World Nomads Travel Insurance

Our verdict: World Nomads Travel Insurance is a good option for younger travellers who are planning an adventurous trip. However, there’s no option to cover pre-existing medical conditions which will leave some travellers at risk.

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Nicola Middlemiss

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World Nomads

Key takeaways

  • World Nomads suits travellers aged 69 or younger, generally excluding pre-existing medical conditions.
  • Its policies cover many high-risk adventure activities, often with an optional upgrade.
  • The Explorer plan offers broad COVID-19 medical and trip cancellation protection.

Pros

  • A wide range of obscure and high-risk adventure activities can be covered, including elephant trekking, dog sledding, and WWOOFing.
  • You can extend your cover while overseas, if you decide you’d like to keep travelling a while longer.

Cons

  • Cover is only available to people aged 69 and under, making World Nomads unsuitable for older travellers.
  • There’s no option to add cover for pre-existing medical conditions, so if you’re living with a medical condition you might want to look elsewhere.
World Nomads Travel Insurance is not currently available via Finder. You can head to the World Nomads website or compare alternative options available below.

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Summary of World Nomads International Explorer policy

Overseas Medical and Hospital ExpensesUnlimited
Cancellation and Amendment FeesUnlimited
Luggage and Personal Effects$10,000
Maximum Age Limit69

Table updated October 2023

How does World Nomads Travel Insurance cover COVID-19?

World Nomads’ Explorer plan offers a range of benefits related to COVID-19. Here’s what you can expect:

  • Overseas hospital and medical expenses if you need treatment for COVID-19
  • Medical evacuation and repatriation costs related to COVID-19
  • Travel costs if you or a member of your travelling party are diagnosed with COVID-19 and you have to cancel your trip
  • Travel costs if your close relative or business partner in Australia is hospitalised or dies due to COVID-19 and you have to cancel your trip
  • Travel costs you or a member of your travelling party are permanently employed as a healthcare worker, residential care worker or law enforcement officer, and your or their pre-arranged leave is cancelled due to COVID-19
  • Costs to cover travel and accommodation if you’re unable to stay at your pre-booked accommodation due to it being closed for cleaning following a confirmed case of COVID-19
  • Costs for additional travel, meals and accommodation if you are denied boarding on your scheduled public transport due to you being suspected of having COVID-19
  • Travel, meals and accommodation costs if you or a member of your travelling party are confined to compulsory quarantine as a result of being diagnosed with COVID-19
  • Childcare costs if you’re unable to take care of your dependent children due to being diagnosed with COVID-19
  • Pet care costs in Australia if you’re unable to return home at your scheduled time due to COVID-19

There are some scenarios that are not covered by World Nomads including if you knowingly and intentionally come into close contact with someone who has COVID-19, if you travel against medical advice, or you travel knowing you already have COVID-19.

What policies does World Nomads offer?

World Nomads offers two insurance policies to travellers - the Explorer Plan and the Standard Plan.

Travel plane luggage passport

Explorer

Passport

Standard

The insurer of this product is Pacific International Insurance Pty Ltd. It comes with a cooling-off period of 21 days and choice of $100 standard excess for international plans.

Here's a breakdown of World Nomads Travel Insurance features

Standard features
Optional add-ons
Exclusions

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Standard features

These are some of the main insured events that World Nomads will cover. Some of these benefits may only apply on the Explorer Plan.

  • Emergency medical treatment
  • Emergency dental treatment
  • Lost, damaged or stolen property
  • Trip cancellation or amendment
  • Additional accommodation and transport
  • Theft of money
  • Luggage and travel delay
  • Theft or damage to your passport
  • Rental vehicle excess
  • Personal liability
  • Permanent total disability
  • Accidental death

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Optional add-ons

World Nomads also offers two add-ons that provide cover for a wider range of activities.

  • Adventure, Work, Study, & Volunteer - Level 2. Upgrade your policy to cover higher risk adventure sports and activities, non-manual and manual work, study and volunteer experiences.
  • Adventure, Work, Study, & Volunteer - Level 3. A further upgrade to cover the highest-risk activities, working environments, and study and volunteer experiences.

