Travel Safety in a Changing World: Navigating Global Politics and Protection in 2025 with Andrew Jernigan

Join hosts Nicky Omohundro and Heide Brandes as they interview Andrew Jernigan, co-founder and CEO of Insured Nomads, about navigating international travel in today's complex political landscape. Andrew shares crucial safety tips for travelers in 2025, from digital privacy precautions and insurance essentials to managing cross-border tensions. 

Learn about innovative travel protection technology, the importance of sharing your itinerary with trusted contacts, and why—despite global uncertainties—Andrew still encourages everyone to "take that trip." This episode of Untethered and Wander Wise offers practical strategies to keep your journeys both enriching and secure in an increasingly unpredictable world.

Transcript

Untethered and Wander Wise Podcast

Travel Safety in Today's Political Climate with Andrew Jernigan

[00:00:00] Nicky & Heide: Welcome to Untethered and Wander Wise, the podcast that takes you beyond the borders and into the heart of global travel. I'm Heide Brandes. And I'm Nicky Omohundro. Together we're exploring the questions that matter most to modern travelers. Today we're tackling a topic that's on the minds of many travelers with wanderlust.

How safe is it to travel in today's political climate? With shifting global tensions, changing immigration policies, and evolving attitudes toward American travelers, the landscape of international travel continues to transform in 2025. And to help navigate these waters, we're joined today by someone who stands at the intersection of travel, safety, risk management, and insurance innovation.

Andrew Jernigan is the co-founder and CEO of Insured Nomads, a company revolutionizing how insurance protects global travelers. With extensive experience across healthcare, insurance, and international living, Andrew has made it his mission to create solutions that give travelers, especially those most vulnerable, the confidence and protection they need to explore our complex world.

From the practical safety measures every traveler should take before boarding a plane to understanding which destinations remain welcoming in today's political environment, Andrew brings insights that could transform how you approach your next adventure. So stay with us as we dive into the realities of travel safety in 2025, unpack the challenges, and discover actionable strategies to ensure your journeys remain both enriching and secure. Welcome, Andrew.

[00:01:49] Andrew Jernigan: Thank you. It is so good to be here with you, Nicky, Heide, and all those who are listening to us around the world, especially those in the airport soon.

[00:02:03] Nicky & Heide: I know as we're recording, this is almost mid-April, and so a lot of people have summer travel on their mind.

[00:02:11] Andrew Jernigan: Yes, spring break travel, summer travel, conferences, you name it, folks are filling the airports even in spite of some of the political surprises that have happened recently.

[00:02:25] Nicky & Heide: Given those political shifts we've seen globally since 2024, and especially the last few weeks, what new safety considerations do you think travelers should be aware of going into summer travel?

[00:02:38] Andrew Jernigan: New? There are a lot of old things that people should implement that they probably haven't, and we'll probably hit this with some of those later on. But new ones are the awareness that what we post online is being observed. It always has been, but we haven't really been aware of it. And no matter what gender you identify with, as female traveler or not, it is crucial that we are careful about what we post. It's always that way.

Our digital footprint is always out there, but all the way from... I talked to a lady last week who added... Even though they don't—it's not one of the media outlets they follow—but TSA does, and it was one of the things that was like, "If I'm flying through Atlanta, I want that Southerner to see Fox News on my home screen and have a little bit more favorable view of me."

[00:03:43] Nicky & Heide: Yeah. Wow. That is something I've never thought of is this impression you're giving out just by what's on your home screen.

[00:03:51] Andrew Jernigan: They actually deleted Instagram and they were gonna add it after they landed overseas again, because they didn't want them opening up their apps and seeing posts that they had been posting or comments, things like that. And they went through and deleted different threads in their messages then cleared their deleted box. Because, just because you delete it, there's also in WhatsApp, deleted messages are still there. You have to go to your deleted messages and clean it.

[00:04:24] Nicky & Heide: Yeah, I've heard people doing this.

[00:04:27] Andrew Jernigan: Go through your Facebook Messenger or your Messenger app, not just WhatsApp and not just your text messages. Clean up those political or any just personal comments that are there that you may have that may not be your own. But maybe something that somebody sent you, just go ahead and delete it because you never know what somebody is gonna interpret and say, "Oh we're doing that."

With the changes in the climate, there are people who are traveling with their spouse that may have a green card or may just not be traveling with their American spouse but are only traveling with their green card.

I talked to a traveler recently that is just traveling on their green card, and that is a permanent visa, still considered a guest. They're not considered—they have guest privileges in the country with a green card. They can be held back for any reason. Recently I had someone that went to Southeast Asia. They were in their sixties. They went to go visit their elderly parents. They have a home, a job in the southeast in the US. When they returned from their visit, they were told, "You can't come in because there was an error on your tax filing and you owe money from 2022."

They had to buy a ticket right then and go back to South Korea. They had to fly back on their own expense. They were rejected with their green card. They go to this, like First Presbyterian Sunday school class in the southeast US, in Atlanta, they were rejected at TSA. So as with the new measures, make sure you've got your ducks in a row, not just your ticket and your travel insurance and your visa. Make sure that impressions are good and you've dotted all your I's and crossed your T's. Back to you.

