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I've never been a strong proponent of travel insurance. In all honesty, I don't even have health insurance. In my first year as a digital nomad, I signed up for Safety Wing — a popular nomad emergency health insurance — so I'd be protected if something terrible happened. After a year, nothing terrible had happened, and I hadn't submitted a single claim. So, I didn't renew my plan. That was four years ago.
However, ahead of my recent trip to the Winter Olympics, I had a gut feeling that we needed some sort of coverage, so we signed up for Faye Travel Insurance. The gut feeling was correct, and I'm incredibly thankful we had Faye.
Here's my experience using Faye, and why you might want to consider signing up before your next trip.
What is Faye Travel Insurance?
Faye offers whole-trip travel insurance that covers everything from missed flight connections to emergency medical expenses. When researching providers, I wanted to find the most coverage for the lowest price, and Faye checked all of those boxes.
To get a quote, go to the Faye website and click “Check pricing” on the homepage. You'll need to provide Faye with the following information to receive a quote:
- Countries you plan to visit (if you're going on a cruise, enter the country of the first international destination)
- Travel dates
- Your home state
- Personal information of each traveler (name, date of birth, and email address)
- Total trip cost
When you receive your quote, you can select any add-ons, like rental car care, coverage for extreme sports, vacation rental damage, or pet care. The screenshot below shows a policy similar to the one we purchased. Once you've reviewed everything, click “Get covered” to purchase your plan.
We purchased our policy on February 1, and our three-week trip to Italy began on February 3. That meant we weren't eligible for trip cancellation protection, which covers up to 100% of non-refundable trip costs if you need to cancel for a covered reason. However, this was actually a good thing — the cost of the policy went down when this benefit was removed.
For instance, in the example above, the $406.79 quote is for a trip departing within the next couple of days, for three people who reside in North Carolina and doesn't include trip cancellation protection. However, if your trip starts in a month and your policy includes trip cancellation, the quote jumps to $876.25. That's a pretty substantial difference.
Our Faye Policy: Why We Got It and What It Included
As I already mentioned, I don't normally purchase (or use) travel insurance because healthcare tends to be much more affordable out of the U.S. A few years ago, I fell in Colombia and hurt my knee, and it cost just $309.32 total for X-rays, an MRI, an emergency room visit, and a consultation with an orthopedic surgeon.
However, my recent trip to the Winter Olympics with my parents and partner presented a few notable concerns. I schedule my entire year around eternal summer, so I haven't walked on ice in close to a decade. Combine that with driving in an unfamiliar area during potential snowstorms, and it seemed risky not to be protected.
Plus, our airfare took a lot of coordination. To get to Italy, I flew from Mexico City (MEX) to Milan (LIN) via Madrid (MAD) on Iberia. My parents flew from Wilmington (ILM) to Milan (LIN) with layovers in Charlotte (CLT) and London (LHR) on American Airlines and British Airways.
On the way back, I flew from Rome (FCO) to Mexico City (MEX) via Paris (CDG) on Air France. My parents flew from Milan (LIN) to Wilmington (ILM) with layovers in Madrid (MAD) and Dallas (DFW) on Iberia and American.
Clearly, there were several opportunities for things to go wrong on this trip. It felt likely that someone would miss a connection, experience a delay, or lose a bag (we had four checked bags for three people, thanks to all our winter gear).
