Traveling abroad, especially to a faraway country, can entail a lot of fears, after moments of hysterical excitement. A wide swath of scenarios can pop up in your mind: lost luggage and belongings, flight delays, ailments or allergies during the trip, and so on. What underlies these fears are the frustration of paying unexpected hefty sums way over your budget, and also a list of procedures and complications that do nothing but baffle and dishearten you. This is also why a precautious step like buying travel insurance now frequently appears on any traveler’s checklist. In some cases, like most European countries, travel insurance is a prerequisite for obtaining a visa. What about Vietnam? Is it necessary to buy travel insurance when visiting Vietnam? To help you answer this question, this guide will lay out all the fundamentals of Vietnam travel insurance, and then you can decide for yourself.
Related guide: Obtaining a Vietnam visa
Understanding Vietnam Travel Insurance
First of all, it is not mandatory to buy travel insurance when visiting Vietnam. But it is essential to do so for a trip without nerves and worries.
Like the case of any travel insurance, Vietnam travel insurance is a sum of investment you make to buy your peace of mind during your whole trip in Vietnam. Any unexpected, unwanted and exorbitant costs like medical expenses, delayed or canceled trips, and other accidents during your Vietnam travel will be covered by your insurance provider if you take care to buy a suitable, prudent travel insurance plan in advance. A typical Vietnam travel insurance plan will provide coverage for you anywhere you go within the Vietnamese territory.
The higher the cost of your travel insurance plan, the more coverages the company will be able to offer you.
Related guide: Vietnamese currency
A ‘comprehensive’ plan provides coverages for various unfortunate situations a traveler may encounter, ranging from medical expenses for emergency accident or sickness (not pre-existing conditions) incurred during the trip (including the services of a doctor, charges for hospital confinement, prescriptions, medicines, etc.), to trip cancellation, trip interruption or delay (usually more than 12 hours), evacuation, repatriation of remains, and baggage loss, theft, or damage.
Another giant plus point of buying Vietnam travel insurance is that you will get unlimited emergency assistance service and counseling by the insurance company for many needs during the trip, for example, contact and address of the nearest hospital or the nearest embassy.
Besides the individual plan, some companies also offer family plans which can be a more economical option if you travel to Vietnam with your family members.
All the inclusions and exclusions of these plans should be stated very clearly by the insurance company, so read them carefully before signing the contract.
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Considering a Travel Insurance Plan When Visiting Vietnam
Even if you have booked a tour to Vietnam that includes the cost of insurance, your travel involves more than just that single tour and plus, there are many limitations and exclusions of a tour insurance; for example, there would be no coverage for flight cancellation before the trip even if the reason warrants all the empathy in the world. So it is advisable to save yourself hefty unwanted loss and prepare best for the trip by buying a travel insurance plan before visiting Vietnam.
In order to decide which Vietnam travel insurance plan is suitable for your trip, it helps to account for the following factors:
- Do you travel alone or with family? If you travel with your family, then a family travel insurance plan could be a good choice.
- Is your intended destination a dangerous or distant place, or is that place natural-disaster-prone? If it is, then the cost of the insurance plan will likely be higher. In Vietnam, remote regions are mountainous regions like North West, Central Highlands, and some scarcely populated islands.
- Will you engage in some adventurous activities or extreme sports (like skydiving, scuba diving, rock climbing, trekking, riding a motorbike), or simply enjoy a leisure trip? If you aim for a laid-back cultural and culinary experience in populous big cities like Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, then a simple and reasonably priced plan would do. But if you’d love to challenge yourself to some daredevil games in rougher terrains, then think about getting yourself a decent (and more costly) insurance package.
- The maximum benefit you want to get in case of mishaps. The sum of cover varies depending on the plan you choose. Expenses in Vietnam are generally not high compared to many other countries. However, if you are a prudent being by nature, coupled with a comfortable budget, then buying a premium insurance plan would guarantee a completely carefree trip.
Read more: Vietnam Itineraries
What is The Cost and How to Buy Travel Insurance When Visiting Vietnam
The cost of a good Vietnam travel insurance plan varies depending on your country of origin, the length of your travel and the number of coverages you wish to have. A 7-day standard travel insurance plan for an American adult to Vietnam is roughly US$ 60 – 80 and US$ 8 for one day.
Research and contact the banks based in your own country to see if they provide international travel insurance, or consider some popular international travel insurance providers such as World Nomads and AIA, get a quote and read carefully what help they can offer you during your trip.
An important criterion when choosing an insurance provider is surely straightforward registration and payment method, as well as easy and speedy procedures to make a claim so that no hassle is going to wear you out.
Conclusion on Travel Insurance When Visiting Vietnam
Vietnam is a safe country to visit, but it is also advisable to buy a travel insurance package. For one the price is reasonable. For another the peace of mind and the extra assistance such a move brings is invaluable. Whatever plan you choose, always remember to read all the details and exclusions of a plan before taking a leap.
Check out our guides for more Vietnam travel information.