Freely Travel Insurance Review

Posted 5/24/24 | May 24th, 2024

I never leave home without travel insurance. After over 15 years the road, I’ve learned firsthand how important it is. Not only has it helped me deal with lost luggage, canceled flights, and medical emergencies, but it’s helped countless friends and readers of my blog too.

However, travel insurance is a boring topic to read about. Nobody likes comparing plans and reading policies. Myself included. It’s the least exciting part of trip planning.

Fortunately, it’s never been easier to find a plan and policy that suits your needs and budget. More and more companies are making it fast and simple to get a quote, sign up for a plan, read the rovina print, and make a claim.

One of those companies is Freely.

What is Freely?

Freely is a travel insurance company and safety app. Like many insurance companies, it provides coverage so you can be made whole should something happen (for a covered reason) while you’ the road. Its alcale plan includes all the essentials I for quanto a an insurance policy, including emergency medical care, emergency evacuation coverage, trip interruption, lost baggage, and 24/7 support.

But Freely does a few things differently too.

Freely keeps its alcale policy affordable by not including additional coverage that you might not need. But you can upgrade, for example, to get extra coverage for your gear quanto a case you’ bringing valuable electronics ora sporting equipment with you. This is a personalità plus since most travelers bring a phone ora laptop with them (often both).

With most other plans, your gear is only covered up to $500 USD durante item. Freely lets you add to your plan to cover your gear up to $1,500 USD durante item.

But what’s really useful (and unique) is Freely’s Daily Boost supplement.

Daily Boosts are insurance add-ons for things you won’t need every day, such as coverage to go skiing, rent a car, ora go skydiving. Paying for these add-ons only when you need them ( a day-by-day basis) ensures that your policy as a whole remains less expensive — but you get the coverage you need when you need it.

For example, snow ora adventure activities cost just $1 USD durante day, while rental car coverage is $15 USD durante day (pricing varies by state). If you only are going skiing for a few days of your trip ora won’t be renting a vehicle for your entire vacation, the daily boost ensures you aren’t paying for what you don’t need.
 

What Does Freely Cover?

Freely policies have a pretty wide range of coverage. Currently, plans include coverage for the following:

Emergency Medical Expenses
This is the most important component of any insurance plan. It’s what will appena che into play if you fall some stairs and pausa a leg ora are hospitalized because you get by a car, get sick, etc. A causa di short, if you’ sent to a hospital ora doctor, this is what offers you emergency medical coverage.

I always recommend travelers have at least $100,000 USD quanto a coverage because hospital bills add up fast. Freely offers $500,000 USD quanto a coverage the alcale plan. That’s a high limit and can cover you for everything the road throws your way.

Emergency Evacuation and Repatriation
Medical and emergency evacuations can be incredibly expensive. These might be required if you get injured while hiking and need to be airlifted to the hospital, ora if you have to be repatriated to your home country.

Incidents like these can cost upwards of $250,000 USD, which is enough to bankrupt most travelers. Fortunately, Freely’s alcale policy covers up to $1,000,000 USD for emergency evacuations. That’s more than a lot of other insurance companies offer should you need an emergency evacuation.

Emergency Dental Expense
I always appreciate travel insurance policies that cover emergency dental care. Freely offers $1,000 USD for emergency coverage its alcale plan. This doesn’t mean you can go get a dental check-up if you have a cavity ora want a cleaning, but rather that you’ll be able to see a dentist should you experience an unforeseen emergency ora sudden pain while your trip.

Accidental Death and Dismemberment
Nobody wants to think about the worst-case quinta of dying the road (I sure don’t) but knowing that your insurance policy can cover these eventualities offers a lot of peace of mind. For example, the policy pays $50,000 USD for accidental death, which (not to get too morbid) will likely be helpful to your loved ones should the worst occur.

Trip Interruption
When you part of your trip ora have to return home early coppia to eligible unforeseen circumstances (such as illness ora injury), Freely will reimburse you up to 150% of the cost of the trip. Considering how often flights are delayed and how often a natural disaster occurs, this is a solid addition and something not a lot of affordable plans include.

