There’s a version of travel most of us picture when we’re planning a trip. Sun on our faces, backpacks stuffed with promise, and not a single thought about hospitals, clinics, or how hard it might be to find help if something goes sideways.

And then there’s the real version, the one that shows up without warning.

After more than twenty years traveling with kids in tow and often for months at a time, we’ve learned that things don’t just go wrong in theory. They go wrong in real life, and sometimes they go wrong spectacularly. We’ve had unexpected injuries abroad, illnesses that hit out of nowhere, and moments where we were standing in a foreign country thinking oh no, what now?

It’s in those moments that travel insurance stops feeling like a checkbox and starts feeling like the safety net it was always supposed to be. And it’s also the point where you notice a big truth that doesn’t always show up in brochures. Not all travel insurance is built for the way long term nomadic travelers actually move through the world.

Many popular travel insurance options are designed around short, fixed trips, which can leave gaps once you’re traveling for months or moving between countries.

This post looks at travel insurance from the perspective of lived through experiences. We’re talking real scenarios, real stress, and the kind of support that makes a bad travel day stay a story rather than turn into a nightmare. And we’ll look at why WorldTrips Atlas Nomad Insurance has become such a strong fit for travelers like us.

And we’ll look at how WorldTrips Atlas Nomad Insurance compares to other commonly used travel insurance options for travelers like us.

Because once you leave home for longer than a couple of weeks, you start playing, and paying, a different game.

Learn more about WorldTrips Atlas Nomad Insurance

Why travel insurance only really matters when real life shows up

Most people buy travel insurance because they think they’re supposed to. It’s tucked into the same part of the brain as extra passport photos and double checking whether the stove was turned off before you head out the door. You get it, hope you never need it, and assume it’ll be fine if something bad happens.

But travel has a way of handing you more than just the easy and fun things.

When you’re traveling for longer stretches, moving between countries, or settling into a place for a while, you take more chances. You walk strange streets. You try new food. You say yes to adventures. Your kids get excited and run ahead. And suddenly, the risks shift.

It’s not only lost luggage or a delayed flight. It’s medical care in a place where you don’t speak the language and they don’t speak yours. It’s needing treatment for something you can’t wait to sort out when you get home. It’s having no idea where to go or who to call at that exact moment you need answers fast.

This is where one of the big differences in travel insurance starts to show. Many policies are built around one type of journey. Fly out, stay somewhere familiar for a week or two, and come home. That can work perfectly well when the most complicated thing that happens is a missed connection or a sprained ankle on a beach.

But long term travel is not a neat seven day itinerary. Plans change. You add a new country on a whim. You stay longer because you like it. Instead of one destination, you might pass through five, ten, or twenty. The travel insurance that works great for a short vacation sometimes isn’t designed to stretch that far.

Over time, we learned that the kind of coverage you need for months abroad looks different than the kind you need for a weeklong holiday. It needs to be flexible when schedules shift. It needs to actually support you when something serious happens. And it needs to work in the real world, not just the ideal one.

We didn’t figure that out from reading thousands of insurance policy pages. We learned that by living it, sometimes the hard way, and by realizing how important it is to have insurance that won’t crumble when travel stops being carefree.

When things go wrong abroad

Travel teaches you quickly that the stories you bring home aren’t always the ones you planned. We’ve had our share of unforgettable adventures, but we’ve also had moments where everything stopped and we were forced to figure things out fast.

One of the latest wake up calls came in Mexico, where a group of stray dogs decided Charles looked like a tasty snack. One second he was walking back from a wedding, the next we were trying to decide whether he needed stitches and how to find a clinic that was open at 2am in the morning. We had no idea where to go, who to ask, or how serious the bites were. Standing in a dusty side street with blood running down his legs was a moment he won’t soon forget.

Years before, on a relaxed family trip in Greece, our son cut his ear in a playground. Kids fall all the time, but abroad even a simple cut turns into a rush of questions. Could we get it cleaned properly? Would a regular clinic take us? Was there a hospital nearby or would we need to travel? What would it cost if we walked in and didn’t know the system?

Besides for the blood, It wasn’t an incredibly dramatic injury on the big scale of things, but it did require a bunch of stitches and was a lot to juggle when we were dealing with a different language and none of our usual comfort zones. Did we mention that Greece was also in the middle of a country wide hospital shutdown emergency?