[00:06:28] Nicky & Heide: I have so many questions and comments just on what you just said. One, I think a lot of us are thinking, okay, are we being overly paranoid about cleaning our phones. Is TSA really gonna grab my phone and look at it? And am I gonna be held because I said something that was a little politically inflammatory because, this is the USA and I have the right to disagree with my government.

Are we being overly cautious or do we need to be more cautious?

[00:06:57] Andrew Jernigan: We need to be more cautious. The British government has warned their citizens: "You may have a tourist visa, but you may not be allowed to enter." So that's hurting Disney World. It's hurting others when they're having an issue warning, saying just because you have a visa doesn't mean you're going to be allowed to enter the country.

[00:07:14] Nicky & Heide: Wow.

[00:07:15] Andrew Jernigan: People asked to come speak in a conference, they are going through your computers. It's not paranoia. It is a reality right now that we are being a lot more scrutinous on who we're allowing to enter the country. And we're making a political statement, right?

So countries are reciprocating. Previously an American didn't need a visa to go to Brazil. They've just changed that in the last year and now we have to get a visa because we're treating Brazilians differently. We have to get a kind of like an e-visit visa now to go to the UK. They don't call it that, but we have to register online and pay a fee.

[00:08:00] Nicky & Heide: Many places are starting to do that. We're headed to Peru in a few weeks, and so I've been watching how the requirements are gonna change for us going to South America and even coming back.

Recently I was just in Las Vegas at a conference and several people that had come from overseas, they came from the EU and they said that they felt that the screening process coming back through TSA was more rigorous than before.

And several people had actually mentioned what you had said about deleting certain apps from their phone.

[00:08:32] Andrew Jernigan: Yeah.

[00:08:33] Nicky & Heide: I would like to expand more on immigration and visa policies this year. Besides the United States being a little more scrupulous, as you said, about who gets in the country.

Could you address any concerns regarding deportation of women travelers or other countries that may do what the USA is doing and just sit there and go, "No, you're not allowed. You're American."

[00:09:01] Andrew Jernigan: They're reciprocating. It was a mindset of, "You're welcome here, come spend your money here. We want the American tourist dollars." And as we penalize these countries, they are—they're acting the same way we're acting. They're mirroring it in some instances. And yes, I'm sure we've heard the stories of Canadian women trying to come into the US being detained.

It's not myth, it's not fake news—detained, not given food for 13 days, solitary confinement for no reason at all. This Canadian woman that came into the US just not able to get counsel, not able to speak with anyone. So that is hurting when people are coming into our country.

They are—Canada's reciprocating and being a whole lot more cautious with letting Americans into the country. And they'll be stricter with how they screen. Since previously it was just an open door.

[00:10:09] Nicky & Heide: No.

[00:10:10] Andrew Jernigan: Countries ever since COVID, now, especially, and a lot of people aren't aware of this, but many countries are requiring proof of insurance because they left hospital bills unpaid, they were discharged and they just walked away and the hospital was left with all the care that was given.

That's actually not uncommon for a foreigner just to get care from a hospital and walk out the door. Or say they have insurance, they've contacted the insurance company, but it's a preexisting condition and may not be covered. So countries are saying, "Before you can come in, before you can apply for a visa, show proof of insurance."

[00:10:47] Nicky & Heide: Specifically travel insurance that covers costs of care overseas or in case of emergencies.

[00:10:53] Andrew Jernigan: Or if you're on a long-term lifestyle, global health insurance works instead of travel insurance.

[00:10:58] Nicky & Heide: Yeah. When I went to Antarctica, we were required to have a very specific level of coverage including like a million dollars for emergency evacuation. I'm a huge fan of travel insurance. I get the year-long policies because as travel writers we travel a lot, but it is just such peace of mind when you have that, especially if something medical happens. In fact, my brother and his wife were just in Vietnam and Cambodia and she got the traveler's "angry gut" as we like to say. And had to go visit a local doctor and get antibiotics, and they were completely covered because of that insurance.

Andrew, you mentioned something for those that are gonna be traveling more long-term, there's a difference between short-term travel insurance and then the health coverage you mentioned, and what was that called again?

[00:11:50] Andrew Jernigan: There's travel insurance for a single trip. There's the annual multi-trip plan like Heide just mentioned.

[00:11:56] Nicky & Heide: Which is wise if you're doing more than one trip during the year. There's international health insurance, like internationalhealth insurance.com, if I'm looking at going overseas for more than a year at a time, and that's one of the requirements for several resident visas is to show long-term coverage.

[00:12:13] Andrew Jernigan: In a long-term lifestyle like that, you want something that's annually renewable, that doesn't exclude—if you end up with a diagnosis of cancer or something, if you want to get care at any hospital. And travel insurance is often secondary.

Saying, "Okay, we'll cover you while you're gone and we'll get you back home so that your real insurance will take care of the rest." They just fly you back home because they know you have Blue Cross Blue Shield back in the US and they'll take the hundred thousand dollar bill.

