Freely Journey Insurance coverage Assessment

Posted 5/24/24 | Might twenty fourth, 2024

I by no means depart residence with out journey insurance coverage. After over 15 years on the highway, I’ve realized firsthand how vital it’s. Not solely has it helped me cope with misplaced baggage, canceled flights, and medical emergencies, nevertheless it’s helped numerous associates and readers of my weblog too.

Nevertheless, journey insurance coverage is a boring matter to examine. No person likes evaluating plans and studying insurance policies. Myself included. It’s the least thrilling a part of journey planning.

Fortuitously, it’s by no means been simpler to discover a plan and coverage that fits your wants and price range. Increasingly corporations are making it quick and easy to get a quote, join a plan, learn the wonderful print, and make a declare.

A type of corporations is Freely.

What’s Freely?

Freely is a journey insurance coverage firm and security app. Like many insurance coverage corporations, it supplies protection so that you will be made complete ought to one thing occur (for a coated purpose) when you’re on the highway. Its base plan contains all of the necessities I search for in an insurance coverage coverage, together with emergency medical care, emergency evacuation protection, journey interruption, misplaced baggage, and 24/7 help.

However Freely does just a few issues in a different way too.

Freely retains its base coverage reasonably priced by not together with extra protection that you simply won’t want. However you may improve, for instance, to get additional protection to your gear in case you’re bringing invaluable electronics or sporting tools with you. This can be a massive plus since most vacationers convey a cellphone or laptop computer with them (typically each).

With most different plans, your gear is simply coated as much as $500 USD per merchandise. Freely permits you to add on to your plan to cowl your gear as much as $1,500 USD per merchandise.

However what’s actually helpful (and distinctive) is Freely’s Every day Increase complement.

Every day Boosts are insurance coverage add-ons for belongings you received’t want on daily basis, equivalent to protection to go snowboarding, lease a automobile, or go skydiving. Paying for these add-ons solely once you want them (on a day-by-day foundation) ensures that your coverage as a complete stays cheaper — however you get the protection you want once you want it.

For instance, snow or journey actions price simply $1 USD per day, whereas rental automobile protection is $15 USD per day (pricing varies by state). If you happen to solely are going snowboarding for just a few days of your journey or received’t be renting a car to your whole trip, the day by day increase ensures you aren’t paying for what you don’t want.
 

What Does Freely Cowl?

Freely insurance policies have a fairly wide selection of protection. Presently, plans embrace protection for the next:

Emergency Medical Bills
That is a very powerful part of any insurance coverage plan. It’s what’s going to come into play for those who fall down some stairs and break a leg or are hospitalized since you get hit by a automobile, get sick, and many others. In brief, for those who’re despatched to a hospital or physician, that is what gives you emergency medical protection.

I all the time advocate vacationers have not less than $100,000 USD in protection as a result of hospital payments add up quick. Freely gives $500,000 USD in protection on the bottom plan. That’s a excessive restrict and might cowl you for every little thing the highway throws your approach.

Emergency Evacuation and Repatriation
Medical and emergency evacuations will be extremely costly. These could be required for those who get injured whereas climbing and have to be airlifted to the hospital, or if it’s important to be repatriated to your house nation.

Incidents like these can price upwards of $250,000 USD, which is sufficient to bankrupt most vacationers. Fortuitously, Freely’s base coverage covers as much as $1,000,000 USD for emergency evacuations. That’s greater than a number of different insurance coverage corporations supply do you have to want an emergency evacuation.

Emergency Dental Expense
I all the time admire journey insurance coverage insurance policies that cowl emergency dental care. Freely gives $1,000 USD for emergency protection on its base plan. This doesn’t imply you may go get a dental check-up you probably have a cavity or desire a cleansing, however slightly that you simply’ll have the ability to see a dentist do you have to expertise an unexpected emergency or sudden ache whereas in your journey.

Unintended Demise and Dismemberment
No person needs to consider the worst-case situation of dying on the highway (I positive don’t) however figuring out that your insurance coverage coverage can cowl these eventualities gives a number of peace of thoughts. For instance, the coverage pays $50,000 USD for unintentional dying, which (to not get too morbid) will doubtless be useful to your family members ought to the worst happen.

Journey Interruption
Whenever you miss a part of your journey or need to return residence early attributable to eligible unexpected circumstances (equivalent to sickness or harm), Freely will reimburse you as much as 150% of the price of the journey. Contemplating how typically flights are delayed and the way typically a pure catastrophe happens, this can be a strong addition and one thing not a number of reasonably priced plans embrace.