Thailand was harder. Micki got hit with a kidney infection that escalated quickly. In the space of two days she went from feeling off to needing treatment, and fast. Finding care in a place where you don’t speak the language while you’re shaking with fever is humbling. Doing it while on a remote island without even a clinic is even tougher. There’s nothing like trying to decipher symptoms, hospitals and an emergency boat ride while barely staying upright.

And then there was altitude sickness in Quito, Ecuador, when our daughter suddenly had a terrible headache. We weren’t prepared for how quickly it came on or how intense it could be. While we were giving her electrolytes and getting her to rest, we were simultaneously Googling the nearest clinic.

Add a foreign country and you’re managing panic, logistics, and the reality that your child needs care right now. It turned out to be a minor case of altitude sickness that resolved itself even before we needed the clinic, but for a while we were in full emergency mode.

These moments are burned into our memory not because they were the worst days we’ve had, but because each one reminded us how far from home we really were. When something goes wrong abroad, there’s a different level of fear, uncertainty, and urgency involved. You don’t know where to go, how to get help, or what the system even looks like.

Travel has always been worth the risk for us, but these experiences made something clear. Travel insurance isn’t just a line item on a planning checklist. It’s the piece that lets you keep going with confidence even when the unexpected shows up.

How WorldTrips Atlas Nomad Insurance fits real life travel

After enough years of travel, we stopped asking which insurance looked good on paper and started asking a different question.

Does this actually make sense for the way we travel?

That’s where WorldTrips Atlas Nomad Insurance started to stand out for us. It’s designed with long term and international travelers in mind, not just people heading off on a quick one week break.

Here are a few things that made it feel different from a lot of typical trip focused plans.

Learn more about WorldTrips Atlas Nomad Insurance

Built for longer, more flexible travel

Many travel insurance policies assume a classic pattern. You book a flight, stay somewhere for a short window of time, then fly home. That can work for a simple vacation, but it doesn’t always match how long term travelers move.

Atlas Nomad is created for people who are outside their home country for longer stretches and may be moving between destinations. That structure matters if you’re slow traveling, working remotely as you go, or not ready to commit to a tidy start and end date when you first leave.

Focused on medical needs while abroad

When something goes wrong overseas, medical care is usually the biggest concern. The stories that stick with us aren’t about delayed luggage. They’re the bites, cuts, breaks, infections, and altitude scares.

Atlas Nomad is a travel medical plan, which means its purpose is to help with unexpected illnesses and injuries while you’re away. Where some trip policies focus heavily on prepaid cancellation and lost bags, this one leans into support that long term travelers rely on most.

Designed for real world use

The moment you need help is rarely calm. You’re not at home with a laptop and time to read fine print. You’re on a street or in a hotel room weighing decisions fast.

That’s where the structure behind a plan becomes real. With Atlas Nomad, you’re not just buying numbers on a page. You’re getting access to a support system you can call on when something goes sideways in another country.

Compared broadly with more traditional policies, Atlas Nomad feels like it was designed for people who are out in the world more often and for longer, instead of for a once a year vacation.

Air Doctor telehealth access

One feature that really caught our attention with Atlas Nomad is access to the Air Doctor telehealth app.

If you’ve ever been sick abroad, you know sometimes the hardest part isn’t the illness, it’s the questions. Is this serious? Do I need a doctor right now? Where do I go? Can I wait and see how I feel tomorrow?

Air Doctor helps bridge that gap. Instead of guessing, you can connect with medical professionals while you travel and get guidance without immediately navigating clinics or hospitals on your own.

Many other travel insurance options don’t include any kind of telehealth access, which means you’re left guessing until you’re already sitting in a clinic.

For long term travelers, that kind of support can make a stressful moment feel manageable.

You’re in Thailand, running a fever, trying to judge whether you should get to a hospital. A conversation with a doctor through Air Doctor gives clarity fast.

Your child starts struggling with altitude sickness while in Quito. You don’t know if it’s mild or something more serious. A medical professional who understands travel cases can help you figure out your next step.

Or, you’re dealing with something minor and don’t want to spend half the day sitting in a foreign clinic if you don’t have to. Telehealth can help you assess your situation safely and often much quicker than standing in a long lineup.

