It’s worth considering travel insurance if you have non-refundable booking expenses or plan to travel internationally, where your health insurance won’t cover you. However, travel insurance may not be necessary if travel expenses are low or refundable, or if you do not need additional coverage without existing health insurance or credit card travel protection.
learn more: Travel Insurance: What It Covers, Costs, and How to Choose the Right Policy
The more expensive the return trip costs, the more risk you take in case your trip is canceled or interrupted for unforeseen reasons. With full coverage travel insurance policies, you are generally covered for various trip cancellation reasons that are beyond your control, such as you or a travel companion becoming seriously ill or injured.
Your standard health insurance plan may not cover you if you are traveling abroad, so it may be worth considering travel insurance policies with adequate medical coverage. Also, a travel insurance policy with emergency evacuation and return coverage can cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses if you plan to travel to a destination that is remote or has limited infrastructure.
learn more: What does travel insurance cover?, And do I need it?
If you go on a lot of trips a year, it’s worth considering an annual travel insurance policy. The longer you travel, the more likely your flight will be delayed or canceled, your luggage will be lost, or any number of other unforeseen circumstances.
Annual plans are often cheaper for frequent travelers than paying for individual plans per trip, but you may get less coverage overall depending on the policy.
Planning your trip in advance is not a bad thing, but it leaves plenty of time for an unexpected event to occur, which can force you to change your plans. Remember that you can often book a trip and buy travel insurance later until you’ve left for your trip. However, remember that closing your travel insurance policy early may open up the possibility of additional coverage, such as insurance for pre-existing medical conditions.
Making travel plans with tour groups or travel agencies can simplify the process, but it may also lock you into non-refundable expenses. In addition, planning your complicated itinerary, with multiple flights and hotel stays, can become complicated if you cancel your trip.
With the right travel insurance policy, you don’t have to worry about the cost of rescheduling or canceling part or all of your trip for coverage reasons.
learn more: How much does travel insurance cost?
If your trips are often short, like a quick weekend getaway, you may not need travel insurance because you’re likely to spend less money when you’re only gone for a few days.
If you always make sure that your travel bookings are refundable or changeable without extra charges, there is likely no need to purchase an insurance policy with travel cancellation coverage.
Most of the best travel credit cards offer different types of travel insurance as part of their built-in benefits. For example, you may already have trip cancellation or interruption insurance (up to a certain limit) if you pay for your flight and hotel bookings with an applicable credit card.
Common types of travel insurance coverage:
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Auto rental coverage
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Luggage insurance
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Emergency evacuation and transportation coverage
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Emergency medical and dental coverage
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Travel Accident Insurance
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Travel delay coverage
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Trip cancellation insurance
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Travel Interruption Insurance
Note: These coverage names may vary by provider.
Common items that are not usually included in travel insurance plans include:
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Pre-existing medical conditions
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Known or significant events
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Change your mind.
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Afraid to travel
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High risk activities and adventure sports
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Epidemics and Epidemics
In some cases, basic travel insurance coverage may not be considered because the coverage limits are too low, or not every situation is covered.
For example, Allianz’s basic annual plan may be less than a third of the price of the most expensive plan option, but you miss out on key protections like trip cancellation and interruption insurance. This means that if you have to cancel or interrupt your trip, the policy will pay the applicable non-refundable expenses.
CFAR coverage is mainly worth it if you want the extra peace of mind of canceling a trip and recouping at least some of your non-refundable expenses. This cover allows you to cancel your trip if you change your mind or basically for any other reason. However, you typically only recover 50% to 75% of your insured’s non-reimbursed expenses.
Medical evacuation and transportation coverage
If you are considering purchasing a plan with emergency medical and dental coverage, it may already include medical evacuation and transportation. If not, it’s worth considering, as emergency medical transportation costs can easily exceed $100,000.
However, if you do not need additional medical insurance or do not plan to travel internationally, this coverage may not be necessary.
Consider these questions to help you decide if travel insurance makes sense for you:
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Do you have non-refundable travel expenses? If so, it may be worth considering trip cancellation and interruption insurance.
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How far do you travel from home? Emergency medical coverage may make sense for international travel.
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Do you already have extended coverage? You may not need additional coverage if you already have rewards credit card coverage.
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How long is your trip? While travel insurance may make sense for a long trip, you may not need it for a weekend getaway.
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Are you planning to rent a car? A policy with rental car damage and theft coverage can be beneficial.
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Will you be checking a bag? Paying for baggage delay or baggage loss and damage insurance can help protect your belongings.
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Can you absorb unexpected losses? This may be the most important question of all. If you can’t absorb unexpected losses, it might be a good idea to consider buying a travel insurance policy.
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It may be worth considering travel insurance if you have high non-refundable expenses, plan to travel internationally, or take multiple trips each year.
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Travel insurance may not be necessary if you have flexible travel bookings, travel for short periods at a time, or already have adequate coverage through travel credit cards or other means.
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When deciding whether travel insurance makes sense for you, consider your risk tolerance. If you cannot absorb the cost of unexpected expenses, you may want to consider purchasing a travel insurance policy.
Tim Manny edited this article.
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