Travel insurance: my recommendations
Traveling around the world with insurance is essential. I was one of those who was not sure about it when I was younger, and in fact I sometimes traveled without insurance (!), but when I saw the hospital bill in Canada where my mother had surgery after breaking her leg, I had no doubts: you don't mess around with these things (thank goodness she had insurance). It doesn't matter if nothing has ever happened to you: we can all have an accident at the least expected moment. In addition, they also include coverage for loss or theft.
Therefore, I am clear: yes, we must take out insurance for traveling. But which one should we choose? Which one can we trust? Which one is cheaper? Which one has the best features?
After so many years on the road and having tried several options, the ones I recommend the most are IATI SEGUROS (Spain) and GO! ASSISTANCE (Argentina), for which I also offer a discount. Both have different policies, very good benefits and excellent customer service. I am satisfied with the experience. In addition, both have plans that include our dogs, to take them to the vet in case something happens to them, which we dog travelers greatly appreciate. But let's look at them in more detail.
IATI SEGUROS
One of the most renowned and reliable travel insurance companies in Spain, partly due to its long history and partly due to the network of travelers and collaborators that supports them. It offers the best coverage on the market, with a wide range of plans. I have travelled with them on several occasions, including a year in Africa (from Morocco to Cameroon) and I am very happy with the service. In addition, if you travel with a dog, IATI is one of the few companies that have a policy that also covers pets. Its strong points (information as of 2025):
Coverages
Depending on your budget, destination and trip duration, there will be policies that best suit you. From IATI Básico or IATI Escapadas for short trips around Spain or Europe, to IATI Grandes Viajeros for a trip lasting several months (up to a year), or even a trip around the world.
These are the IATI policies and the type of trip for which they are most recommended: IATI Escapadas, for trips around Spain and Europe; IATI Básico, short trips to destinations considered safe and where healthcare is not expensive, for example Southeast Asia (medical coverage of 50,000 euros); IATI Estándar, trips of up to three months if you want to have very good medical coverage (300,000); IATI Estrella, trips of several months to destinations where healthcare is more expensive, such as the USA, Canada or Australia, or which include adventure sports (1,000,000); IATI Mochileros, adventure trips as a “backpacker” or if you plan to do risky sports/activities (500,000); IATI Grandes Viajeros, trips of six months to a year (300,000); IATI Familias, trips with minors under 18 years of age, with telephone pediatric care.
You can see all the options with a 5% discount here.
Customer service
Customer service is good, both when it comes to managing queries and assistance at a medical centre and with regard to refunds. I'll tell you a little about the first, which is the most important.
If you have a travel emergency, you can contact them by phone, email or WhatsApp (they have 24-hour emergency contacts). I recommend WhatsApp if you have internet access. If it's not too urgent, contact IATI so they can refer you to a hospital they have an agreement with. However, if it's an urgent emergency, go to the hospital as quickly as possible. Later, contact IATI to explain what happened and the hospital where you were treated, so they can take care of all the paperwork and payment (or reimbursement if you have already paid).
All the contact details for IATI will be included in your policy, but I'll leave them here as well:
IATI ARAG
Emergency WhatsApp (24/7): +34 673885576
Permanent telephone attention: +34 934857735
IATI Refund Department mail: iati@arag.es
IATI AXA
Permanent telephone attention: 34 932142208
Refunds: iati.reembolsos@axa-assistance.es
No need to advance money
One of the biggest advantages, characteristic of the most serious insurances: if you have an accident during your trip you will not have to pay money in advance, as they take care of everything. But if you have to pay in advance for an emergency, they will reimburse you. Don't worry, IATI covers 100% of cases of medical emergencies.
Possibility of taking out insurance while en route
There are many insurance companies that do not allow you to take out (or even renew) your policy while you are travelling. IATI allows you to do so from anywhere in the world, without having to be in your country of origin.
Dogs
IATI includes our fellow dogs in case they need veterinary care at some point. However, for the moment (2025) only in the IATI Escapadas plan, a policy for travelling around Europe and nearby countries such as Morocco, Tunisia or Turkey. I hope they expand it to other destinations and policies very soon. They would gain a lot of dog-loving public!
And that's all for IATI. Take a look at their different plans through this link, with which you get a 5% discount.
GO! ASSISTANCE
This insurance, less known in Spain (but very popular in Argentina), also has many policies, covering both major and minor coverages. Unlike most insurance companies, GO! ASSISTANCE offers some very affordable plans, which is why I recommend it especially to backpackers and budget travelers.
I traveled with it for three years in Asia and currently in Africa (the second year of travel). They have always been interested in my health when I have contacted them and have acted quickly. The strengths of this travel insurance (year 2025):
Low price
It surely has the cheapest prices on the market. For example, you can find plans for €350-€400 to travel around the world for a year, when the competition's plans don't go below €700 or €800. A very affordable one that I have used on my trips is the GO! ADVENTURE policy. It is true that the coverage may be small in the opinion of many ($60,000), but you can also take out a policy with greater coverage, such as the GO! SMART ($80,000), the GO! NOMADS ($150,000) or the GO! PRIORITY ($200,000).
You can see all the options with a 5% discount here.
Customer service
Good and fast. They respond immediately, they are interested in your health and problems in the destination country and they tell you what documentation they need to help you find a health center or hospital, as well as when it comes to making a refund.
Although it is an Argentine company, it has very good connections with Spain. In fact, it has a contact telephone number in Spain. The contracted policy contains the details of telephone numbers and emails to contact in case of queries and emergencies, but I will leave them here for you as well:
Emergency WhatsApp (24/7): +54 91131246261
Contact phone number Argentina: +54 (11) 52187034
Contact phone number Spain: +34 (91) 1516779
Support email: asistencias@goassistance.com
Refunds: reembolsos@goassistance.com
No need to advance money
Just like IATI, this is one of the biggest advantages of GO! ASSISTANCE: if you have an accident during your trip, you won't have to pay money in advance, as they will take care of everything. But if you have to pay in advance for an emergency, they will reimburse you. Don't worry, GO! ASSISTANCE covers 100% of medical emergencies.
Possibility of taking out insurance while en route
You can take out insurance while you are outside your country of origin, something that many insurance companies do not allow you to do. For example, I renewed it while I was in India and I have also taken it out from Cameroon. A great advantage for travelers who spend years on adventures (normally the maximum that you can take out insurance for is 365 days) and for those people who decide to extend it while traveling.
Dogs
It is one of the few insurance policies currently that includes our dogs (and cats), and listen carefully (!) without destination restrictions. Unfortunately there are age requirements (up to 8 years) and it only covers one animal per person. Including our four-legged friends is something new and GO! ASSISTANCE informs me that they are working on it because they are aware of the importance they have for us. You can choose different policies that range from small coverages of a few hundred euros to higher ones: GO! ADVENTURE right now covers up to 200 dollars, GO! SMART 300, GO! NOMAD 800 and GO! PRIORITY reaches 1000. In addition, there is a specific plan for our buddies called GO! PET that covers 10,000 dollars. The only thing is that this plan has low coverage for people, so it would have to be combined with another…
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