Misplaced, Stolen, or Broken Baggage
Freely’s protection for misplaced or stolen baggage is much like different corporations, in that there’s a per-item restrict of $500 USD and a complete cap of $2,500 USD. Whereas that’s good for lots of drugs, equivalent to a fundamental digital digicam or sporting tools, it could not cowl your complete value of a laptop computer or extra heavy-duty digicam.

Nevertheless, as I discussed above, you should buy an add-on for extra protection. This can bump your baggage per-item restrict to $1,500 USD and the whole restrict to $5,000 USD. Your digital {and professional} tools protection is $2,000 USD, which supplies substantial protection to your cellphone or laptop computer.

Whereas the associated fee for this improve will fluctuate, utilizing the instance beneath (a month lengthy journey to Thailand), it will price round $23 USD for the add-on. That’s tremendous reasonably priced.

Baggage Delay
This can be a good perk for anybody who isn’t touring carry-on solely. Basically, in case your baggage is delayed 12 hours or extra, you’ll qualify for as much as $250 USD so you should buy vital clothes and private gadgets (inside an inexpensive restrict). With Baggage Improve this profit will be elevated by $100 USD.

Word: As with every insurance coverage plan, you’ll wish to learn the wonderful print of your coverage for extra data. Moreover, particulars could be completely different primarily based on the place you reside, so all the time double-check whereas researching simply to be protected.
 

What’s NOT Coated?

Freely is primarily geared towards masking medical emergencies and fundamental journey mishaps (like delays and misplaced baggage). It’s good follow to let you know what’s not coated, equivalent to the next:

• Alcohol- or drug-related incidents
• Any electronics over $500 USD (with out an add-on)
• Sure high-risk actions (e.g., driving in a motorized vehicle competitors)
• Participation in skilled or novice athletics competitions
• Losses incurred due to a pre-existing medical situation.

If you happen to’re undecided if the exercise you wish to do is roofed, or if you would like extra details about what is just not coated, attain out to Freely instantly.

Presently, Freely’s insurance policies can be found solely to residents of the US and Australia. Protection described on this article is restricted to the US product.
 

How A lot Does Freely Value?

You will get a quote on-line at freely.me in lower than one minute. You simply must enter fundamental data, like the place you reside, the place you’re going, how lengthy you’re touring for, and the way a lot your journey prices.

For instance, somebody aged 30 going from the US to Thailand for one month can pay round $40 USD for base protection. That’s for a visit costing round $2,000 USD and never together with any extras or Every day Boosts.

Click here to get a quote from Freely.

One factor I like about Freely on the subject of getting quotes is that they let you know what isn’t coated. Quite a lot of corporations simply indicate that (i.e., if it’s not talked about, it’s not coated).

Freely, then again, explicitly provides reminders of what’s not coated once you’re searching for a coverage, in order to make sure that your expectations are correct.

Professionals of Freely

• 24/7 emergency help
• Emergency medical protection
• Emergency Evacuation and journey interruption protection
• Protection for misplaced, stolen, or broken baggage
• COVID protection
• Every day add-ons accessible for additional gear and actions

Cons of Freely

• Solely accessible within the US and Australia
• Downloading the app is required

Who’s Freely For — and NOT For?

Freely could be very reasonably priced, making it a strong alternative for backpackers and price range vacationers. Lengthy-term vacationers who’re extra versatile with their plans will even admire with the ability to replace their coverage proper within the app.

It’s additionally a terrific alternative for adventurous vacationers since you may add Every day Boosts for issues like skydiving, scuba diving, and many others.

Freely’s app additionally sends out security alerts and COVID updates, making it a great possibility for these involved about questions of safety. As a result of Freely depends on an app, they’re capable of pinpoint your location to make sure vital native security updates get to you. I can’t consider one other insurance coverage firm that gives that form of service, making certain your peace of thoughts irrespective of the place you’re going.

On the flip aspect, Freely could also be irritating for anybody who doesn’t wish to obtain and use an app. Most of Freely’s providers (making a declare, altering or updating your coverage) are solely accessible within the app. Whereas this makes it streamlined and handy in some methods, those that need to have the ability to entry and handle their account on a pc may wish to select a special firm.

I feel shopping for journey insurance coverage ought to be a easy and simple course of. Discovering a coverage shouldn’t be completely mind-numbing or time-consuming. And whereas Freely remains to be fairly new available on the market, it has a number of potential. Its app makes discovering the knowledge you want a breeze, and the extras and Every day Boosts add customization I hope extra corporations embrace. I feel it’s a worthwhile firm to take a look at once you’re procuring round for a plan.

Click here to learn more and get a quote today!