The Best New Company Out there

We may receive compensation from Faye as an advertising partner. However, this does not affect our ratings. Our opinions are our own opinions.

I’ve been writing about travel for nearly two decades, and in that time, I’ve watched the travel insurance industry change at almost the speed of a glacier. For years, the proposition has always been the same: Buy the policy, hope you never need it, and if something goes wrong, prepare for a marathon of paperwork and a check that arrives somewhere between “eventually” and “I forgot you ever applied.”

I have personally been on the receiving end of this fugitive. And so do most travelers I know. It’s just something you kind of deal with. After all, you should never, ever travel without travel insurance. You don’t want to end up needing a GoFundMe to pay your bills and go home if something goes wrong. (You can’t predict the future!)

Now, there are a lot of players in this field but I would like to highlight one of them today Fay travel insurancewhich I think does something unique.

fi It is the first digital travel insurance company to launch coverage in the US in 2022, so it is very new to the US market when you consider that brands like World Nomads or Allianz have been offering coverage for over twenty years.

Faye is based on a very simple idea: travel insurance shouldn’t wait until things go wrong. They should actively help things move in the right direction.

This means protection for your entire trip (your trip, your health, your stuff, even your pet), an app that’s actually useful while you’re traveling, access to real human customer support 24/7, claims that are processed in days instead of months, and a digital wallet that pays you money almost instantly instead of waiting for a check in the mail, which is what some companies still do in this day and age.

It is available in all 50 states.

One plan, executed correctly

fi It has one plan for both domestic and international flights, which makes things very easy. A lot of travel insurance companies have too many plans and you end up staring at coverage tables trying to figure out which one won’t leave you stranded and has the minimum coverage you need. Faye has built one comprehensive plan that covers most of what travelers actually need:

• Trip cancellation and interruption
• Emergency medical care for travel outside the United States (up to $250,000)
• Emergency medical evacuation (up to $500,000)
• Trip cancellation (up to 100% of non-refundable trip costs)
• Trip interruption (up to 150% of non-refundable trip costs)
• Flight delay (up to $2,100 per flight ($300 per day) after a delay of more than 6 hours)
• Missed connection (up to $200, after a covered delay of more than 3 hours)
• Non-medical emergency evacuation (up to $100,000)
• Lost, stolen or damaged property (up to $2,000/trip (maximum $150 per item))

These limits are pretty standard, especially when it comes to medical coverage. If you want to add things, they have some optional extras that I think are really good and unique:

• Cancellation for any reason (CFAR) – Up to 75% of non-refundable trip costs are refunded, if you purchase within 14 days of your initial trip deposit and cancel up to 48 hours before departure date
• Rented car damage – Covers collision, theft, vandalism and natural disasters
• Adventure and extreme sports – For bungee jumpers, freedivers and skydivers
• Vacation rental damages – Because of the inevitable spilled wine on someone’s Airbnb couch
• Pet care – Veterinary expenses of up to $2,000 if your pet travels with you, and kennel costs if you are late returning home.

CFAR insurance is really useful, and I’ve rarely seen a company that allows you to add it to a policy. They are usually already integrated for a higher fee but this creates an affordable addition. I also love the addition of pet care as more and more people travel with their pets.

It’s all about the application

Here’s where fi Really separates itself. Faye built something completely different! Here’s what you can actually do inside the Faye app:

Buy a policy at as far as 60 seconds – Enter your trip details, get a quote, and get coverage.

Get real-time flight tracking and alerts – You’ll get delay information, gate changes or baggage carousel numbers upon landing! A lot of apps do this but this is a nice addition.

Telemedicine – Faye gives you access to a network of 20,000 telemedicine doctors in 21 languages ​​when you travel abroad. If you wake up with food poisoning in a city where you don’t speak the language and don’t trust local hospital reviews, you can talk to a doctor from your hotel bed. (As someone who has had to find doctors in other countries, this feature is amazing!)

Find a doctor, pharmacy, emergency room or ATM nearby – The app figures out where to go when you’re confused and just need to find the nearest pharmacy open at 11pm in the city you arrived in five hours earlier. (As someone who has had to do this in other countries, this feature is amazing!)

Get free access to the airport lounge – If your flight is delayed by three hours or more, Faye will check you into a lounge – and who doesn’t want lounge access with complimentary food and drinks for an extended delay?

Store your documents in the archive – Securely upload your passport, visa, insurance card and vaccination records. If anything is lost or stolen, you will receive digital copies.

Check the essentials of the destination before you go – Visa requirements, types of plug adapters, local emergency numbers, weather, currency conversion, and even local apps worth downloading.

Chat with real humans, 24/7 – Real customer experience specialists, available 365 days a year, including weekends and holidays.

Purchase an eSIM – The app also enables you to purchase an eSIM, meaning you can avoid annoying physical SIM swaps and get online immediately upon arrival.

Submit a claim

Here’s how Fi works: Something bad happens. You open the application. You can file a claim in a few minutes by uploading photos of your receipts. If the issue qualifies as baggage delay or flight delay, you may be compensated almost immediately. The money goes directly to Faye Wallet, a digital payment card built into the app and connected to Apple Pay or Google Pay. You can click and pay, instantly, for everything you really need: new clothes, toiletries, dinner, a hotel.

For larger or more complex claims, Fay aims to resolve them within 48 hours. Receiving the necessary documents.

If you don’t want to use a digital wallet, you can transfer the money to your bank account or get a paper check.

What it costs

Pricing depends on the cost of your trip, destination, length, state of residence, and age (like every insurance product) but prices start at around $5.16 per day for international flights, which is more competitive than other companies out there.

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I’ve used a lot of travel insurance companies over the years. Most of them are fine. A few are awful. Fi is the first that feels like it was designed by people who actually understand modern travel and realize that we book flights on our phones, communicate via apps, and expect the same digital convenience from insurance that we get from everything else.

The combination of the entire journey protection, the app, Faye Wallet, real human support, and quick prompts has really changed the way I think about this category. Travel insurance was something I bought and forgot about.

If you’re heading out on a trip soon, check it out on withfaye.comGet a quote and see for yourself.

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