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Exclusions

Unfortunately, travel insurance doesn’t cover everything. Generally, World Nomads will not pay your claim if it relates to:

  • Unlawful, wreckless or unreasonably unsafe behaviour by you
  • Behaviour while you were drunk or under the influence of drugs
  • Expenses related to a pre-existing medical condition not automatically included on the policy
  • An act of war, invasion or revolution
  • Insolvency of a travel agent, tour operator or accommodation provider
  • An act of war, invasion or revolution
  • You being unfit to travel or travelling against medical advice
  • Childbirth or pregnancy complications after the 26th week of gestation or if you have had previous pregnancy complications
  • An elective medical or dental treatment, cosmetic procedure or body modification (including tattoos or piercing)
  • Self-inflicted injury or illness, suicide or attempted suicide

This is not an exhaustive list. Make sure you review the World Nomads PDS for a detailed breakdown of what won't be covered, found under its list of general exclusions.

How to make a World Nomads Travel Insurance claim

You can start your World Nomads claim online, from anywhere in the world.

Sign into World Nomads and submit your claim online. You’ll need to provide any supporting evidence relevant to your claim, such as medical reports, receipts, police reports, incident reports, repair quotes, and travel itineraries.

Here's the bottom line about World Nomads Travel Insurance

World Nomads is a great option for younger travellers heading on an adventurous trip. There’s protection for a range of high-risk activities that are often hard to find cover for.

You may need to upgrade your policy with one of the add-on options, but it’s easy to understand and all activities are clearly listed.

There’s also a broad range of protection for claims related to COVID-19 and cover for pregnancy is included up until the end of the 26th week.

However, World Nomads isn’t a good option for older travellers or anyone with a pre-existing medical condition. Other than the conditions included as standard, it’s not possible to apply for further cover, which will leave some travellers at risk.

Policies are also only available to under 70s, while many travel insurance brands don’t apply age limits to their policies.

If you're still not sure about World Nomads you can compare other travel insurance companies here.

Frequently asked questions

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Nicola Middlemiss is a journalist with nearly a decade of experience in personal finance and insurance. She has contributed to Domain, Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine and Insurance Business Australia, offering in-depth insights into commercial insurance in the Australian market. Nicola holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Leeds and a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification, which complies with ASIC standards. See full bio

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8 Responses

    tony's avatar
    tonyJanuary 28, 2016

    so how do i apply for WorldNomads insurance?? This website isn’t clear

      Richard Laycock's headshotFinder
      RichardJanuary 28, 2016Finder

      Hi Tony,

      Thanks for question. World Nomads in not one of the insurance brands that is part of our panel. You will need to go to their site directly to apply for cover.

      All the best,
      Richard

    Amber's avatar
    AmberJuly 12, 2015

    A family member has been suffering from cancer, when I booked my insurance the cancer was isolated and stable, now however it has spread and become terminal, and a emergency funeral visit may be on the cards in the near future.

    Will the travel costs of a return trip hope be covered under my basic policy?

    Thank you

      Richard's headshotFinder
      RichardJuly 13, 2015Finder

      Hi Amber,

      Thanks for your question and I’m sorry to hear about your situation. finder.com.au is a comparison service and not an insurer. Generally, your policy will not cover you if the cancellation is due to a preexisting condition. However, every provider is different, so it would be a good idea to contact your insurer directly.

      I hope this was helpful,
      Richard

    Sarah's avatar
    SarahJune 7, 2015

    Hi there,

    I am interested in getting world nomads travel insurance for a year long trip. I was wondering if it’s possible to purchase basic cover and then upgrade the adventure activity cover for just a short period. The reason I ask, is that most activities I will participate in are covered at level one, but it’s possible that I will participate in a level three activity at some point during the year for a week or so. I don’t really want to pay for level three cover for the whole year if I only need it for one week of that. So would it be possible to buy the additional adventure activity cover for just the period that I need it?

    Thanks,
    Sarah

      Richard's headshotFinder
      RichardJune 9, 2015Finder

      Hi Sarah,

      Thanks for your question. finder.com.au is a comparison service and we are not permitted to provide personalised advice. Additionally, we do not currently have access to Nomad Travel Insurance products. You may wish to contact them directly for clarification in this matter.

      Thanks,
      Richard

    Peter's avatar
    PeterJuly 16, 2014

    What cover can I get as I am 65 yrs old

      Shirley Liu's headshotFinder
      ShirleyJuly 16, 2014Finder

      Hi Peter,

      Thanks for your question.

      Nomad Travel Insurance doesn’t offer insurance to people aged 65 or over.

      If you’d like, you can compare alternative travel insurance options for over 65s.

      Cheers,
      Shirley

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