Trawick International Insurance Review

There are a few things that the best digital nomad insurance should always feature: coverage for multiple countries, decent healthcare claim limits and medical evacuation.

With these three things as a base, you can country-hop around the world, secure in the knowledge that if you fracture your ribs or catch COVID, you’ll be able to receive all necessary treatment without being lumped with huge bills.

Trawick International is one of the travel insurers that has nailed the trifecta. Supplying policies to people of all nationalities, they have several plans that are ideal for world travelers who find themselves in a new country every few months.

What Is Trawick International Insurance?

Trawick International travel insurance began life in 1998 as a company providing policies for students. They later expanded into the travel sector, greatly enlarging their portfolio to offer a mix of medical coverage and trip cancellation protection.

Their policies today range from study abroad plans to specialty cruise coverage – so, quite a broad spectrum! They also have policies specifically designed for people visiting the USA as well as policies for people who need to meet Schengen Visa eligibility requirements.

The ones that are the most interesting for digital nomads are their international medical plans, which provide a safety net that incorporates emergency treatment, political and natural disasters, and trip interruption.

Key Features & Coverage

One of the things that makes Trawick so attractive is the flexibility and diversity of their plans. For example, the company lets you choose what you want your maximum claim limit to be. That means that you can play with the figures to try and get the best possible deal – both in terms of price and in terms of coverage for your individual circumstances.

In this Trawick International insurance review, we’re going to laser in on two plans that are best positioned to suit digital nomads.

The first is Safe Travels International, which is for non-US citizens travelling outside the US. It comes in two flavors: the standard version and the Cost Saver, which shaves off some coverage to provide a cheaper plan. Both have a maximum term of 364 days.

The second is Safe Travels Outbound, which is for US citizens or residents travelling outside the US. This has a lower maximum term of 180 days.

Before we dig into the nitty gritty of these two plans, there is an additional Trawick option that any non-American digital nomads who plan to visit the US should have on their radar, simply titled Safe Travels USA. Annoyingly, this must be purchased separately from other policies, probably because US healthcare is so much more costly than pretty much anywhere else in the world. Nevertheless, it’s a necessary addendum if you have America on your travel itinerary.

Safe Travels International:

✅ Medical Coverage

• Emergency treatment is covered up to $50,000, $100,00, $250,000, $500,000 or $1,000,000, depending on the amount you choose during the application process. This includes physician fees, diagnostic X-rays, lab tests, ambulance services and a semi-private hospital room.
• Within the overall policy maximum, there’s also a limit of $25,000 for cardiac conditions, $250 for dental pain relief, and $50,000 to $250,000 for prescription drugs and medication.
• Pre-existing conditions are not covered, unless there is a sudden recurrence of a previously diagnosed illness that necessitates urgent care.
• Trawick has an optional sports activity add-on for the standard Safe Travels International policy that covers up to $50,000. This extends treatment if you suffer a mishap doing things like rowing, soccer or tennis, but doesn’t’ protect you for adventure sports like skiing, snowboarding or diving.
• Telemedicine consultations are thrown in as an added non-insurance benefit.

✅ Emergency & Evacuation Coverage

• Emergency medical evacuations are reimbursed for up to $1,000,000.
• Medically necessary repatriation is covered up to $15,000.
• One of the highlights of Trawick’s Safe Travels International plan is that natural disasters and political evacuations are covered as standard up to $10,000 and $25,000 respectively.
• ✅ Travel-Related Benefits
• Trip interruption is limited to $7,000, which can be used to pay the cost of a one-way economy ticket to return home if you need to end your holiday early for one of Trawick’s covered reasons.
• Up to $1,000 can be claimed for the purchase of necessary items if your luggage is lost.
• Trip delays are only covered by the standard Safe Travel International plan (not the Cost Saver), with a maximum benefit of up to $2,000 total ($150 per person per day). This can be upgraded to $4,000 ($300 per person per day) or $7,000 ($500 per person per day) for an additional fee.
• Trip cancellations are not covered by the plan, but you can purchase a separate policy for this feature.

✅ COVID-19 & Pandemic Coverage

• Medically necessary treatment necessitated by COVID-19 is covered up to your policy maximum with the standard Safe Travels International plan, but not with the Cost Saver version. To be honest, it’s pretty unusual for travel insurers not to cover COVID these days, and even though the Cost Saver is designed to be cheaper for budget travelers, this still seems like a benefit that should be included.