The $15,000 to get you on a business flight back home, and then your insurance can take care of it.

[00:12:51] Nicky & Heide: Yeah. Travel insurance has evolved significantly under your leadership at Insured Nomads. What specific protections should women look for in their policies? Starting with short-term?

[00:13:04] Andrew Jernigan: It's—I believe there are a couple of things that are crucial. One is 24-hour assistance. Ideally with an in-app emergency button that you just hit that button and they know exactly where you are with GPS coordinates that were just sent to them. And security and medical operatives on standby. That's something that's been crucial for us. My wife is one of our co-founders, a medical doctor. She managed contracts for response around the world in the corporate world. We've lived long-term overseas raising kids and running a hospital, etc. Having security is important with today's climate, with political unrest, whether you're in Hong Kong and all of a sudden there are riots and it's unsafe, or Paris and the streets are burning.

They think that's normal there. But we don't, as visitors. Oftentimes having them to guide you and to say, "A bomb just went off. We need to relocate you to the other side of town." It pays for a hotel, pays for a new hotel.

[00:14:17] Nicky & Heide: Wow.

[00:14:18] Andrew Jernigan: It pays for the relocation. If suddenly there's a hurricane and flights are canceled, it gets you off the island anyway. If it's a natural disaster, if you're visiting the Congo or Malawi on a really unique safari, and all of a sudden there's a new pandemic or outbreak there, it's gonna get you out of there. The security elements are one of the biggest things. The other to look for is mental health physicians on call. To go to a doctor, you're sitting in your Airbnb, your hotel room, and think, "Man, what's going on with me?"

But you don't wanna go sit for hours at a hospital where you don't even speak their language and then be told it's nothing. After waiting for four hours. Then you still don't believe them. So one of the things we've built in is 24-hour telemedicine. Anywhere you are around the world.

[00:15:19] Nicky & Heide: That's fantastic.

[00:15:20] Andrew Jernigan: You call in, speak to a nurse that does a triage, and within five to eight minutes you're connected to a physician, not scheduled for later, not, "Okay. You're in a queue and a doctor will call you in the next 24 hours."

By then you're—you've worried yourself to death and you're fine. Symptom-free again, just worried for the last 24 hours that you weren't going to be symptom-free.

[00:15:43] Nicky & Heide: Yeah.

[00:15:44] Andrew Jernigan: And the other element of that is oftentimes we see or experience traumatic things. We're in a different culture, could be normal for them. You may have just passed a car accident and seen somebody dead on the side of the road and it triggered something. You may end up in a breakup. Your partner's back at home, they announced divorce while you were overseas. You lost a job while you were overseas.

We provide mental health therapy on all of our policies. So you can talk to a therapist 24 hours a day, in multiple languages, and the thing is—if you end up calling twice a day talking to the therapist the whole time you're gone, great. Because bad stuff happens. It doesn't happen all the time. And most times you don't have to file a claim on your travel insurance. But we're building an airport lounge access so that if your flight is delayed, you can go rest in a lounge. We've got the mental health, we've got the telemedicine because it's a whole lot better for you to get a doctor to give you a prescription for something instantly, and you just walk and go to the drug store and say, "This is what I need." Instead of you having to file a claim and have all that time and be moved from one place to another to be told the doctor's coming and that just means they're coming one day. And you just keep waiting for—"He's coming, she's coming."

"Tomorrow," but it's not tomorrow's tomorrow.

[00:17:25] Nicky & Heide: It's always tomorrow. Is it today? No, it's tomorrow. Yeah. Is it today? No, it's still tomorrow. It's still tomorrow.

[00:17:31] Andrew Jernigan: Right.

[00:17:34] Nicky & Heide: Something that you referred to earlier too. Say, I'm traveling to the UK or Brazil and I get there and all of a sudden they say, "Nah, we're not letting you in the country."

Does the insurance address situations like that as well?

[00:17:49] Andrew Jernigan: No, because insurance has to be predictable, measure the cost. You put in how much you're spending on the trip, if you have trip cancellation. That way they know, "Okay, this is what we're covering."

And so things like that aren't covered. But the thing that we've developed is called Legal Guardian. LegalGuardian.com, which is up to 30 hours a month of legal counsel when you're outside your home country.

So that could be an immigration issue. That could be you get in a traffic accident overseas because you rented a car and you went around the roundabout in the wrong direction and hit somebody. Example had never come to mind, but it just randomly did. There are all kinds of scenarios to where you rent an Airbnb and they end up treating you wrong, or whatever. You need a lawyer in that country. And this is—you may have heard of it in the US like Legal Shield or something.

That only covers you in your home country in Canada or US, wherever Legal Shield is sold as a product, but it doesn't cover you overseas, so Legal Guardian does. That's LegalGuardian.com.

That's one of those things where, sure, it won't help you with immigration when they say, "Sorry, you can't come in the country." But if there is a need for legal advice, that's an amazing resource and it's really inexpensive.

