Body slicing;
- Sanitary return;
- Pharmaceutical expenses (by reimbursement);
- Dental expenses;
- Physiotherapy;
- Flight delay expenses;
- Convalescence in hotel;
- Trip cancellation;
- Baggage loss;
- Damage to the suitcase;
- Airfare and accommodation for a family member (in case the traveler needs hospitalization);
- Legal assistance in case of traffic accident;
- Remittance of money abroad to pay bail in the event of a traffic accident;
- Guidance in case of loss of documents;
- Insurance in case of permanent disability;
- Insurance in case of accidental death.
* Covid travel insurance is not offered by all insurance companies, but many of them have adapted to the current need of the traveler.
Assist Card and Affinity , for example, started to offer coverage for expenses related to the quarantine in case the traveler tests positive on the eve of the flight back home. Others, such as Universal Assistance , guarantee DMH for Covid, as well as compensation for diagnosis of the virus and transfer in case of death.
How much does travel insurance cost?
In general, travel insurance is not expensive, especially when compared to the assistance you will have if the unexpected happens. It is possible to find basic plans from R$ 15 per day of travel to plans above R$ 200 per day of travel.
But saying how much insurance costs for sure depends on some factors. As explained in the topic above, there are basic and complete plans. There are also insurers that are better and others that are worse. In this case, I recommend checking the evaluation on complaints portals such as, for example, Reclame Aqui .
In addition to the plan and insurance company, the destination, the number of days and the age of the traveler will also affect the final cost. However, to give you an idea of how much it costs, we made a quote on November 22, 2022 through Seguros Promo simulating 10 days of travel in Europe.
We selected four plans between basic and complete.
| Roof | UA 40 World (except US) | GTA 42 Euroassist | Coris 60 Europe VIP + Covid-19 | AC 60 World Covid-19 Quarantine* |
| Medical and hospital expenses (DMH) | USD 40 thousand | USD 42 thousand | EUR 60 thousand | USD 60 thousand |
| DMH by Covid | not | not | USD 30 thousand | USD 30 thousand |
| body transfer | USD 40 thousand | USD 30 thousand | EUR 60 thousand | USD 10 thousand |
| sanitary return | USD 60 thousand | USD 30 thousand | EUR 60 thousand | USD 40 thousand |
| luggage insurance | USD 1,300 | USD 1,200 | EUR 1,000 | USD 1,200 |
| dental coverage | USD 500 | USD 150 | EUR 60 thousand | USD 500 |
| Flight Delay Expenses | not | USD 250 (after 12 hours) | USD 300 (after 6 hours) | USD 100 (after 6 hours) |
| Total | BRL 272.05 | BRL 209.40 | BRL 417.14 | BRL 780.12 |
The AC 60 Mundo Covid-19 Quarantine plan , by Assist Card , has a much higher value than other plans, because after the episode of Casal das Maldives , the insurance company started to offer coverage for possible expenses with the quarantine.
Therefore, if the traveler tests positive on the eve of the return flight, he can contact the insurer to request reimbursement for extra expenses related to accommodation, food and medicine.
Despite the higher value, it is a complete plan that offers all the necessary assistance to a traveler, especially in the face of the current pandemic reality, since the vaccine does not prevent us from contracting the virus. Therefore, we can conclude that its value has a good cost-benefit ratio.
Where to buy travel insurance?
There are several ways to buy. One of them is using Seguros Promo or even using other comparators on the market, such as Real Seguro Viagem .
Another way to purchase insurance is through the official websites of insurers. In that case, try to research which is the best insurer so you don’t get stuck and hire one that doesn’t provide good service.
If you want, you can also hire through travel agencies or an insurance broker. But I already advance that these two options are not the best, as they need to earn a commission on top of the sale, so it ends up being more expensive.
discount on travel insurance
Many insurers and comparators present travel insurance discount coupons on their respective websites. Before hiring, it is worth checking if there is any active discount.
If you choose to book through our travel insurance comparison tool or directly at Seguros Promo, you can get up to 5% off using our code EURODICAS5 . And if you choose to pay via Pix, transfer or bank slip, you guarantee an additional 5% , totaling a 10% discount on the purchase of travel insurance.
How to get travel insurance
As I explained, you can buy travel insurance through the comparison sites or through the insurance company itself. Both tend to be very intuitive, just fill in, initially, some information about the trip, such as destination, date of departure and return, as well as some personal data such as name, email and contact telephone number.
After finding the ideal travel insurance plan for you, just move on to the purchase itself. In this case, you will be asked for some additional personal data and then just make the payment.
To make it even easier, I’ve detailed step-by-step how to get travel insurance through Seguros Promo. Check it out!
