Heymondo travel insurance review - my experience

Returning from my miserable trip to Mauritius, I want to go through a crucial subject for us travellers: travel insurance.

I'll confess, I was one of those reckless people who has been travelling without insurance in the early days, when the budget was tight and the focus was on saving as much as possible. Then I understood the importance of travel insurance and, so far, I haven't travelled without one.

For my trips around the world, from Mauritius to Caribbean, to Canada to Turkey, I got several travel insurance and the one that worked out better is Heymondo - also because, unfortunately, I experienced the refund process.

Long story short: trip to Mauritius, 5 days out of 9 we were stuck in the room because my daughter developed an upper respiratory tract infection with very high temperature and sore throat. The doctor came to visit her in our room and brought antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and paracetamol, and gave us all the documentation that we would need to apply for a refund with the travel insurance. As if that wasn't enough, on the way back my suitcase was left at Mauritius airport because the bag drop operator didn't label it (you had only one job!). So it was delivered to me only two days after my return. That was really bad luck!

Travel insurance is often seen as something useless, an extra cost that many people prefer not to deal with by choosing to take the risk. What could possibly go wrong?

Big mistake! Especially when travelling with children, who often fall ill (that's my case); especially in this historical period where cancellations are very common; especially in some places where healthcare is private and has exorbitant costs, see the United States. In short, taking out travel insurance is a wise choice to rest assured that help and a refund are guaranteed in case of need.

For my trip to Mauritius I trusted Heymondo. After doing some research I chose Heymondo because:

• it has a good reputation: before buying I googled for reviews and also asked fellow travellers, and I was pleased to note that Heymondo has a good reputation and is recommended by many people. Trustpilot gives 4.7 stars out of 5. Positive reviews, especially when there are many, reassure me about the quality of the product, so I always start from here.

• it's convenient - obviously the prices change according to the destination, the length of stay, the number of travellers and the policy. Let's take my example to evaluate the expense: an 11-day trip to Mauritius, I took out the Heymondo Top for my daughter and me. These are the prices of the policies:

Yes, that's right, I have a 5% discount for you! If you insure your trip with Heymondo through my blog, you will pay 15% less than the website price. Give it a try: click on this link and enter your destination, your dates of travel and the number of participants:

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• 24/7 assistance - you're on the other side of the world? Don't worry about time zones, Heymondo assistance is available 24/7.

• it's user friendly and easy to understand - legalese is banned both on the Heymondo's website and app, all policies are clearly explained and contacting the customer service via the app is quick and easy.

• quick refund - I was amazed about how quick and efficiently the refund process has been managed. It took only 17 days from my first contact with Heymondo through the app to the moment I received the money in my bank account!

• baggage coverage - in the event of loss, damage, theft, delay or failure to return baggage by the carrier, Heymondo covers the costs incurred for or the purchase of necessary personal effects, including those for duplicating documents.

• trip cancellation coverage - if you have to cancel your trip, with a cancellation insurance you can get back the money spent.

• Covid coverage is included - Heymondo also covers medical expenses if you get Covid, PCR test costs if requested by a doctor, extension of your stay in the event of quarantine and any repatriation costs if your conditions prevents the use of the means of transport initially expected.

Taking out travel insurance with Heymondo is quick and easy.

• First, click on my link 5% off for In giro con Fluppa's friends;
• click on "get a quote";
• choose between a single trip or multiple trips in one year;
• enter your country of residence and destination;
• enter your start and end date, and the number of travellers;
• enter your email address and click on the Privacy policy box;
• you can now choose between 3 policies: Heymondo Top, Heymondo Premium and Heymondo Medical. Each policy lists which coverages are included, if you need more info just click on the + next to each coverage.
• now it's up to you to decide which policy to buy. As you can see, the price difference between the Top and Medical policies is minimal in the face of greater coverage, so I suggest you go for the Top or Premium. Double check that you got the 5% discount before you buy!
• once decided, just click on "buy", enter your data and you're done!

I hope you'll never need it, but if the bad luck decides to bet on you... welcome to the club!

NOTE: if you find yourself in need of a doctor while abroad, you'll need to contact Heymondo which will tell you which hospital or clinic you should go. Usually the insurance company pays in advance any medical expenses by paying the hospital directly, so in that case you won't need to ask for a refund - which is valid in other cases such as flight delay, purchase of necessary personal effects in case of lost suitcase, etc.
In my case, while I was in Mauritius and my daughter was ill, I didn't think about contacting Heymondo right away, also because the expense wasn't too high; so I paid the doctor's bill and then, once I got home, I contacted the customer service through the app to apply for a refund.

Now, let's back to business.

The first and most important rule to remember is this: Keep everything: receipts, boarding passes, invoices, prescriptions, tickets. EVERYTHING.

In my case, regarding the luggage, the delivery was delayed by two days upon returning home. It was April and in the suitcase there were just summer clothes, swimsuits, towels, some toiletries. Nothing extremely important, I didn't have to buy necessary personal effects and therefore I didn't ask for any refund from the insurance. But if it had happened on the outward journey I would have found myself in Mauritius with nothing, and that's where I would have requested a refund for the expenses incurred.

When you are ready to apply for a refund, contact Heymondo customer service via the app explaining briefly what happened and asking for information on the procedure. Within a few hours, you will get an email from customer service where they list the documents to be sent and give you the email address of the insurance entity that will process your refund.

In my case, they asked:

• a medical report including symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, to understand the nature of the illness;
• the medical prescription;
• the medical bill and any receipts from the pharmacy.

I had everything, luckily the doctor who came to see my daughter gave me everything I needed for the insurance so I didn't have to go through any further steps.

Once these documents had been sent, the insurance entity (in my case Axa, but it can change) replied to me within 3 days and asked me to send:

• a letter explaining what happened in detail and what amount I was asking for the refund (I simply wrote what happened in the body of the email);
• proof of travel dates (air tickets are fine);
• a copy of the passport;
• my contact details (address, telephone number, email);
• a certificate from the Bank showing my name, IBAN, and BIC/SWIFT codes.

After 6 days Axa emailed me saying that my refund request had been accepted, and after 6 more days the money was credited to my account. In short, it took only 17 days from the first contact with customer service via the app to the moment the money was credited to my account!

To be honest, despite the bitterness for the unfortunate events i got involved in while travelling, Heymondo cheered me up with the excellent customer service and the quick refund process.

That's why, in addition to being one of their customers, I decided as a blogger to join the Heymondo affiliate programme. All the partner websites that I recommend on my blog are always tested by me personally! In return, Heymondo offered me a 5% discount on any policy, which you can get by clicking on one of the links or this banner:

By purchasing a Heymondo policy through my blog, you will get a 15% discount and I will receive a small commission. This way, you will help me to support and keep my blog going, without any additional expense for you.

I hope you find this review helpful!

Just remember, never go on a trip without travel insurance and don't forget the discount I have for you!

Click here to get 5% off for In giro con Fluppa's friends

Any questions, email me at flavia.iarlori@outlook.com.

See you soon!