[00:19:22] Nicky & Heide: That's really good. What it's sounding like to me is it's not if you're gonna need travel insurance. It's, if you travel, you must have insurance. Especially in today's political climate and with everything going on in the world, it's no longer a luxury.

[00:19:39] Andrew Jernigan: And then there's that myth that people think that, "It's really cheap in that country, so I'm not gonna get it. Because if anything happens, it's gonna be under a hundred bucks anyway," until they see you're a foreigner. Then...

[00:19:53] Nicky & Heide: Yes.

[00:19:54] Andrew Jernigan: There's a different entrance and separate billing, and they wanna bill the insurance companies a whole lot more because it's a foreigner [00:20:00] and "Ooh, there's insurance involved, so let's stack the bill."

That's the fraud we have to deal with. That's why it's not paid as promptly as you wish it were. Also because we have to get all kinds of documentation and then we look at the documentation and say, "Wait, it says you had an MRI. You went in for jaw pain, they're saying it's $10,000 and you're saying that you had a wisdom tooth removed."

[00:20:29] Nicky & Heide: It's crazy.

[00:20:30] Andrew Jernigan: But there's so much fraud when we get the documents and look at them and figure out what is this, what was the hospital trying to do. Did they misunderstand and what's happening?

They're—people are selling bills on the beach too, saying "If you'll sign here, I'll give you half of what the insurance company pays us."

[00:20:56] Nicky & Heide: Wow.

[00:20:57] Andrew Jernigan: Yeah. It is a common fraud. There's a lot of fraud with going up hiking in the Himalayas with air evacs. That's one of the biggest frauds that's been exposed on CNN and everywhere else—air evacs that are not necessary. And so travel insurance is essential, even though you're not gonna need it in most cases. We build in things that are helpful.

Global Nomad Pass, it's not a product of ours, it's one of those built-ins to where you're getting local discounts at mom-and-pop coffee shops and coworking places in different cities, shops, etc., that you can discover things. That may not be the top tourist destination, but you get 20% off that cup of coffee.

[00:21:48] Nicky & Heide: Yeah. And then too, you're also getting the local experience too, which is a lot more valuable. So you have those partners—are they like partners with you guys or just people fragmented?

[00:21:59] Andrew Jernigan: GlobalNomadPass.com, you can go there and get it directly at 79 bucks a year and you get discounts all around the world, or get an annual multi-trip with us or a single trip with us, and you get 12 months of membership for free.

[00:22:13] Nicky & Heide: Perfect.

[00:22:13] Andrew Jernigan: It's building in a lot of value in the travel tech side.

Sure, you're gonna get an alert if there's an earthquake in Myanmar. So you're getting alerts saying this is happening, or volcano goes crazy in Finland or something, or a shooting in Boston. You're gonna get text message alerts and in-app notifications of things that are happening. But back to some things we talked about earlier. I'm passionate about this because be careful what you talk about when you're traveling.

As Americans, we're really transparent. A lot of times we'll tell the taxi driver, "Oh yeah, I wish I was staying here longer. I'm only here for three days." Why are you telling him you're there for three days? Or somebody at a bar or you're saying, "Oh yeah, I leave tomorrow." Or, just the random facts that we think are nothing because we're just being friendly and our luggage tag is facing out with our name and our address and our phone number and our email on it. If somebody grabs their phone and just takes a picture...

[00:23:21] Nicky & Heide: Mine even has my picture on it.

[00:23:24] Andrew Jernigan: Yeah, and posting on socials while we're still in that city versus after we leave to the next destination and post all your pictures from where you just were—just to protect yourself because other people are, they tag you—just tag the resort, you tag this cool cafe, and they're just like, "Ooh. There's a wealthy American in that cafe right now" because people are watching the tags, people are watching the hashtags. "Oh, I just tagged myself at this museum," and it's better to wait until you've gone to the next museum, the next restaurant.

Instead of while you're sitting there and you took a picture of that beautiful pastry and tag them. Cool. It's supporting that restaurant, but it's not wise for your own safety. But did you tell somebody back home where you're staying? Did you share your itinerary? Did you leave a copy of a power of attorney with them? Did you leave someone a copy of your will? Do you have a will? You just went overseas. And did you give them a copy of your travel insurance? That way if you end up in a hospital somewhere and you're in a coma, did they know what town you're in? Did they know that travel insurance policies will pay for someone to go stay with you if you're admitted in a hospital?

[00:24:58] Nicky & Heide: I didn't know that. Me either.

[00:25:00] Andrew Jernigan: So if you're in a hospital and you're gonna be there at least three days, most travel insurance—ours does—we'll pay for someone to go be with you and a daily amount while they're there.

If you're traveling with your dog like I have and other people do, you can pay for kennel fees. I look at it and like, "Why are we charging for that? Why don't we just include it?" It's—every penny matters, so why charge 'em 7 cents if they're not gonna use it? And some policies, it'll pay to ship the dog back if you're hospitalized.

But a lot of people don't know—they buy it, they don't share it with anybody. They don't read it. They delete the email because they think they're never gonna use it. And then they're thinking, "What company did I actually buy?"

