
What's the Best Backpacker Travel Insurance?
Explore the world with peace of mind; select backpacker insurance that prioritizes comprehensive medical coverage and flexibility for spontaneous travel plans.
Nick Reed
TravelFreak Writer

Travel Insurance Companies
Insurance companies aren’t known for being super easy to work with. Customer service often isn’t great, and it’s difficult to find a plan that gives you what you want without having to pay for unnecessary extras.
Heymondo is a more modern travel insurance company that prioritizes flexibility and ease of use, and they really stand out from the cloud. They have a mobile app that makes it super easy to manage your policy, and their 24/7 customer service is very responsive.
Most insurance companies only offer a few standard plans, and you are stuck to fixed dates. Heymondo changes that with a wide range of plans, add-on options, and customizations. Need high-end medical insurance? Check. Want a budget option for backpacking around the world? Check. Want an annual plan for frequent business trips? Check.
With all the options to choose from, the reasonable prices, and the great service, Heymondo is an easy pick for the best travel insurer overall.
The Heymondo Long Stay Plan works differently with a flexible renewal system that makes it easy to stay on the go for a month or twelve months and go with the flow. This is probably the most flexible plan out there for long-term travel.
If you don’t need comprehensive coverage for trip cancellation or other potential trip costs, Heymondo offers a medical-only plan that offers top-level medical insurance and emergency medical evacuation coverage at an impressively low cost. This is a great way to get medical insurance while traveling without spending an arm and a leg.
Heymondo’s other plans have all the standard options like trip cancellation coverage that reimburses 100% of your trip cost if you have to cancel (for one of their approved reasons, of course). They also have options to add on coverage for electronic equipment, adventure sports, cruises, and more.
If you make frequent shorter trips, there’s also an annual plan that covers multiple trips for an entire year.
It doesn’t make sense to purchase travel insurance that doesn’t fit your needs. Heymondo gives you plenty of options to customize your plan to your specific circumstance so you can get exactly what you need without paying extra.
If you plan to be on the road for an extended period of time, and if you’re a digital nomad, then SafetyWing is one of the best travel insurance companies for your needs.
In short, other insurance companies only cover your travels up to a limited amount of time, but SafetyWing allows you to have complete coverage for as long as you like! Your plan automatically renews every four weeks until you decide to cancel, just like a subscription.
Being location-independent, digital nomads and freelancers need insurance for travel that’s just as flexible as they are.
Furthermore, SafetyWing’s policy comes with $100,000 for both emergency medical coverage and emergency evacuation coverage in over 180 countries. Up to $1,000 in emergency dental care coverage is also included.
Although trip cancellation is not included in the plan (which can be a deal-breaker for some long-term travelers), they do offer trip interruption and trip delay coverage.
If you need to return home from your trip early, you’ll be reimbursed up to $5,000. You’ll get $100 per day if your trip is delayed, and you can claim up to $3,000 for lost/damaged baggage.
Finally, there’s coverage if you have to return home at any point. This is excellent for digital nomads who like to come and go as they please.
There’s a caveat: expensive equipment like laptops, cameras, and smartphones do not have coverage under the SafetyWing policy. If you want to make sure your equipment is protected on your trip, consider a supplemental coverage plan with InsureMyEquipment.
Click here to read our full SafetyWing review, or check out our SafetyWings vs World Nomads comparison.
Insurance companies aren’t typically known for being user-friendly. Long call waits, confusing policies, and clumsy interfaces are common, even among some of the most reputable travel insurance providers.
Faye is here to change that with a more modern approach to purchasing travel insurance. They use an app-centered approach that lets you choose your policy, customize your coverage, make changes, and file claims all from one app on your phone. The whole process is super streamlined and easy to use.
Faye is pretty middle-of-the-pack when it comes to travel insurance costs, but they offer great value for that money. They pack in solid medical coverage, trip cancellation coverage, trip interruption insurance, and lost luggage protection. You get all the standard features you expect from a good insurance policy, plus some great add-on options.
