Insurance for world tour

I am dropping everything and travelling the world for a year. What insurance should I get for my trip?

Hi there,

One of the key risks associated with travel is accidents. The accident insurance you receive through your Swiss employer expires 30 days after you receive your last salary payment. You can take out interim accident insurance to extend your coverage to 180 days (around 6 months) from your last salary payment.

You generally cannot receive unemployment insurance benefits without residing in Switzerland, and without being registered at the unemployment office you cannot receive accident insurance from SUVA. Adding accident insurance to your health insurance policy can help you remain insured during your world tour. You can keep your Swiss compulsory health insurance coverage as long as you do not settle outside of Switzerland.

If you plan to travel to countries with very high healthcare costs (like the U.S. or Japan), you may want to consider taking out additional hospital insurance or extending your coverage with supplementary outpatient insurance or a travel insurance policy which covers medical emergencies.

If you want health insurance which covers regular treatment by doctors and specialists while you are abroad, consider applying for international health insurance and putting your Swiss policies on hold. Swiss health insurance policies (including supplementary policies) primarily cover medical emergencies outside of Switzerland - not regular treatments and checkups. The moneyland.ch guide to Swiss health insurance coverage for treatments abroad provides more information.

Adding the "simple theft away from home" rider to your household insurance policy insures the stuff which you take with you on your trip against theft. It is also a good idea to keep your personal liability insurance. In countries like the U.S. law suits for libel, slander or accidents for which you are at fault can make you liable to pay millions of francs in damages.

Lastly, and perhaps most obviously, an annual travel insurance policy can help protect you from losing money for flight and hotel bookings if you are forced to cancel. Just make sure you undersand which hazards are covered and which are not. You should also understand what type of bookings are covered and which are not. You can find detailed information about policies and compare prices using the moneyland.ch travel insurance comparison.

Best regards from Moneyguru