Where some plans focus mainly on reimbursement after the fact, Atlas Nomad offers both coverage and an on the ground resource you can lean on, which isn’t something every travel insurance option includes. When you’re 10 thousand miles from home, that’s a nice thing to have handy.

Who WorldTrips Atlas Nomad Insurance is for

There’s no one size fits all answer when it comes to travel insurance. What works perfectly for someone taking a two week getaway might not make much sense for someone moving between countries for half the year.

Atlas Nomad is a strong match for travelers who:

• Stay abroad for longer stretches of time
• Move between multiple destinations instead of sticking to one
• Prefer slow travel and don’t always know how long they’ll stay
• Work or study remotely while outside their home country
• Want support focused on medical care rather than prepaid costs
• Care more about real world flexibility than rock bottom pricing
• Who like zero deductible plans with coverage up to $250,000 depending on plan selection
• Currently available for travelers between 14 days old and 69 years of age

This is very different from insurance companies that have plans designed primarily for short vacations with fixed dates and prepaid costs.

If your travel plans unfold over weeks or months instead of days, your needs are different. Atlas Nomad is designed to meet the kinds of trips that shift, stretch, and evolve as you go.

That said, it is limited in where it can be sold currently. As their site says: The Atlas Series is available to travelers who are at least 14 days old and traveling outside of their home country, unless physically located in the states of New York, Maryland, or Washington or in the countries of Canada or Australia at the time of purchase. In those cases, coverage may still be available as long as you’re already traveling when you purchase.

Travel with backup you can use

Every long term traveler eventually learns that things go wrong. It’s not a matter of if. It’s when, and how well you’re supported when it happens.

We’ve spent years collecting our favorite travel memories, but many of the lessons that shaped us came from the surprises. The kidney infection. The hospital run. The frantic search for help. And yes, the dogs in Mexico who will get talked about long after the 20+ needles for rabies Charles ended up getting fades into the background.

Those moments changed how we think about insurance. Not as something you buy to meet a requirement, but as something that sits quietly in the background until you need it.

WorldTrips Atlas Nomad Insurance feels like an option built for real travelers. The ones who stay longer. Move more freely. Change plans without warning. And occasionally need help faster than Google Translate can kick in.

You can check WorldTrips Atlas Nomad Insurance here and see if it fits the way you travel.

Learn more about WorldTrips Atlas Nomad Insurance

If you want a full breakdown, including how it stacks up against more traditional travel insurance plans, we’ve gathered everything in one place.

Travel will always come with risks. The right backup turns those surprises into stories you’ll tell for years.

Travel insurance can kill a travel budget for anyone. We feel the pinch especially hard, since we’re buying travel insurance for a family of four.

*** quotes and details updated in 2024! ****

When I searched high and low for Canadian travel insurance comparisons and reviews for our upcoming trip, I found absolutely nothing to help me compare prices and insurance for our personal travel insurance needs So I had to do hours of legwork to get the best prices and policies for our family, and I’ve shared them in this review.

For six months of travel, for a family of four, we got quotes ranging from $892.08 (but with only $250,000 in travel medical insurance) to an eye-watering $5,760 for worldwide travel medical insurance, including the USA.

Because everyone’s needs are different, we can’t tell you what travel insurance is right for you, or that one travel insurance company or travel insurance policy is better than another.

On top of that, prices and policies can change almost overnight, so do your own research.

This travel insurance review just lists the results we got when searching for travel insurance for our own family’s needs, at one point in time. All prices are in Canadian dollars, although some companies cover people all around the world.

In our search, we found that insurance almost always meant medical travel insurance, which included a set amount of coverage (usually one to five million dollars per person for travel accidents and illness).

Tip! Read the terms and conditions of policy wording and description of coverage to decide if the policy you choose is right for you. Insurance policy wordings can be subject to change at any time, without prior notice.

Many travel insurance packages that we looked at included coverage for baggage, trip cancellation, trip interruption and even emergency dental. We chose to only buy what we personally needed, and I think we saved a lot of money.

TuGo Travel Insurance

TuGo (formerly called Travel Underwriters) is one of Canada’s biggest travel insurance companies, and they surprised us with one of the best rates for our family.

To find more about TuGo travel insurance, click here.