Safe Travels Outbound:

✅ Medical Coverage

• Emergency treatment is covered up to $50,000, $100,000, $250,000 or $500,000, depending on the amount you choose during the application process.
• Within the overall policy maximum, there’s also a limit of $500 for dental.
• Pre-existing conditions are covered if you have not experienced treatment or consulted a doctor about an issue within 180 days prior to the purchase of the plan.

✅ Emergency & Evacuation Coverage

• Emergency medical evacuations will be reimbursed for up to $500,000.
• Non-medical emergency evacuations are covered up to $25,000.

✅ Travel-Related Benefits

• Trip interruption is limited to $7,500, which can be used to pay the cost of a one-way economy ticket to return home if you need to end your holiday early for one of Trawick’s covered reasons.
• Up to $1,000 can be claimed for the purchase of necessary items if your luggage is lost, damaged or stolen.
• Any baggage delay of at least 24 hours that forces you to purchase necessities is covered up to $200.
• Trip delays of 12 hours or more are covered up to a maximum benefit of up to $2,000 total ($150 per day). This can be upgraded to $4,000 ($300 per day) or $7,000 ($500 per day) for an additional fee.
• Trip cancellations are not covered by the plan, but you can purchase a separate policy for this feature.

✅ COVID-19 & Pandemic Coverage

• Treatment for COVID-19 is covered like any other illness.

Pricing & Plans

There’s a lot of flexibility in the Trawick International plans, which makes giving a generic quote quite complex.

Like many US-based insurers, Trawick’s premiums are greatly affected by deductibles. For the Safe Travels International plan, you can choose between $0 and $5,000, while the Safe Travels Outbound plan only goes up to $2,500.

Just by way of example, a 32-year-old paying a $250 deductible on a Safe Travels International plan would pay $498.68 for 364 days, while upping the deductible to $5,000 would drop the premium to $298.48 – a difference of $200 a year.

Trawick International health insurance also allows you to select your maximum claim limit, from $50,000 up to $500,000 (Outbound) or $1,000,000 (International). This obviously affects the premiums as well. A claim limit of $50,000 on an International Cost Saver plan could cost a 32-year-old $950.04 for 364 days, while a $1,000,000 limit would raise the price to $1,168.44.

Then there’s the possibility of increasing the coverage for accidental death and dismemberment, trip delay or sports activities.

To illustrate the difference in price according to age, all the quotes below are based on having no add-ons, a $50,000 maximum health claim limit and $0 deductible. Just bear in mind that it’s possible to get cheaper deals with greater deductible or more comprehensive coverage at a higher price point.

Safe Travels International:

• Age 24. $800.80 for standard for 364 days (approximately $66.73 per month), $549.64 for Cost Saver (approximately $45.80 per month).
• Age 32. $950.04 for standard for 364 days (approximately $79.17 per month), $647.92 for Cost Saver (approximately $53.99 per month).
• Age 45. $1638 for standard for 364 days (approximately $136.5 per month), $1113.84 for Cost Saver (approximately $92.82 per month).
• Age 51. $2,846.48 for standard for 364 days (approximately $237.21 per month), $1932.84 for Cost Saver (approximately $161.07 per month).
• Age 66. $4,167.80 for standard for 364 days (approximately $347.32 per month), $2,828.28 for Cost Saver (approximately $235.69 per month).
• There’s a flat fee of $8.5 to increase your trip delay maximum to $4,000 ($300 per day) or $14 to increase your trip delay maximum to $7,000 ($500 per day.

Safe Travels Outbound:

• Age 24. $292.50 for 180 days (approximately $48.75 per month).
• Age 32. $343.98 for 180 days (approximately $57.33 per month).
• Age 45. $596.70 for 180 days (approximately $99.45 per month).
• Age 51. $1,034.28 for 180 days (approximately $172.38 per month).
• Age 66. $ 1516.32 for 180 days (approximately $252.72 per month).

How does pricing compare to competitors?

Trawick International is one of the cheapest options out there, which is what has driven quite a few travelers to purchase a policy. While the Cost Saver plan lives up to its name as the most affordable choice, the other plans are also competitively priced.