Faye is also a great choice for people with pre-existing medical conditions. These are covered as long as you purchase your plan within 14 days of making your first trip payment and are able to travel at the time of purchase.
Rather than offering different levels of insurance packages like many other providers, Faye has one simple plan that you then can customize as you see fit. This is a much easier way to get what you need rather than comparing and contrasting packaged plans.
I love being able to customize my travel policy to fit my exact needs, and Faye offers a lot of customizations and add-ons. You can bump up the medical coverage or add coverage for “cancel for any reason,” car rentals, extreme sports, vacation rentals, or even pet care. I love the flexibility to pick and choose what you need and what you don’t.
Faye’s newest feature is an included Telemedicine network. No matter where you are in the world, it’s easy to get in touch with one of their thousands of medical providers directly through the app. I’d call that next-level service when it comes to travel insurance companies!
Looking for an easy-to-use 21st-century solution to travel insurance? Faye is a great option.
Trawick International was founded in 1998 and initially offered student insurance and insurance for study abroad programs. They built upon their success in that field to transition fully to the travel industry, and now they are one of the top travel insurance providers out there.
Ultimately, the most important part of any travel plan is the medical coverage. Having trip cancellation coverage, baggage delay coverage, and other insurance to insure the trip cost is great, but ultimately that’s all just for peace of mind. Travel medical insurance can be a lifesaver and literally save you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical costs if you are injured or become ill on your trip.
If you are looking for the absolute best comprehensive medical coverage, Trawick International offers some fantastic travel medical insurance plans with high coverage limits and waivers for pre-existing conditions.
Trawick offers medical-focused plans (no trip cancellation coverage, etc.) that are much lower than typical full-out travel insurance costs. This is a great way to get the most important insurance without spending lots of money. Plus, you still get coverage for trip interruptions, flight delays, and baggage delays/lost baggage.
Trawick also offers comprehensive travel insurance with add-on options for cancel for any reason coverage. It probably wouldn’t be my first pick if you want all the best trip insurance, though.
If you’re loading everything up in a backpack and heading out for an extended trip overseas, you’re likely already stretching your funds to your limit. Purchasing travel insurance for backpackers is still a very (VERY) good idea, but you’ll probably want to find a plan that’s as affordable as possible.
Fortunately, Seven Corners offers simple, affordable plans that are perfect for backpackers seeing the world on a budget. Seven corners plans offer great bang for your buck with simple, value-packed options and reliable insurance worldwide.
With Seven Corners plans, you get all the standard travel insurance coverage you would expect: emergency medical coverage and medical evacuation, trip cancellation and interruption, baggage loss, and more. Seven Corners has two travel insurance plans to choose from: Trip Protection Basic and Trip Protection Choice. The Choice plan offers higher reimbursement amounts and a waiver for existing medical conditions.
If you don’t want or need trip coverage, Seven Corners offers insurance only for medical expenses and medical evacuation for an even lower overall cost. This is a good way to keep your expenses really low while still having the most important coverage for unforeseen events.
Did you know that you could purchase specific cruise insurance? Nationwide has an insurance plan for that (actually, a few travel insurance plans). Cruises can be a significant expense, and you’ll feel a lot better knowing that your trip is protected.
Nationwide provides unique cruise insurance coverage for issues related to cruise travel, including coverage for port-of-call itinerary changes made by the cruise line before departure, coverage for mechanical breakdowns on the ship, trip delay coverage in arriving to or departing from ports of call, and coverage for shipboard service disruptions.
Nationwide currently has three types of cruising travel insurance plans available: a Universal Cruise Plan, a Choice Cruise Plan, and a Luxury Cruise Plan. Universal is the most basic insurance policy, offering up to $75,000 for travel medical coverage and $250,000 for emergency evacuation insurance. Their trip cancellation covers up to 100% of non-refundable trip costs, while their trip interruption coverage is up to 125% of non-refundable trip costs. Yes, that includes weather-related events.
Their best and most comprehensive travel insurance plan is the Luxury Cruise Plan, for the really serious cruiser. That includes higher coverage limits as well as some extra perks like Cancel For Any Reason, non-medical evacuation coverage, and an existing condition waiver.
