Travel Insurance Guide: How We Use Visitor Coverage

Vincent got sick in Singapore and Malaysia on a trip where we did not have travel insurance. We had no idea what to do. That was the last time we traveled without it.

For our multi-country trip to South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, we bought two separate policies and went through the full process on camera. This guide covers everything: why we use Visitor Coverage, what we actually purchased, and how to quote, compare, and buy step by step.

Disclosure: We are not sponsored by Visitor Coverage but have an affiliate link. If this guide is helpful, using the link supports the channel.

Compare travel insurance plans on Visitor Coverage

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Why Visitor Coverage

Visitor Coverage is a platform that aggregates multiple insurance companies in one place. Instead of going to one insurance company and taking whatever they offer, you can compare plans from different providers side by side. This makes it easier to find the right coverage for your budget.

The platform offers several types of coverage. The ones most relevant to international travel are:

We personally bought the first two for this trip.

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What We Bought and Why

International Travel Medical Insurance

This is the core coverage. If you get sick or injured abroad, this covers your medical expenses.

We have used this for previous trips to Mexico. For the Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan trip, we bought it again because we were going for nearly a month across multiple countries, and we had already learned the lesson in Malaysia.

Trip Insurance

This is the second layer: financial protection if something goes wrong with the trip itself (not your health). Flight cancellations, delays, missed connections, lost luggage, trip interruption.

We do not usually buy this one. This trip was different because:

• We had multiple flights booked across three countries
• Korea had airport worker strikes happening at the time
• More flights means more chances for something to go wrong

If you are taking a simple round trip, trip insurance may not be necessary. If you have a complex itinerary with tight connections or any political/labor instability at your destination, it is worth considering.

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How to Get a Quote: Step by Step

Option 1: AI Quote Assistant

Visitor Coverage has an AI tool that lets you describe your trip in natural language. You can say something like "I am traveling to South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan from November 1 to 30, I want medical coverage and device protection, I am 28 years old" and it will generate a high-level quote with options.

Useful for a quick estimate. For the actual purchase, we prefer the manual process because you can see more detail.

Option 2: Manual Quote (Our Preference)

For International Travel Medical Insurance:

1. Click the coverage type on the Visitor Coverage homepage
2. Select your primary destination (the country you will spend the most time in)
3. Add additional destinations if traveling to multiple countries
4. Enter traveler ages and citizenship
5. Enter travel dates (exact departure and return dates)
6. Choose any add-on benefits you want:
   • Device protection: covers phone and laptop if lost or stolen. Worth adding if you are bringing expensive equipment.
   • Return to home country: covers medical evacuation back home if needed. Important if you are doing any high-risk activities like skydiving, snorkeling, or extreme sports.
7. Set your deductible. We set ours to zero — no deductible means you pay nothing out of pocket when filing a claim.
8. Sort results by lowest price
9. Select up to 3 plans and click Compare

The comparison view highlights differences between plans. Look carefully at:

• Maximum coverage limit (we chose $50,000 for this Asia trip; this may not be enough for more expensive medical countries like Switzerland or the US)
• Pre-existing condition coverage
• Outpatient coverage
• Doctor visit coverage

For Trip Insurance:

1. Select Trip Insurance on the homepage
2. Enter your home state (in the US)
3. Enter non-refundable trip cost in USD per person. This directly affects your premium. Higher trip cost = more expensive insurance.
4. Enter number of travelers and ages
5. Enter your initial trip deposit date (only relevant if you want "cancel for any reason" coverage)
6. Enter travel dates
7. Optional add-ons to consider:
   • Cancel for any reason (raises price)
   • Interruption for any reason (raises price)
   • Rental car damage coverage (worth it if you are driving)

Look at the key coverage columns when comparing:

• Trip delay reimbursement
• Missed connection coverage
• Emergency medical evacuation
• Rental car damage

We chose iTravelInsured SC because it included rental car damage, since Vincent was planning to drive in Korea. The price was slightly higher but reasonable for two people.

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Important: Timing Rules

You cannot purchase travel insurance on the same day as your departure. Most policies require at least one day in advance, and some require two or more days. If your flight is tomorrow and you are reading this now, you may still be able to purchase for a trip starting the day after tomorrow.

For "cancel for any reason" coverage, the date you made your initial trip deposit also matters for whether you qualify. Check the specific policy terms.

Our recommendation: buy travel insurance when you book your flights. It is one less thing to do later, and you are more likely to qualify for the broadest coverage.

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After You Purchase

You will receive an email confirmation with your policy ID. You can log in to Visitor Coverage to:

• View all active and past policies
• Download your insurance ID card, cover letter, and visa letter (sometimes required for certain visa applications)
• Add your insurance ID card to Apple Wallet
• Review cancellation and refund terms
• Access the claim filing link

Cancellation policies vary by plan. Two examples from our experience:

• Some plans offer 100% refund if cancelled before the effective date with no cancellation fee
• iTravelInsured SC offered a 10-day free look period: full refund if you cancel within 10 days of purchase

Read the cancellation policy before you travel in case you need to switch plans.

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Filing a Claim

The claim link is in your policy dashboard on Visitor Coverage. It will direct you to the insurance company's own claim portal (like IMG for example). You create an account, enter your policy number, and describe your situation.

We filed claims after Vincent got injured in Mexico. The response was reasonably quick and the process was straightforward. Your experience may vary by insurance company, but we did not have issues.

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Our Recommendation

For international trips, at minimum get the International Travel Medical Insurance. It is not expensive and it provides serious peace of mind if something goes wrong medically.

Add the Trip Insurance if:

• You have multiple connecting flights
• Your destination has any instability (strikes, weather, etc.)
• You have high non-refundable costs already paid

Use Visitor Coverage because comparing multiple plans side by side in one place is genuinely faster than going to individual insurance companies.

Compare plans on Visitor Coverage