As I flew from Dallas to Tokyo a few weeks ago, I paid little attention when an announcement came over the loudspeaker just after the meal service, requesting the assistance of a doctor. This happens often—and, so far in my life as a traveler, has never had any after-effects.
Unfortunately, my luck changed that evening. Within an hour, the plane had made an emergency medical diversion to Anchorage where, because the cantankerous crew had “timed out,” myself and 200+ other passengers had to spend an unplanned night. We would end up arriving in Tokyo nearly 24 hours late.
At the time of the diversion, I was stressed and annoyed, but not worried: I had travel insurance. Unfortunately, as my World Nomads review is about to explain, my policy was as worthless as the PDF file it was written into.
I Did Everything Right—and World Nomads Still Denied My Claim
I’m now ashamed to admit that I’ve bought World Nomads travel insurance for at least a dozen trips. On basically all of them until now (which, by sheer luck, went exactly as planned), I didn’t think about my policy after I paid my premium—I never needed to use it. Even this time, after my trip was interrupted through no fault of my own, I figured that if I just followed the instructions precisely, approval of my claim would follow quickly and easily.
Unfortunately, this simply didn’t occur. Initially, World Nomads asked for minor clarification, suggesting that if I just furnished a couple of documents (namely, written confirmation from the airline that my flight had in fact diverted), it would reimburse me for a nonrefundable hotel night in Tokyo, and for a domestic flight I had to buy at full fare to replace the one I ended up missing. Instead, they furnished me with a flat denial, with little explanation apart from “because we said so.”
5 Ways World Nomads Fails
They oversell
Judging by the World Nomads website, you would think its insurance was a miracle product. They make it seem like all you need to do is buy your plan and, in the unlikely event that something goes wrong, let them know about it and they’ll make it right. It’s also seemed a bit too good to be true, if I’m honest, but I never paid that any mind in the past.
They underdeliver
Unfortunately, I quickly realized upon submitting my documents that my World Nomads trip interruption policy might not be worth the paper it was written on. As I’ve already explained, they quickly denied my claim, in spite of me providing clear evidence that American Airlines interrupted my trip through no fault of my own.
They work through a shady third-party company
I say “they”—in other words, World Nomads—but I’m actually referring to TripMate, the third-party company that handles all claims. I got a shady impression from every step of the process from TripMate, from the lo-fi website, to the strangely casual way associates would reply to my emails, to the fact that they seem to have nothing to do with World Nomads itself.
There is no credible appeals process
Is World Nomads worth it? Well, not if you actually want to be compensated for incidents that befall you during your trip. In my case, the TripMate representative told me that I had the right to appeal their decision. The problem? They wanted “additional” evidence, which was impossible: I’d already provided all the documents they requested, and then some.
They’ve flooded the internet with propaganda
If I had found World Nomads via a Google search and bought a policy (at this point, multiple policies) from them sight unseen, I could own my mistake and easily move on from it. Unfortunately, they’ve been paying colleagues of mine to promote their products for years. And they still are: You have to search very hard to find any negative press about them.
Would World Nomads Come Through in a Life-or-Death Emergency?
In the grand scheme of my business as a travel blogger, the ~$400 I’m out because World Nomads denied my claim is minuscule. It accounts for less than 10% of what I spent on that particular trip, and less than 1% of what I spend in all of 2025. If I had purchased my policy primarily with the intention of being reimbursed due to delay or cancellation, I’d be disappointed, but not devastated.
Of course, these aren’t the main reasons I bought travel insurance—I bought it as a way to ensure life-saving care in the event of a catastrophe, or transport away from the site of a hypothetical disaster in the event that medical professionals there could not save my life. If I’m honest, I now doubt whether World Nomads would approve my claim in a life-or-death situation. And, as a result, will no longer be purchasing plans from them.
Other FAQ About World Nomads Travel Insurance
How does World Nomads compare to other providers?
World Nomads talks a big game, but both oversells and underdelivers. On a recent trip, I assumed that would reimburse me for hotel and flight costs incurred as a result of a trip interruption that was entirely the fault of the airline. Instead, they denied my claim flatly with no explanation. I can only hope that companies like Allianz and SafetyWing offer a superior product and service!
Does World Nomads cover medical emergencies?
In theory, World Nomads will cover you in the event of a medical emergency. In practice, however, I have my doubts. They recently denied a clear-cut trip interruption on a trip I took, and provided no explanation and no realistic option for appeal. It’s not hard to imagine that they would leave a seriously injured traveler bruised, battered and holding the bag.
Does World Nomads have a deductible?
US travelers using a World Nomads policy don’t need to pay a deductible in the case of emergency medical care—assuming their claim gets approved at all. Unfortunately, my own experience using World Nomads to try and seek compensation for a cut-and-dry trip interruption suggests that denial is much more likely than approval.
The Bottom Line
I don’t like to talk smack on this blog, but my World Nomads review is essential reading if you’re considering a policy with these folks. In addition to denying a claim for a covered reason and for which I provided swift and comprehensive documentation, World Nomads is just downright shady. They require you to file claims via a mysterious third-party website, and although that offer an appeals process in theory, it is as useless in practice as their insurance policies themselves. World Nomads failed me in the case of a simple trip interruption; I shudder to think how screwed they would’ve left me had my life been in danger. Whether you’re headed to Japan, Jamaica or Jordan, I’d recommend avoiding these shysters.