If you’re a traveler from the United Kingdom or the European Union, your best bet for travel insurance is with Globelink. Prices start at just £14 ($18) for single trip plans, making it one of the most affordable options on the market.
Even the basic economy insurance includes £5,000,000 of emergency medical expenses. And £2,000 of trip cancellation coverage. In addition, if you plan to take multiple trips throughout the year, Globelink also offers multi-trip plans. They include £10,000,000 of emergency medical expenses and £6,000 of trip cancellation coverage.
Depending on where you’re traveling, you can purchase three types of destination plans. This includes Europe (and Australia and New Zealand); worldwide excluding the US, Canada, Mexico, and Japan; or worldwide all-inclusive. In other words, you have options for policies to suit your needs.
For frequent travelers, it can make a lot more sense to buy an annual plan that covers all your trips for an entire year. The Travel Guard Annual Plan is one of the best out there and can save you a lot of cash if you have several trips planned. In fact, this plan isn’t that much more expensive than higher-end single-trip plans from many other providers.
This plan includes solid travel medical expense coverage (including medical evacuation. You also get all the standard trip insurance in case flights are canceled or delayed.
One area where this plan isn’t as great is for trip cancelation insurance. You have to meet some very strict requirements to receive reimbursement for cancelling a trip.
AIG is a highly respected and reliable company with good customer service, so you can count on them to have you covered on international trips.
So, if you’re traveling a lot and are looking to cut down on travel insurance costs, the AIG Travel Guard Annual Plan is a much better option than trying to purchase coverage for each trip individually.
No matter which way you spin it, traveling with a family is expensive, and the idea of adding a new insurance policy to all your other expenses can make your wallet start to hurt. Still, you absolutely need travel accident insurance to ensure your family is protected while abroad.
The good news is that IMG offers a wide range of family-friendly plans to protect you in unforeseen events. It’s simple to put in your departure date and return date, add family members, and get a comprehensive quote. You then get a range of plans to choose from based on your needs and budget.
IMG family plans range from minimal medical-only plans to high-end comprehensive policies with personal effects coverage, CFAR coverage, and even cruise insurance. The great news is that since their travel insurance plans cover a wide range of budgets and needs, you get to choose exactly how much coverage you want to pay for.
Amazingly, many of their family plans manage to be less expensive than individual plans from some other providers while still offering great overall protection. That is a major win when you’re planning a trip with a family.
If you have any chronic or pre-existing medical problems, you know that finding insurance can be difficult and expensive. Most insurance companies like to keep the risk of having a claim low, so they make it harder for people with medical conditions.
Fortunately, Berkshire Hathaway does things a little differently with their travel coverage plans. While most other providers offer options to pay more to waive medical condition exclusions, Berkshire Hathaway includes a pre-existing condition waiver as a standard feature in all their plans, even the least expensive. No extra fees. No hoops to jump through. Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection is easily one of the best options for people with existing medical conditions.
In addition to insurance for medical emergencies, you also get everything you’d expect from comprehensive travel insurance policies. You get trip delay insurance, trip cancellation coverage, personal effects coverage, and more. Plus, the highest-level plan includes CFAR coverage.
All in all, Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection offers some solid insurance options, especially for people who may have a hard time getting insured elsewhere because of their medical history.
As a Manchester City fan, he made it his mission to catch matches at legendary stadiums from Camp Nou to the Etihad. But Nick's travels go beyond football. He's explored 20+ countries across Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean, always chasing authentic experiences over tourist traps. Nick lives by a simple rule: the best stories come from saying yes to the unexpected. And TravelFreak is his biggest yes yet.

Explore the world with peace of mind; select backpacker insurance that prioritizes comprehensive medical coverage and flexibility for spontaneous travel plans.

Travelex Insurance stands out with its inclusive policies that offer everything a traveler might need, from medical coverage to trip interruption, wrapped in customer-centric service."

SafetyWing serves the nomadic minimalist, offering basic coverage at a lower cost, while World Nomads crafts a safety net robust enough for the daredevils.