GeoBlue Travel Insurance Review 2023

About GeoBlue Travel Insurance

GeoBlue Travel Insurance has been around for over two decades now, and was founded in 1997. The insurance company is headquartered in Pennsylvania and operates as a travel medical insurance company offering single and multi-trip health insurance plans to individuals and corporations. It’s a specialty insurance provider with a limited range of products.

GeoBlue is the trade name for California, and New York based Worldwide Insurance Services, LLC. The company brings in about $36 million in revenue a year (unconfirmed). It’s an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, a group of companies that cover insurance for about one in every three Americans.

Most GeoBlue Travel insurance reviews are positive and the company is famous for its extensive range of physicians, telemedicine, and medical insurance plans for individuals with pre-existing conditions. 

How We reviewed

We considered several factors while reviewing their website:

• How easy it is to navigate
• The availability of all necessary information and the ease of comprehension
• The credentials of the company, its parent company, and associations
• How quotes differ for different conditions/situations

We scoured the net for the GeoBlue travel insurance reviews, both positive and negative, and GeoBlue travel insurance ratings.

Where is it available?

The company boasts an extensive network of physicians in 180 countries. The website has a nifty map that visitors can use to find out where its international travel insurance applies plans apply, and relevant information about the country. Most plans offer worldwide coverage. So if the company doesn’t have a physician in the country you are going to, you might get reimbursed for your medical expenses.

The best way to contact the company or file a claim is through GeoBlue’s mobile app. They also provide a TeleMD service, where you can book an online appointment. The contact numbers are:

Inside US: 1.855.481.6647, +1.610.254.8771 (for medical assistance)

Outside US: +1.610.254.5850, 1.800.257.4823 (for medical assistance)

The company is headquartered in King of Prussia, PA.

Travel Insurance Review

You need to have primary coverage from a US-based insurance company, to apply for any of the company’s insurance plans. Whether you are a US citizen, permanent resident, or an employee in a US-domiciled country, if you pay your insurance premium to a US insurance company, you are eligible.

There are separate rules per plan. The medical travel plans are broken into two main types: General Plans and Specialty Plans. There are three general plans aimed towards traveling individuals, while five specialty plans are geared more towards groups, business, and missionary travel.

Three general plans are:

Voyager (Single Trip)

US citizens aged under 85, who are planning to take a trip of no more than six months are eligible to apply for this insurance plan. There are two options, Voyager Choice and Voyager Essential.

Voyager Essential is a basic plan. The maximum benefit depends upon your deductible and can reach up to $1,000,000 for a $500 deductible (per person). The option covers 100% of reasonable in-patient and out-patient services, including surgery and diagnostics. It only covers 50% of US prescription drugs (up to $5,000). This option doesn’t require a primary health plan. And there is a 180-day exclusion for pre-existing conditions.

GeoBlue’s voyager choice travel medical insurance is almost the same when it comes to deductibles and medical limits. The two main differences are that this plan requires a primary health plan and covers pre-existing conditions.  Other differences are higher prescription drug coverage, dental limit, and more physical therapy sessions.

Both options include Accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D), lost baggage & personal effects, and post-departure trip interruption coverage.

Trekker (Multi-Trips)

This plan offers comprehensive travel insurance for individuals who take multiple trips within a year. There are two options: Trekker choice, which pays up to $250,000 for sickness and accidents ($100,000 for people aged between 70 and 84), and $500,000 in medical evacuation benefits. Trekker essential starts from $50,000 for sickness/accidents and $250,000 for medical evacuation. Both plans cover pre-existing conditions and unlimited trips outside the US (70 days per trip max) within a year. The deductible for both plans is $50.

Neither Trekker option covers trip interruption, delay, cancellation, missed connection, baggage (loss, damage, theft), and delay. The plan is geared more towards medical expenses and includes medical emergency evacuation, AD&D, and insurance against injuries in thrill accidents (skiing, scuba diving accidents), for a maximum coverage of up to $10,000.

US citizens under 85 (who already have a primary plan) are eligible.  

Xplorer (Long-term/Expatriate)

The plans are different from the other two and much more comprehensive since they have to cover several aspects of health insurance. The deductibles are also considerably higher and can reach a maximum of $10,000 for the USA coverage plan.

