The question of travel insurance arises quickly when preparing a vacation or along trip of a few months to a few years. So what can we use to replace the social security and mutual insurance that cover our health care in France?
We had to think about this issue when we were organizing our world tour. To be honest, this was not our favorite part of the preparation, but it is important to take the time to compare the different offers. And above all, read the reviews carefully in order to get a concrete idea of the different covers.
We will not present the different travel insurance offers here, as many blogs have already written comprehensive articles on this subject. We will focus on our opinion and feedback, as we purchased Chapka insurance a first time in 2016 (for our round-the-world trip) and then a second time in 2022 (for our year in a motorhome in Europe).
We’ll tell you what we had to use our insurance for on both our trips, how simple it was and how we were reimbursed!
Why is it advisable to purchase travel insurance?
Quite simply, to ensure that you are adequately covered for any health costs you may incur on vacation or while travelling, although of course we hope you stay healthy throughout your trip.
You certainly wonder what could happen to you on vacation or while traveling, some examples, a scooter crash in Asia, altitude sickness in South America, an animal bite (monkey, dog…), the Covid 19… And as you can see just below, theinsurance for your bank card offers you very low guarantees.
It should also be noted that some countries now require travel insurance with COVID fees included. Some bank cards will be able to provide you with a certificate, make sure that the mention COVID 19 appears on it. Don’t panic if your credit card doesn’t cover this, you can take out travel health insurance.
Am I covered with my credit card?
So, yes, a bank card generally offers travel insurance and repatriation assistance for 90 days (although you’ll need to check this with your own bank).
However, while carrying out our research, we realized that a classic bank card offered very low guarantees, the limits are lower than with traditional travel health insurance and do not cover all activities abroad, such as diving that we had practiced in Thailand without being insured at the time, because we did not know it. And generally for a medical consultation a deductible will be asked.
In addition, an interesting point in the current context, bank card insurance does not cover all health costs related to the contraction of the Covid-19 abroad.
For example, Chapka Cap Assistance 24h/24h: assistance and repatriation insurance for your trip of less than 3 months.
When is it for a trip longer than 3 months, such as a world tour, a European tour, a Working Holiday… It was kind of THE question we couldn’t find an answer to. The easiest way for us was to ask our bank directly. With our VISA and MASTER CARD cards, we were covered for 90 days if and only if we had a return ticket (with a date not exceeding 3 months after your departure date) in our possession.
This was clearly not the case for us. We therefore chose for our two trips to subscribe to the Cap Aventure package on our first day of travel in order to leave with a light mind on this point.
How to choose your insurance ?
For us, having the right insurance for our round-the-world trip and our tour of Europe in a motorhome was an obvious choice, bearing in mind that on our second long trip we left with a one-and-a-half-year-old baby.
We wanted to be covered in case of a problem or the slightest doubt, we wanted to be able to go to the doctor without hesitation, which is what we did.
We compared different insurance offers and found useful information on many blogs. Generally speaking, all the insurances you will find on the market offer the same kind of formula. Rates vary according to several criteria:
- Amount of coverage provided
- Your age and the number of people covered
- The destination (Or zone: Europe / USA – Canada / Rest of the world)
Why did we choose Chapka?
After comparing the different offers at Chapka, AVI and April. We decided to choose the Cap Aventure formula from Chapka Assurance. In our opinion, this is the most interesting offer on the market. It offers good value for money.
Chapka is a Paris-based travel insurance broker that has been providing travel insurance services since 2002. Chapka is a favorite with most long-distance travelers , and the reviews you’ll read are generally very good. Generally speaking, if you have a medical problem that falls within the scope of your contract, your treatment will be reimbursed once you have sent us the supporting documents. As you can read in the various reviews, Chapka’s strong point is the ease of use of the site and application.
It is also a 100% online insurance, convenient when for all the nomads, with an easy to use website and contracts that we find understandable. Chapka offers contracts for all types of travelers, vacations, tourdumondists, PVT, expatriates… We detail the different offers below.
And now the teleconsultation service is included. Few travel insurances offer it, and with a baby it was very reassuring for us (by the way, we used this service, about which we’ll tell you more below).