When the time comes and it's "Oh, that's 600 emails later. Where is it? What company? I know I got quotes from three different companies. It had 'insured' in—it was InsuredTravelers.com." Which is part of InsuredNomads.com.

[00:26:04] Nicky & Heide: No, this is great because I am guilty of a lot of the things you're saying I should do or shouldn't do. And I travel for a living and I have for the past, well over a decade. And I know you've gotten on to me about a couple things. But yeah, this is such good information even for people who are used to traveling because a lot of these things I've never thought about that you're bringing up.

[00:26:31] Andrew Jernigan: Even when you're traveling in country.

Travel insurance works in country, so if you're just traveling from Portland to San Francisco, you want to get travel insurance especially if you have a high deductible on your health insurance plan. Travel insurance could kick in and then you don't have to worry about that $15,000 deductible you're worried about with your marketplace plan. If you're uninsured in the US, that's an easy way to carry the medical risk for accident and illness, even in country travel. But back to safety. When you're traveling, even when you're traveling in the country, do you tell somebody where you're staying? You go to a conference in Chicago, does somebody know where you're staying?

[00:27:24] Nicky & Heide: Yeah. We call it a proof of life person.

I'd use my person when I travel for work and vice versa. Yeah. Yeah, because we're two single ladies, and you need your proof of life. Somebody you call every day, "Hey, are you still alive? You doing all right?"

[00:27:38] Andrew Jernigan: Yep.

[00:27:38] Nicky & Heide: I like that.

[00:27:39] Andrew Jernigan: Within our app, there's an "I'm okay" button and you can just hit it and it sends the GPS location to our global response team.

[00:27:49] Nicky & Heide: Okay.

[00:27:50] Andrew Jernigan: And it just lets folks know—you can hit it every day. You can hit it four times a day if you want to, it actually says that's where they were at that time, which is really cool because a lot of times you're not traveling with Flash Pack or some solo group travel.

FlashPack.com is amazing, by the way, for solo travelers that want to go experience great things with a group. It's—you join a group as a solo traveler. Female owned and operated. CEO's this fabulous lady. FlashPack.com, by the way, if you're a single traveler, but really don't want to do it by yourself. Yes.

[00:28:28] Nicky & Heide: Okay.

[00:28:28] Andrew Jernigan: Check that out, that's one of those safety nets when you're a solo traveler, but really don't wanna do it by yourself, is to have a good group experience like that.

[00:28:37] Nicky & Heide: Okay. And just to get back to, we've got a trip to Peru—I have another friend who's going to Europe soon. And again, we are seeing increased polarization in many countries and is this affecting how Americans, especially women travelers are being received abroad?

And what strategies do you recommend for handling potential hostility? Towards American travelers or travelers coming here.

[00:29:08] Andrew Jernigan: Yeah, I don't believe there's a lot of hostility towards American travelers.

[00:29:11] Nicky & Heide: Okay.

[00:29:13] Andrew Jernigan: Americans have it a little bit more than others because at times we tend to come across as arrogant and entitled—louder and not as aware of local norms.

[00:29:31] Nicky & Heide: Yeah.

[00:29:32] Andrew Jernigan: I saw, I had an experience where one lady went—had a 12-hour layover in the Emirates, in Dubai. Didn't realize she'd go on some tours and they had a really low-cut blouse. It was beautiful. But they were in a place where women didn't wear very low-cut blouses and pants, and they were quite [00:30:00] out of the ordinary there.

[00:30:01] Nicky & Heide: Yeah.

[00:30:02] Andrew Jernigan: They were still treated kindly, but it's not respectful of norms.

[00:30:05] Nicky & Heide: Right.

[00:30:05] Andrew Jernigan: And there's, it's back to the sharing too much is something that culturally Americans from certain regions may do. And that's not just a safety thing, but also a thing of, "I didn't need to know all that." If you're from the southeast like I am, my wife often joked with me, she's not from the southeast, she's like "At the drive-through, at the hamburger place, you could get somebody's social security number."

They'll just talk to you so much. By the time you leave, you know everything about them.

[00:30:34] Nicky & Heide: Yeah.

[00:30:35] Andrew Jernigan: And...

[00:30:35] Nicky & Heide: We're based...

[00:30:37] Andrew Jernigan: You go through the Carl's... Yeah, the Carl's Jr. Drive-through and by the time you leave, you know everything.

[00:30:43] Nicky & Heide: Yeah. A year and a half ago I was on a cruise in the Mediterranean and obviously I have an accent. And there was another couple that was also from Oklahoma who had an accent. They heard me talking to my friend and it was like, "Oh, you're from Oklahoma." And before lunch was over on the boat in the Mediterranean, I knew her entire life story.

[00:31:03] Andrew Jernigan: Yeah.

[00:31:03] Nicky & Heide: It doesn't even have to happen.

[00:31:05] Andrew Jernigan: Yes.

[00:31:06] Nicky & Heide: Yes.