Some distinctions of the plan from the other two are (there are differences between the two options):

• Terrorism related injuries and accidents are covered.
• Contraceptive medicine and surgeries are covered.
• Riders are available for the non-USA option for essential coverage.
• Preventive care for youngsters and adults.
• Rehabilitation, home-care, hospice, and skilled nursing facilities.
• Built-in global travel coverage.

People 74 years or younger are eligible for Xplorer plans!

All three general plans have a comprehensive list of exclusions and strict guidelines regarding GeoBlue pre-existing conditions coverage. We advise anyone reading this review to go through these two lists with a fine-tooth comb. This is the primary leverage your insurance provider has to deny your claim. So ensure you understand it properly.

GeoBlue Travel Insurance Pricing

This is one place the website truly shines. It’s easy to get a quote (at least for Voyager and Trekker).  All you need to do is choose whether you are applying for a single trip, multi-trip, or expatriate plan, enter your zip-code, travel dates, age (yours and your dependant’s), and whether or not you have primary coverage or not. You get an instant quote. Based on the quotes, the GeoBlue health insurance cost seems reasonable.

For a 50-year-old individual traveling alone, here is a comparison between two Voyager options:

Essential: With $0 in deductibles, you get $50,000 coverage for $98.27, and $1,000,000 coverage for $111.29. You can lessen this amount by choosing one of the three deductible options.

Choice: If you choose to pay $0 in deductibles, the $50,000 starts from a $110.36 premium. If you want your medical limit stretched to $1,000,000, you only need to pay about $26 more.

For Trekker, you just have to enter the date when you want to start the coverage. The prices vary a lot between Essential and choice. For a 50-year-old individual, Essential costs $100, while choice costs $175.

You need more details to get a GeoBlue insurance quote for the Xplorer plan.

Customer Satisfaction and Financial Strength Review

 GeoBlue Travel Insurance reviews are a mixed bag.

• Insuremytrip: 4.7/5 (based on 1,646 reviews)
• Squaremouth: 4.6/5 (based on 66 reviews)
• Trustpilot: 2.7/5 (based on 5 reviews)
• BBB (customer rating): 2/5 (based on 5 reviews)

In contrast, the GeoBlue BBB rating is A+, and it has been accredited since 2017. The consumer advocate has also rated the business very good (3.7/5).

Most complaints are regarding customer service and delays on refunds. Some other complaints were regarding the technicalities on the basis of which the company denied claims. Based on Squaremouth reviews, customers are very happy with how the company handles refunds in case of a canceled trip. 

Customer Support

Customer support seems quite easy to handle with the company’s app. It allows you to file claims, send emails and look for MDs in the country you are in. You can reach out to the company via emails: [email protected] and [email protected] (for when you are abroad). You can also call them on the numbers mentioned earlier in the review.

The company responded to all their BBB complaints, to none of the TrustPilot reviews, and to 2-star and 3-star Squaremouth reviews. What most customers, and we too, liked about the company is its easy quote mechanism and detailed lists of exclusions and exceptions. The FAQs are distributed plan-wise and cover a comprehensive range of queries that the customers might have.

Overall, GeoBlue health insurance customer service seems adequate.

Ease of buying & Claims Handling

The policy is relatively easy to buy. As for the handling of claims, most negative reviews point out the fact that the company denies claims customers believed they were covered for. This is again the issue of technicalities. One of the things many consumers love is that insurance pays for many doctor visits directly (if you go to the MDs that are in the network).

The process for filing the GeoBlue claims is easy enough. You have to enter the relevant details in the app and send the receipts.

Comparison With Competitors

Geoblue vs. Worldnomads

Worldnomads offer insurance to citizens from several countries, including the US. It’s very well-known, compared to Geoblue, but the company’s performance has been abysmal (or at least questionable) during the pandemic. Their Trustpilot rating is a bit better (3.1), and has over 1,500  reviews. It’s not accredited with BBB and has an F rating.

The company falls short of Geoblue primarily in pricing and accounting for pre-existing conditions. The total coverage amount is also limited ($100,000). But it does cover trip delay, interruption, cancellation, and baggage.

GeoBlue vs. Travelex insurance

Travelex has been accredited with BBB since 1999 and has an A+ rating. The insurance has much better consumer reviews and relatively cheaper plans, which include trip cancellation and baggage etc. But the insurance plans do not cover most medical issues. They do offer emergency medical coverage and evacuation, but the limits are much lower. And for more medical insurance products, you have to buy additional coverage.