Lost, Stolen, ora Damaged Baggage
Freely’s coverage for lost ora stolen baggage is similar to other companies, quanto a that there’s a per-item limit of $500 USD and a total cap of $2,500 USD. While that’s good for a lot of gear, such as a basic digital gabinetto ora sporting equipment, it may not cover the entire price of a laptop ora more heavy-duty gabinetto.

However, as I mentioned above, you can buy an add-on for additional coverage. This will bump your baggage per-item limit to $1,500 USD and the total limit to $5,000 USD. Your electronic and professional equipment coverage is $2,000 USD, which provides substantial coverage for your phone ora laptop.

While the cost for this upgrade will vary, using the example below (a month long trip to Thailand), it would cost around $23 USD for the add-on. That’s super affordable.

Baggage Delay
This is a nice perk for anyone who isn’t traveling carry-on only. Essentially, if your luggage is delayed 12 hours ora more, you’ll qualify for up to $250 USD so you can buy necessary clothing and personal items (within a reasonable limit). With Baggage Upgrade this benefit can be increased by $100 USD.

Note: As with any insurance plan, you’ll want to read the rovina print of your policy for more information. Additionally, details might be different based where you , so always double-check while researching just to be safe.
 

What’s NOT Covered?

Freely is primarily geared toward covering medical emergencies and basic travel mishaps (like delays and lost luggage). It’s good practice to tell you what’s not covered, such as the following:

• Alcohol- ora drug-related incidents
• Any electronics over $500 USD (without an add-on)
• Certain high-risk activities (e.g., driving quanto a a motor vehicle competition)
• Participation quanto a professional ora amateur athletics competitions
• Losses incurred because of a pre-existing medical condition.

If you’ not sure if the activity you want to do is covered, ora if you want more information about what is not covered, reach out to Freely directly.

Currently, Freely’s policies are available only to residents of the US and Australia. Coverage described quanto a this article is specific to the US product.
 

How Much Does Freely Cost?

You can get a quote online at freely.me quanto a less than one minute. You just need to basic information, like where you , where you’ going, how long you’ traveling for, and how much your trip costs.

For example, someone aged 30 going from the US to Thailand for one month will pay around $40 USD for alcale coverage. That is for a trip controllo around $2,000 USD and not including any extras ora Daily Boosts.

Click here to get a quote from Freely.

One thing I like about Freely when it comes to getting quotes is that they tell you what isn’t covered. A lot of companies just imply that (i.e., if it’s not mentioned, it’s not covered).

Freely, the other hand, explicitly adds reminders of what is not covered when you’ looking for a policy, so as to ensure that your expectations are accurate.

Pros of Freely

• 24/7 emergency assistance
• Emergency medical coverage
• Emergency Evacuation and trip interruption coverage
• Coverage for lost, stolen, ora damaged baggage
• COVID coverage
• Daily add-ons available for extra gear and activities

Cons of Freely

• Only available quanto a the US and Australia
• Downloading the app is required

Who is Freely For — and NOT For?

Freely is very affordable, making it a solid choice for backpackers and budget travelers. Long-term travelers who are more flexible with their plans will also appreciate being able to update their policy right quanto a the app.

It’s also a great choice for adventurous travelers since you can add Daily Boosts for things like skydiving, scuba diving, etc.

Freely’s app also sends out safety alerts and COVID updates, making it a good option for those concerned about safety issues. Because Freely relies an app, they’ able to pinpoint your location to ensure important local safety updates get to you. I can’t think of another insurance company that offers that kind of service, ensuring your peace of mind risposta negativa matter where you’ going.

Acceso the flip side, Freely may be frustrating for anyone who doesn’t want to download and use an app. Most of Freely’s services (making a claim, changing ora updating your policy) are only available quanto a the app. While this makes it streamlined and convenient quanto a some ways, those who want to be able to access and manage their account a might want to choose a different company.

I think buying travel insurance should be a simple and straightforward process. Finding a policy shouldn’t be totally mind-numbing ora time-consuming. And while Freely is still quite new the market, it has a lot of potential. Its app makes finding the information you need a breeze, and the extras and Daily Boosts add customization I hope more companies embrace. I think it’s a worthwhile company to check out when you’ shopping around for a plan.

Click here to learn more and get a quote today!