[00:31:08] Andrew Jernigan: And they probably shouldn't be hearing everything we're saying.

[00:31:11] Nicky & Heide: Yeah.

[00:31:12] Andrew Jernigan: I go back to when I was in my twenties and I was living in Amsterdam with a baseball cap on that said "War Eagle," and they're some, they're from some other culture. I just got so excited because it was a fellow Southerner, but oftentimes they weren't. I got held up at gunpoint one night walking home by myself at two in the morning. My Ralph Lauren polo shirt, Levi jeans, Timberland boots. I looked straight out of the American stereotypical stitch kit, right? I had 20 bucks on me and no ID, and luckily I wasn't harmed. I was just shaken up. They took my 20 bucks, but I didn't have anything on me.

Nobody knew where I was and it was two in the morning and I went to a police station. I didn't even know the address of where I was staying. I just knew where I was geographically. I didn't speak the language. And that's one of those things—learned some lessons from doing it the wrong way.

[00:32:20] Nicky & Heide: Yeah. Some women at the moment are hesitant to take international trips due to current global tensions. What would you say to those wondering if now would be a good time to postpone international trips? Should you take the trip or wait?

[00:32:35] Andrew Jernigan: Take that trip.

[00:32:38] Nicky & Heide: Right answer.

[00:32:39] Andrew Jernigan: Take those trips, remove news feeds from your phone, get off the news and get into life. Fill it with positivity and things that are uplifting. Sure. Get alerts and know what's happening, but don't buy into the fears. They're not afraid of you overseas. They're waiting for you with open arms and hopefully we are too.

When you enter our country again, when you come back, it's just—be patient with TSA. They're underpaid, overworked, dealing with frustrated people, wishing they didn't have to take their shoes off and just be ready, get TSA Pre and Global Entry. Like that, your credit card may be paying for it anyway, just check and see. There's some easy things around it. But yes, go on those trips. It'll make you a better person. It'll help you disengage. Take a book, turn your phone off, journal.

[00:33:45] Nicky & Heide: Yeah.

[00:33:46] Andrew Jernigan: Start meditating. Get some good habits built while you're on that trip.

[00:33:51] Nicky & Heide: Oh, definitely. Now you mentioned that Insured Nomads has technology within the app to help address some safety concerns that people have. Could you talk a little bit more about what those specific features are?

[00:34:06] Andrew Jernigan: Yes. For the average traveler, they're quite basic. The cultural, some of the cultural guidance. The best things are the travel alerts so that when things are happening near you, you may not be watching local news and you don't know what's happening. You may be so enjoying everything that's going on outside.

You don't know that the other side of town just had something major happen and you shouldn't go there. That's the biggest thing is knowing when something happens, when you're off the grid, when you're just thinking about, "Wow, this breakfast is great," or "I'm tired of grapes and yogurt. When can I, where's a place I can go get something different?"

[00:34:51] Nicky & Heide: Black beans for breakfast.

[00:34:53] Andrew Jernigan: It's one of those things where you're really not watching the news. You didn't turn on the TV. You are not paying attention to what's happening in your host location. So having the ability to get alerts and get out of there fast if something happens, like if you're in Morocco, an earthquake happens. How can we, how can you get on that charter flight?

All the commercial flights stopped coming in and stopped flying out. But your policy gets you out of there. It's probably gonna be on a charter plane though, but it's one of those things that is included.

[00:35:32] Nicky & Heide: That happened to me when I was in Quito, Ecuador. I was—we were outside of Quito at the time. But I started getting texts, WhatsApp messages going, "Hey, are you okay? Are you safe?" There is when they had the riots in Quito and I had no idea what was going on.

[00:35:49] Andrew Jernigan: Similarly this week we had a roof collapse at a nightclub in Dominican Republic.

I messaged somebody there saying, "Are you okay?" Because it was filled with Major League baseball players and different ones, and 66 people dead just 'cause the roof collapsed at a nightclub.

[00:36:08] Nicky & Heide: Yeah.

[00:36:09] Andrew Jernigan: And things happen.

Building codes aren't the same and they happen anywhere, not just whether you're in Orlando. It happens everywhere.

[00:36:20] Nicky & Heide: And a lot of times people think of travel insurance to cover a delayed flight, your lost luggage, a delayed luggage.

[00:36:27] Andrew Jernigan: Yeah.

[00:36:28] Nicky & Heide: Maybe if you get sick and just have to go to the doctor. But it covers so much because when you're traveling, anything can happen and usually does.

Maybe not to the extent that the roof is gonna collapse, but it can happen.

[00:36:41] Andrew Jernigan: And many people don't know their benefits.

[00:36:46] Nicky & Heide: Exactly.

[00:36:46] Andrew Jernigan: If your flight is delayed by six hours, which often happens, you get to the airport for an 8:00 PM flight, they say, "Sorry, it's not taking off. You're gonna be put on for tomorrow or in two days. Here's a hotel voucher." Your insurance may pay out a thousand bucks to you also. A lot of times people don't even think about it when their flights are delayed or there's a trip interruption benefit included. That's cash.