Ultimately, we decided we'd rather be safe than sorry, so we signed up for a plan. Here's the coverage we received:
Coverage per policy:
- Trip Interruption: up to 150% of total trip costs based on your total estimated trip cost that you input at time of purchase (maximum of $18,000 for our policy specifically)
Coverage per person:
- Trip Delay: $300 per day to a maximum of $2,100 (delays more than 6 hours)
- Missed Connection: up to $200
- Travel Inconvenience: up to a maximum of $600, capped at 3 per trip per person on the policy
- Baggage Delay (6 hours delay): $200
- Flight Cancellation: $200
- Flight Diversion: $200
- Baggage & Personal Belongings: up to $2K
- Per Item Limit: up to $150
- Combined Articles Limit: up to $200
- Lost or Stolen Passport: Included
- Sporting Equipment: Included
- Baggage Delay: up to $300 (delays more than 12 hours)
- Emergency Medical Transportation: up to 500K
- Emergency Medical Evacuation
- Medical Repatriation
- Repatriation of Remains
- Medical Escort / Attendant
- Return Transportation
- Transportation of Covered Children/Child
- Bedside Visit Transportation
- Travel Medical Expense: up to $250,000
- Dental Expense sublimit: $750
- Primary Coverage: Included
- Security Evacuation: up to $100K
The cost of all of that coverage for 3 people? $406.79. In our eyes, it was more than worth the added last-minute expense. All I could imagine in the days leading up to our trip was someone falling on an icy sidewalk and breaking a hip. The collective peace of mind was worth a few hundred dollars.
One important thing to note is that Faye only covers U.S. residents (specific coverages may differ based on state of residence). My partner is from Argentina, so we got him a separate plan from Safety Wing.
Related: Best Credit Cards With Free Travel Insurance
My Experience Using Faye
Picture this. It's day 4 of a three-week family vacation. You're getting ready for the day, which includes walking around Milan before attending the figure skating gold medal match as your first event of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
You walk out of your room and see your dad standing in his room. His eye, which was its normal white mere seconds before, is now completely red. What's even more jarring is that he had absolutely no idea anything was wrong until he looked in the mirror.
Any health scare while you're abroad is stressful, but it's especially scary when it could affect your vision.
Getting a doctor appointment through Faye
We immediately got on the computer and requested a doctor's appointment through Faye. The process works similarly to calling an Uber — you put out a request, and providers respond with availability. If you confirm, your appointment is scheduled.
The first response we received was for an appointment late in the evening European time with a U.S. provider. We wanted answers sooner, and we had an event scheduled for that night, so we declined that appointment. We then got an appointment with a provider in Germany within an hour.
Joining the virtual appointment was as easy as joining a Zoom meeting. After listening to my dad's symptoms and looking at his eye through the camera, the provider calmly and clearly explained that a blood vessel had burst in my dad's eye, likely as a result of the blood thinners he was taking for an autoimmune disease. Luckily, it wasn't serious, but it would likely take a while to resolve on its own. The doctor then gave us his WhatsApp number so we could text him if my dad started having any pain or blurred vision, or if we simply had a question we needed help with.
The relief that nothing serious had gone wrong was palpable. However, in our experience, what happened next was what set Faye apart from the competition.
Faye's follow up
A couple of days after our virtual appointment, a Customer Experience Specialist from Faye reached out to ask how my dad was feeling and if he needed any extra medical assistance:
“I just wanted to check in and see how you are doing. I noticed that you completed an AirDoctor appointment and wanted to know how you're feeling? Do you need additional medical assistance? If there is anything else we can help with please let us know- we are here for you 24/7.”
My dad responded that all was well and that he appreciated the support and contact. They responded with:
“Thank you for reaching out and letting us know! We're so glad to hear that you’re feeling okay and that [the doctor] was able to put your mind at ease. It’s great to hear that you liked him and that everything turned out fine. If you ever need any further assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out, we’re always here for you.”
It might not seem like much, but the additional check-in made my dad feel even more at ease. He knew that if something else happened during the trip, we'd have an equally positive experience dealing with Faye.
Bottom Line
My experience using Faye was exceptional. Fortunately, we didn't need to use the vast majority of the coverage we received, but the peace of mind was worth every penny. And when we needed Faye, the team was responsive and proactive.
Sure, a doctor's visit in Italy might've been cheaper than buying a policy, but we didn't have to deal with the stress of finding an English-speaking doctor who's open on a Sunday. All we had to do was hop on the phone and let the pieces fall into place.