Pros & Cons of Trawick International

Pros

✅ Affordable pricing for long-term travelers
✅ Covers multiple countries with no need to update location
✅ Evacuation due to natural disasters and civil unrest included as standard

Cons

❌ Limited coverage for pre-existing conditions
❌ No adventure sports coverage
❌ No trip cancellation benefits

How to Sign Up & Use Trawick International

• Sign-up process:

1. On the Trawick homepage, click “Travel Plans” in the navigation bar, then select either “International Travel Medical Insurance for Outside the USA” or Travel Medical for US Citizens/Residents Outside the USA.”
2. Click “Get a Quote.”
3. Select your home country, destination and policy coverage period. Specify the number of travelers, supplying a date of birth for each, then click “Get a Quote.”
4. Choose your policy maximum and the amount of deductible, then select any upgrades that you want.
5. Enter your personal information, address and contact details.
6. Input your credit card info and complete your purchase.

• How to file a claim and get reimbursed:

1. On the Trawick homepage, click on “Claims” in the navigation bar, then select “Claims Forms” from the dropdown menu.
2. Enter your plan number and click “Search.” You should then see a list of claim forms and a link to an online portal where you can submit your claim digitally.
3. If you decide to use a claim form, you will need to fill out the details requested on the form, then send it to the supplied email address alongside any requested documentation, such as doctor reports or proof of trip payment.
4. If you decide to use the claim portal, you will need to submit the same information, just through an online form. Trawick works with different underwriters depending on your policy, so the exact process will differ based on your plan.
5. Trawick doesn’t provide an estimate for how long claims processing will take, but you can check on any updates using the MyTrawick portal.

• User experience:

It’s pretty easy to sign up for a plan, which is a plus. The website is prone to dropping connection and slow loading – more so than any other travel insurance site we’ve visited. While it’s clearly not mobile first, the website seems sufficiently optimized for smartphones, so no real complaints there.

The claims submission process is a bit clunky, mainly because Trawick don’t seem to have a dedicated portal for all claims processing. Instead, you get redirected down a funnel depending on your plan type.

Trawick International vs. Competitors

*To provide a more direct comparison with competitors, we’ve scaled all prices to be equal to roughly 1 month of coverage. Quotes vary based on age, trip duration, destinations and several other factors, so only treat this as a rough estimate.

Customer Reviews & Ratings

Trawick International is not winning any popularity contests. With a rating of 3.2 out of 5 on Trustpilot, it’s one of the lowest-reviewed travel insurance services around. People either love or loathe the company, with 68% rating them 5 stars and 26% giving them 1 star.

In Trawick’s defense, a lot of the complaints are directed at specific parts of their policies. Their cancel for any reason clause in particular has been very poorly received, with clients describing it as unclear and misleading.

Perhaps the biggest black mark against their name though is that they only bother to respond to less than half of negative reviews. Someone needs to get on the reputational management!

What people like:

• The clear explanation of benefits. Some people have highlighted how clear the coverage is on the Trawick website, while others have been equally positive about how effectively the customer service reps answer any queries.
• It’s easy to make changes to plans. Several customers have praised the efficiency of altering or correcting details after purchasing a policy.

What people don’t like:

• The difficulty of getting claims updates. All travel insurance companies come in for a fair bit of stick about their claims process, but Trawick has a particularly bad reputation for not keeping their customers in the loop about any progress.
• The slowness of payouts. Even when claims are approved, several reviewers have complained that it takes too long to receive reimbursement.

Who Should & Shouldn’t Use Trawick International?

• Recommended for → Budget-conscious nomads, country-hopping freelancers
• Not ideal for → Expats needing long-term healthcare, adventure sports enthusiasts

Final Verdict: Is Trawick International Worth It?

Trawick International offers broad, flexible packages at a good price point. That’s certainly nothing to be sneezed at! However, it clearly suffers from some reputational issues that might be off-putting for some customers.

Companies like SafetyWing, Insured Nomads and Allianz all have at least a 4 out or 5 on Trustpilot, so they might be a better option if you want to be reassured that you’re going to receive top-notch customer service.

Most of these, however, are significantly more expensive, so it might be a case of weighing up risk and reward before you decide on Trawick.

Sign up for Trawick International.