You're leaving cash on the table.

[00:37:19] Nicky & Heide: Wow.

[00:37:20] Andrew Jernigan: You buy the policy and then don't use it. We're building something for you to use. We don't get rave reviews just because it's like you get a response saying, "Would you review your experience?" It's "I didn't use it, so I'm not gonna write a review." It's like we packed it full of good features, write us a great review!

[00:37:38] Nicky & Heide: Yes. In fact as soon as we get off here, I'm gonna go to Insured Nomads because my year policy expires in May. So this is the perfect time for shopping for a new yearly policy. Yeah. And I'm gonna make a copy of my will. Give you a copy of my will. Me too. And a power of attorney.

'Cause I go to Mexico in a few weeks. I go with you, by the way. Okay. Then I've gotta give it to somebody else.

[00:38:01] Andrew Jernigan: Give it to somebody!

[00:38:02] Nicky & Heide: We're on that same trip.

[00:38:03] Andrew Jernigan: Some phone numbers of where you are.

[00:38:05] Nicky & Heide: Yes.

[00:38:06] Andrew Jernigan: But speaking of that though, if you're going on some trips like this, making a local friend if you're going for more than a week or so. Whether it's somebody that works in a coffee shop, owns a coffee shop, it's gotta be somewhat random because it's an unknown person, but you need a local person also.

[00:38:31] Nicky & Heide: Do you do that before or after you get there? Can you join like a local Facebook group and be like, "Hey, somebody, be my friend."

[00:38:38] Andrew Jernigan: No, absolutely not.

[00:38:39] Nicky & Heide: Okay.

[00:38:40] Andrew Jernigan: That's not safe at all. Not safe. It's more of, okay, if you're gonna be on a staycation, a slowmad style, mentioned you're going for over a year somewhere, local friends over time so that you've got community around you. If you're gonna be somewhere for three weeks, you're gonna have time to realize, "Okay, I can trust this person, this mom with kids that I see in the park every day." You know that you can say, "Okay, great. If something happens, I'm staying at this hostel, or I'm staying at this apartment, you're gonna be at the park every day at 10. I'm gonna come out here and sit with you for a few minutes or something." Just I'm adlibbing it as I'm going, but it's more that thing of have local people also. Things happen and you need locals that can help sometimes.

[00:39:35] Nicky & Heide: And that's a great tip. Even if you're in a hotel for just a couple of days, if you have breakfast in the hotel or just have coffee, a lot of times you're gonna see the same people, the concierge that works the morning shift, you're gonna see them regularly.

[00:39:48] Andrew Jernigan: Yeah.

[00:39:49] Nicky & Heide: I was gonna say.

[00:39:50] Andrew Jernigan: If something happens, you can't fly out at all. You're stuck there for a month longer than you thought you were gonna be, and you can't afford that hotel anymore. [00:40:00] Your credit cards are maxed out and some world event happened and you're gonna be there for another month. It's gonna be nice that you had somebody local that you could talk to. Sorry, that went on the fear side a little bit, but it's more of have some local friends.

[00:40:15] Nicky & Heide: And then, it leads to a great question, besides travel insurance and these amazing tips that you've been dropping on us during the past 45 minutes. Everything keeps changing rapidly, so I think all of us are really trying to keep up and stay current.

But let's recap the advice you gave. Definitely have a proof of life person that knows where you're going, where you're staying, when you're supposed to return.

Have a copy of your will, their travel insurance policy, and power of attorney.

[00:40:48] Andrew Jernigan: Your flights, a copy of your passport, leave it with them. Leave a copy of your credit card. If your credit card is stolen and you want to get it reissued, they may ask what your number is, what your credit card number is.

You have something like OnePassword.com.

You have all your passwords, credit card numbers stored. A safe vault system like that's a great backup so that if all your documents are lost, all your credit cards are stolen, you can log in to OnePassword.com and see them all.

[00:41:22] Nicky & Heide: No.

[00:41:22] Andrew Jernigan: Having access to airport lounge access is essential. I think if you're a frequent traveler.

[00:41:34] Nicky & Heide: Yes.

[00:41:34] Andrew Jernigan: Our health insurance, we include unlimited Priority Pass access, so that's walk into a lounge whenever you want to, as often as you want to.

[00:41:45] Nicky & Heide: In any lounge.

[00:41:47] Andrew Jernigan: The other thing with our travel insurance, you get a one year, even if it's a single trip, you get one year access to INS Pass. It's operated by the same network, but it's for registered delayed flights. So you're going to Peru, had a single trip insurance for that day trip, but for 12 months you have INS. So anytime you're traveling domestically, wherever, register your flights with your InsuredTravelers.com policy number, your InsuredNomads.com policy number, and you get access to an airport lounge if it's available, if your flight's delayed by an hour.

[00:42:29] Nicky & Heide: Oh wow.

[00:42:30] Andrew Jernigan: That's pretty cool.

[00:42:32] Nicky & Heide: It's a nice peace of mind.