Chapka Travel Insurance + Promo Code
Vacations or short trips (less than 3 months)
- Cap Assistance 24h/24: assistance and repatriation insurance for your vacations or your trip of less than 3 months – (5% discount by clicking on the link)
- Cap Annulation, cancellation insurance for unforeseen events (including trip cancellation in the event of COVID 19 contraction)
- Cap Schengen : Schengen visa insurance for your short stay
Around the world, PVT, studies, expatriations
- Cap Aventure: the insurance for your world tour or trip of more than 3 months
- Cap Working Holiday: comprehensive PVT insurance for your stay abroad
- Cap Student: health insurance for your internships and studies abroad
- Cap Tempo Expat: health and assistance insurance for your first year of expatriation
How to activate your 5% discount code:
- Click on the link
- Click on the button “Quote / …)
- The following message appears: “Your 5% discount will be automatically taken into account when calculating your quote”.
Chapka insurance and Covid 19
Most Chapka insurance policies offer Covid 19 benefits. If your certificate states that the policy covers health reimbursement for Covid-19 contraction, you will be covered in the event of a Covid-19 infection while on vacation or travel. You will be reimbursed for related medical expenses.
In the event of a trip cancellation due to Covid, you will be reimbursed only if you have subscribed to Chapka Cap Cancellation. In these cases, you will be covered if you are infected with Covid 19 prior to departure, quarantined prior to departure, or denied boarding due to a temperature check.
Our insurance for our long trips: Chapka Cap Aventure
As mentioned above, we chose to subscribe to the Cap Aventure package for our two trips. Here is a summary of the guarantees offered by the Cap Aventure formula, the insurance for long-distance travelers and Tourdumondists. This package covers tourist trips of more than 3 months.
- Coverage of medical expenses (illness or accident during the trip)
- Repatriation in case of accident
- Baggage compensation in case of loss or theft
- Civil liability coverage abroad
- Medical teleconsultation with a French-speaking doctor (big plus in our opinion)
For our around the world, we were on a tariff of 40€ per person per month, then for our European tour in Camping, we were on a rate of 100€ for the 3 of us (2 adults and 1 baby) per month, please note that we took advantage of the family discount (-15%). Rates vary depending on the length of the contract.
Our opinion and feedback
We will explain below the cases in which we had to provide medical care abroad and therefore call our insurance and whether or not we were covered. Spoiler alert, we were fully satisfied with Chapka‘s service during our two long-distance trips.
Obviously, we’re not going to go into all the details, but the point is to show you that on trips lasting several months, even if you’re in excellent health, it’s really important to take out insurance. Beware, the rest is not the most glamorous, we tell you quickly in what situation we needed Chapka and our opinion!
Notice 1 : Toothache in Laos
The not at all pleasant situation at the other end of the world. I went to see a French dentist in Laos, who treated me quickly and correctly. It was our first experience with Chapka, they were reactive, after sending the medical questionnaire and the invoice we had no difficulty getting reimbursed (amount of care about 100€).
Notice 2 : Mycosis on the hands in Burma
Before setting off, we’d never have imagined that little mushrooms would be part of our trip, so we had to consult a doctor in Myanmar, the capital, and then take the appropriate treatment. The treatment is long so I didn’t want to wait until we got back to France to start it. Once again, everything was taken care of after documents and photos were sent (approx. €30).
Notice 3: Teleconsultation Service
Clearly, we were rather reassured to have this free option, we contacted them twice for our daughter. The first time, the doctor was great, he sent us a prescription straight away to pick up a treatment. The second time, the doctor immediately referred us to the emergency room. We were in southern Italy, in the Puglia region, and were well looked after, with nothing to worry about in the pediatric emergency room.
We recommend that you download the Doctor Please! application as soon as you take out a Cap Aventure contract. There is no amount if you take 2 teleconsultations in France with a general practitioner it is about 22€ per act. (about 44€ for the 2 services)
Opinion 4 : Consultation with a gynecologist in Greece
We were “broken in”, so I arrived with the questionnaire and remembered to ask for the invoice. I then declared the claim on my app, and the reimbursement was almost immediate (around €40).
How to be reimbursed by chapka?
You should remember to bring and have the doctor complete the online form, we advise you to print a few copies before you leave. Then send the form within 5 days along with all the supporting documents to trigger the reimbursement of expenses, everything is done 100% online. For a long hospitalization, we advise you to contact Chapka directly.
It’s not the whaniest article on the blog, but it’s still an important subject to study before you leave. We hope to have given you some useful information and concrete feedback. Be sure to read your contract carefully so you know what is covered and what is not.
Don’t hesitate to give us your feedback on Chapka, or other travel insurances and / or ask us any questions you may have here or on Instagram,, we’ll answer you with great pleasure.
