Work and Travel

Table of contents

Working while traveling is a great way to travel for a long time without breaking the bank. There are always jobs you can do as a traveler. Be it; fruit picking, waiting tables, cleaning hostels or working in an office.

However, just like at home there is always something that can go wrong during your time abroad. Such as sickness, accidents, stolen luggage and of course things that can go wrong back home. If you have the right travel insurance it will help you financially and offer help when you need it. On this page you can read how you can make sure you’re properly insured during your time abroad.

1.Why Travel Insurance?

  • A crucial part for a carefree journey is a good travel insurance.
  • The chance of getting injured or ill is generally a little bit higher than when you would have stayed at home. The medical care you will need can be very expensive, even more so if you are treated in a private clinic.
  • If you have fly back because of family circumstance, the flights might be more expensive because you have to fly on short notice.
  • You might have to deal with the damage, loss or theft of your luggage.
  • In case of emergency it can be difficult to figure out what to do. A good travel insurance will have an assistance team on standby for you 24/7 and will be able to tell you what steps to take.

2.Why should you take out specialized travel insurance for a long trip abroad?

  • Regular travel or health insurances often only cover trips for a maximum number of days (for example 60, 90 or 180 days). This limits your flexibility!
  • Your health insurance from back home may not offer any coverage abroad or only in specific hospitals.
  • During a long trip you might undertake (unforeseen) special activities like paid work or volunteering. Regular travel insurances usually don’t cover these kind of activities. The same goes for adventurous sports like skydiving, scuba diving and bungee jumping.

3.Why insure specifically as a volunteer or intern abroad?

  • Volunteer projects, foundations, NGOs and local companies typically don’t have suitable insurance. Even if they do, it might only be valid during your time at work and not during your day trips.
  • Regular travel insurances often don’t cover volunteering abroad or your work as an intern
  • Volunteer work, temporary work and internships often involves doing work for which you are not trained or have little experience doing. This might result in a higher chance for accidents and liability claims

4.Is it wise to take out a health insurance in the country I visit?

Sometimes it might be possible to take out local health insurance if you start working in a country. Read more about the pro's and con's of taking out a local health insurance

5.Selecting the right work & travel insurance