• $1,627.11 for six months, for a family of four. The plan includes travel to the USA.
• $5 million emergency medical insurance.
• $300 USD deductible
• There was also an All Inclusive Holiday Package, for an eye-watering $5,760, that included:
  • a medical plan benefit limit of $5 million
  • 24-Hour Accident Benefit Limit $25,000.00
  • Air Flight/Common Carrier Benefit Limit $100,000.00
  • Baggage Benefit Limit $500.00
  • Sum Insured After Departure $25,000.00
• We could also get additional non-medical plans, including optional baggage coverage, car rental protection optional coverage (for $2,506), trip interruption, accidental death and dismemberment, or trip cancellation & trip interruption.

Heymondo Travel Insurance

Heymondo travel insurance covers people worldwide, regardless of residency. You can get 24/7 worldwide assistance, with medical expenses coverage of up to 10 million USD. There are no deductibles or out-of-pocket expenses. There’s even a Heymondo app with a 24 hour medical chat and free emergency assistance calls. Heymondo is the first travel insurance company to offer a travel assistance APP worldwide.

You can see our Heymondo review here.

I really loved how easy it was to get a quote with Heymondo. I just selected the type of insurance (regular or annual multi-trip), chose my country of residence and destination, start and end dates, number of travellers, and email, and BOOM, my quote appeared on the screen. There was no need to painstakingly enter birthdates and names for each of the four of us, which I LOVED!

• For worldwide, excluding USA insurance, the cost for Heymondo Medical was a really competitive $1,680.10 USD ($420.02 USD/traveler)
• There is no deductible!
• That included a whopping $10 million USD emergency medical and dental expenses overseas. PLUS medical transport and repatriation home. The medical transport and repatriation home is a big deal to me, because if something really serious happens, I’d want to be transported back to Canada.
• You can also get insurance for worldwide, including the United States. For that, Heymondo Medical insurance was $2,082.42 USD, or $520.60 USD/traveler. That included $10 million USD emergency medical and dental expenses overseas, and medical transport and repatriation home.

Click here now to find out more about Heymondo travel insurance.

You can also get Heymondo premium insurance, which includes everything Heymondo Medical offers, plus different levels of insurance for baggage, travel disruption, cancellation and interruption. There’s also optional electronic, adventure sports, and cruise insurance.

One thing I personally really like about Heymondo is that you can buy insurance for a minimum of 90 days, even if your trip has already begun, and renew if you need.

SafetyWing

SafetyWing is a (relative) new comer to the travel insurance space.

SafetyWing insurance specializes in expat travel health insurance (called Remote Health Insurance), and global travel medical insurance (called Nomad Insurance), which we think is a great option for longer term travelers.

There’s one huge catch for SafetyWing insurance, though, and it’s a big one for Canadians.

SafetyWing won’t sell Canadians travel insurance while you’re physically located in Canada. You can cross the border in any way and buy insurance immediately when you have left Canada.

However, it’s the perfect choice if you’ve already left Canada and forgot to buy travel insurance, or you want to buy better coverage.

SafetyWing Insurance is available to anyone from any home country in the world (unless your home country is Iran, Syria, North Korea or Cuba, or if you have Cuba as your citizenship).

The base price for insurance is $56.28 for four weeks of coverage, not including coverage in the USA. That’s for one person, aged 18-39 years.

• A quote for one person for for six – four week periods (approx. six months) was $554.4 for six months, NOT including coverage in the USA.
• For all four of us, the cost was $892.08 for six – four week periods (approx. six months), NOT including coverage in the USA.
• A quote for all four of us for six- four week periods, which included coverage in the USA, was $1658.16.
• $250,000 medical travel insurance

Visit SafetyWing now to learn more.

TD Meloche Monnex

We signed up with TD Meloche Monnex: Wide Horizons Solution on our last six month trip though Costa Rica, Mexico, Florida and Texas. Although we didn’t have to make a claim, their customer service was extremely professional and patient when answering all of my questions about the quote.

• Several years ago, we paid $947.80 for six months, for a family of four. Since we had home insurance with Meloche, we got a good discount on the premium.
• In 2024, I got an online quote for $2,434.40. That included $5 million for emergency medical expenses and 24/7 emergency assistance

Best Quote Travel Insurance

Tip: Lately, we’ve been trying Canadian-owned Best Quote Travel Insurance for our quotes. It’s owned by Canadian financial advisor Bob Hornal, and his deep understanding of travel insurance in Canada shows.