[00:42:34] Andrew Jernigan: Right. So in that recap, I threw in something crazy. It sounds like it's not a necessity, but if you're a frequent traveler, it makes such a difference to get into an airport lounge.

[00:42:46] Nicky & Heide: Yes.

[00:42:48] Andrew Jernigan: Rest in peace and safety, that you're not having to watch a bag when you go get some food.

You're safe.

[00:42:55] Nicky & Heide: Yeah.

[00:42:56] Andrew Jernigan: You're in a little bubble. It may not be all that great in some places. Some are wonderful, but others are really basic.

[00:43:06] Nicky & Heide: Some.

[00:43:07] Andrew Jernigan: Those airport lounges.

Some do, just keep your standards low so that you can be surprised when it's a really great lounge.

[00:43:15] Nicky & Heide: Yeah. Even just lounge access on its own is fantastic. Like a United Pass is $59.

[00:43:22] Andrew Jernigan: Yeah.

[00:43:22] Nicky & Heide: By the time you pay for a meal, pay for, let's say an alcoholic beverage or a non-alcoholic beverage and dessert, you've probably already spent close to $50 per person.

[00:43:34] Andrew Jernigan: Yes. Let me drop two more things real quick. This is—one is a stress saver, time saver, and money saver.

[00:43:47] Nicky & Heide: Okay.

[00:43:48] Andrew Jernigan: An eSIM.

Most of our phones are capable of adding a SIM card. Used to, you stick it in the side of the phone. Now it's digital. You get a new phone number and with Insured Nomads plans, you get two gigabytes for free. So that means when you land in a country, you activate it and you can go ahead and call, you can text, you can get online without the wifi. You can call your hotel, you can call your friend, you can check email without trying to figure out, what's the wifi here. But second one ties onto that, and that is make sure you have a VPN, malware and antivirus on your iPad and your phone and your laptop because wifi in your Airbnb, in your hotel, the airport is not safe.

[00:44:41] Nicky & Heide: Yeah.

[00:44:42] Andrew Jernigan: And when's the last time you ran an antivirus? A malware check on your phone. Don't answer that question because I don't think it's probably been recent.

[00:44:53] Nicky & Heide: Or ever.

[00:44:54] Andrew Jernigan: You're smiling and laughing. It's never. Yes.

[00:44:58] Nicky & Heide: I didn't even know you could.

[00:45:00] Andrew Jernigan: Yes, you can. It's so crucial. Protecting people is my passion. I look at it as it's my responsibility to protect everybody. And so we partnered with McAfee. The global leader around the world—there are a couple of others. Bitdefender is highly reputable. And so with our health insurance, international health insurance, you get to protect 10 devices for a year with NordVPN. With VPN, malware protection, online and identity. It just warned of a breach with one of our, one of my family's email addresses saying, "It was sold—you need to change that, the mail list was sold."

You need to change your password. Don't connect in hotels on their wifi without a VPN on because other people are logging in. They can connect to your laptop and get data.

[00:45:59] Nicky & Heide: Oh wow.

[00:45:59] Andrew Jernigan: Passwords, clone your emails, send emails out to people saying, "Hey, I'm stuck in this country. I need money. Wire it to me." Yeah, because they're tapped into your email. They've cloned your device and you don't even know it.

[00:46:12] Nicky & Heide: Wow. Yeah.

[00:46:13] Andrew Jernigan: Connect, get McAfee. It's pretty inexpensive. Maybe a hundred bucks a year. And or something comparable so that you can cover multiple devices. A lot of times it's inexpensive for the first year and then the price goes up second year. Just watch those and connect wisely. This has been so much fun. If you aren't subscribing to this podcast, and if you haven't voted for it, give it a thumbs up. Share it with a friend too. Have 'em listen, because the guests that come on Untethered and Wonder Wise are usually incredible.

[00:46:53] Nicky & Heide: I think it's pretty fantastic. Yes.

[00:46:57] Andrew Jernigan: Heide and Nicky have the best content to share, and tune back in. Okay.

[00:47:04] Nicky & Heide: And before we let you go, tell our listeners where they can find you and Insured Nomads.

[00:47:11] Andrew Jernigan: Whether you're on LinkedIn, Instagram, wherever it's Insured Nomads.

[00:47:17] Nicky & Heide: Perfect.

[00:47:18] Andrew Jernigan: Add Insured Nomads, whether you're on Facebook, X, talk about us, sacred things on Reddit, everywhere else, we're here to protect you. If you ever have a claim, whatever company you're with insurance, just realize claims process isn't slow because they're out to get you and to delay payment.

[00:47:38] Nicky & Heide: Exactly.

[00:47:39] Andrew Jernigan: And on your international travels, that desk clerk checking you in isn't intentionally delaying things either. She wants to get off and go to the next person. Be patient and kind wherever you're going. Thank you all.

[00:47:52] Nicky & Heide: Thank you so much for joining us, and that's it for today's episode of Untethered and Wander Wise. I'm Nicky Omohundro. And I'm Heide Brandes. And until next time, take that trip like Andrew said, and stay curious. Bye folks.