- Access the Seguros Promo website ;
- Select the destination, insert the boarding dates and if you land in Brazil, name, email, telephone. Then press the button “Search travel insurance”;
- Soon a list with several options of travel insurance plans will appear;
- Analyze and compare plans calmly. At that time, you can compare 4 plans simultaneously, so check the coverage and prices offered;
- After choosing your travel insurance plan, press the button “Select insurance”;
- Fill in the insured’s information: full name, date of birth and CPF. At that time, you can also add other policyholders in case you travel with someone;
- Select payment method (Pix, boleto, credit card or bank transfer);
- Inform the payer’s data: name and CPF;
- Fill in the contact information for the purchase: email, telephone (if not filled in automatically) and address;
- After filling in all the information, press the button “Make payment”;
- With payment made, the travel insurance policy will be sent to the email address provided.
If you don’t feel comfortable making the purchase over the internet, many of these sites, including Seguros Promo , offer a sales service by phone or WhatsApp.
Which travel insurance to choose?
The choice of insurance is up to you. As I said, there are several factors that must be analyzed. Start by analyzing your profile as a traveler, answering the following questions:
- Am I old?
- Am I pregnant (or could I discover one)?
- Will I practice sport during the trip?
- Do I have any pre-existing illness?
- Can I contract Covid / am I in the risk group?
If the answer is “yes” to any of the questions above, it means that you should choose travel insurance that has specific coverage. Also, look for information about insurers and whether the one you want to hire has a good rating. After all, when we take out insurance, the least we expect is quality care.
What is the best travel insurance?
Well, as I mentioned above, choosing insurance depends on a number of factors, from the traveler’s profile to the requirement for specific coverage in the country of destination of the trip. Therefore, pointing out the best travel insurance is not that simple.
For example: a pregnant woman needs to be careful when choosing a travel insurance that offers specific DMH coverage for pregnant women. Thus, in case of any urgency or emergency during the trip, this coverage guarantees that she and the baby will have medical attention. Having this high coverage, this will certainly be the best travel insurance for pregnant women . If, by chance, the chosen plan does not have this specificity, the pregnant woman will have to pay for the care out of her own pocket.
On the other hand, this same plan will not be the best travel insurance for a man who practices extreme sports. In his case, the DMH for pregnant women is irrelevant, but he will need a specific DMH to practice sports. In addition, of course, to check whether the sport in question is included in the policy.
Do you understand now how difficult it is to choose the best travel insurance ? Each traveler has a different profile, which may imply having or not having more specific coverage. In addition, you also need to pay attention to the destination of the trip. As I explained at the beginning of this article, there are countries that, in addition to being mandatory, also specify the coverage that needs to be contracted.
That’s also why we talk about more basic and more complete plans. The more complete plans tend to offer broader coverage and cater to different traveler profiles.
Visit to Italy during the pandemic
“According to the rules in force in Italy at that time, it was necessary to present a PCR or Antigen test upon arrival, to carry out a fiduciary quarantine (self-monitoring) and after 10 days, it was necessary to present a new PCR test for Covid and thus we would be released to circulate in Italy taking proper care,” said Vivian.
“When the 10 days had passed, the local government sent us a text message scheduling the said exam and two days later my youngest son and I tested positive and my daughter tested negative. Along with the result, they imposed a strict isolation protocol on us, preventing us from leaving indefinitely. We were advised that a new exam would only be possible in 10 days.”
Positive for Covid, but with the help of travel insurance
“I immediately called my collect travel insurance and asked for a home consultation and the same day the doctor came to check on us and that was fundamental.”
The Italian Government just told us to stay at home, but it didn’t give any guidance on what to do in case of symptoms and because we speak Italian very badly, any guidance would be given over the phone and that would be very difficult.
“And with the insurance company, we speak in Portuguese, collecting from Italy to Brazil . The first call the attendant refused to answer. I decided to call again and explain better and I was answered by Eduardo, I don’t forget his name, and he said he would call me back and he did. I couldn’t believe it, because from then on, everything was resolved .”
That same day, the doctor asked for a new test and the next day we sent the medical request and the insurance company authorized the tests at home collection, which ended up happening on the weekend, a Saturday.
On Monday, we received the exams by email and we were all relieved that they were all negative , as we are the 3 asthmatics, in a country where we didn’t speak the language and afraid of being sick and being without any guidance to preserve our health.
Even if we had to go isolated, knowing that we were not alone was fundamental.”
According to Vivian, she had previously contracted insurance from the same company, but there was no coverage for covid-19. But the insurance company extended coverage due to the pandemic and Eduardo’s service was excellent.
It was exactly what I expected from travel insurance. No repairs!
How to prove travel insurance?
To check it is very simple. After purchase, you will receive the travel insurance policy in the email provided, you can print or leave it accessible in the email box.
When traveling, if the immigration agent requests the presentation of travel insurance, just present the policy. Some insurers offer mobile applications where the traveler can access the policy quickly, as well as activate the insurance service.
Do not forget that insurance is highly recommended, regardless of whether the destination is mandatory , so it must be part of the financial planning of the trip. Ask for a quote at Seguros Promo and have a good trip!
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