Find out more about Best Quote Travel Insurance now

RATESDOTCA (formerly Kanetix)

RATESDOTCA) is on online insurance quote consolidator. It lets me compare a number of travel insurance companies side by side.  They do all sorts of insurance, including home, auto, and tenant’s insurance.

Rates we found on RATESDOTCA were:

• For travel not including the USA:
  • MSH International, $1,106.22, Canuck Voyage Single Trip, $7 million medical travel insurance, $0 deductible
  • Allianz Global Assistance, $1,130.21, Single Trip NonUSA, $10 million travel medical insurance, $0 deductible
  • Destination Travel Group Inc., $1,389.04, The Destination: Travel Leisure Plan, $5 million travel medical insurance, $0 deductible
• For travel including the USA:
  • MSH International, $1,471.38, Canuck Voyage Single Trip, $7 million medical travel insurance, $0 deductible
  • Allianz Global Assistance, $1,550.14, Single Trip USA, $10 million travel medical insurance, $250 deductible
  • Destination Travel Group Inc., $1,389.04, The Destination: Travel Leisure Plan, $5 million travel medical insurance, $0 deductible

BMO

BMO travel insurance is one of Canada’s biggest names in travel insurance, so I thought I’d try them out. From their website, I think you can only buy travel insurance with them if you’re a BMO customer.

• $1,809.54 for six months insurance for a family of four.
• $5 million medical liability.
• No trip cancellation, interruption or flight delay coverage.

What if you’re taking a short trip?

For trips of 60 days or less, you may already have coverage through a credit card with medical travel insurance perks. These often offer trip cancellation and interruption, along with baggage insurance. For Canada travel insurance, the cards we looked at were Scotiabank and BMO.

Note: If you decide to use only your credit cards built in travel insurance, make sure that you’re covered for the duration of your trip (you can often extend coverage for an additional fee) and that you qualify since some cards that include travel insurance have specific riders that might not cover you if you fall outside of their policies parameters.

Baggage coverage and personal effects coverage

Baggage coverage insures your bags while in transit (in airplanes, though this may extend to buses and taxis).

Personal effects coverage covers your belongings anywhere, on any portion of your trip. This sounds nice in theory, but I found that most policies had some serious exclusions.  They would only cover losses with a police report (makes sense, but a police report can be pretty damn hard to get in a lot of countries).  On top of that, most policies would not insure belongings that were unattended. That means that if your wallet is stolen from your beach chair while you’re body surfing, you’re out of luck. No coverage.

Even more important, most policies wouldn’t cover loss or theft of computers, cameras, or cell phones, or jewelry. Seriously. The only expensive things that most people travel with aren’t covered.

Here’s a little trick, though. If you have insurance on your home or tenant’s insurance, then your belongings might be covered on your trip. Usually there’s a limit (around 10% of the total coverage on your original policy), and your deductible applies to any claims while travelling.

Trip cancellation and interruption generally only cover the portion of your trip that you buy before you leave. Not especially useful for us, since we’re only buying a one-way ticket to Mexico before we leave, and the rest of our tickets will be bought once out of Canada. Not having a set itinerary means that we’ll buy onward legs (by plane, train, car, taxi, water taxi, ferry, cruise liner, or bus) as we need them. I couldn’t find a single travel insurance policy that would cover purchase of additional legs once we left home. Trust me, I tried. And tried.

A lot of Canada travel insurance reviews don’t mention this, but it’s important: If you’re gone for more than six months, ensure you get a written extension from your provincial health care plan (this applies only to Canadians).

Checklist for travel insurance:

• What is the amount of liability you cover?
• Is trip cancellation or trip interruption insurance covered?
• Is there a refund available for unused amount?
• What is the deductible?
• Do you offer a medical service assist, e.g., can you help me find a doctor or hospital?
• Is the policy good worldwide, including the USA?
• Can I top up my insurance once I’ve left on my trip?
• Can I buy my initial insurance after I’ve left on my trip?

Are you already overseas? Check out this post to learn how to get travel insurance if you’re already abroad!