Travel Insurance Coverage: An Expert Guide (2024)

Travel insurance coverage is for any mishaps that might happen on your vacation. No matter how thorough you were, there will always be variables you couldn’t have seen coming. Perhaps a flight was delayed beyond reasonable expectations, or a loved one had a sudden emergency. 

While unforeseen circumstances may interrupt your plans at the worst moments, travel insurance plans from companies like Travel Guard allow part of the financial burden to rest elsewhere. Below, we’ll cover who offers the best coverage and what you should look for as you chart your upcoming journeys. If you want to look for travel insurance plans now, use our free quote comparison tool to get started. 

Best Travel Insurance Companies

From international flights to road trips with your buddies, traveling near and far has become both more affordable and more commonplace than it’s ever been. As such, offering the best travel insurance packages has become a competitive market, with a mosaic of competitors trying to edge each other out and offer you the best deals on cheap travel insurance coverage.

From HTH Worldwide to Trawick to Tin Leg travel insurance, many providers have become masters of their own specialized markets, and over a dozen scored a 4.5/5 or higher in Forbes Advisor’s Travel Insurance Ratings. Below is a table showcasing a few of them.

Top Insurance Companies Using Forbes Advisor's Travel Insurance Ratings

These are just a few of the highest-ranking companies. We have a HTH Worldwide Insurance review for you to read if you’d like more information on specific companies. Similarly, we also have a Trawick International Insurance review as well.

Types of Travel Insurance Coverage

As you can see, finding quality travel insurance is easy. In fact, it’s so simple that selecting the right plan amid a myriad of good options is enough to drive one nuts. That’s why it’s important to understand first what’s available, then what you need, and finally, what you should expect to pay. Let’s cover some items you might see as you shop around.

• COVID-19 travel insurance: That’s exactly what it sounds like. There’s a certain level of constant anticipation over when/whether a new strain will arise, which might once again interrupt the entirety of the human experience. Insurers are willing to assume this risk. 

• Cancel for any reason insurance: Once again, they picked an appropriate name, and it’s discernable at once. When you book a trip, people have anticipated your arrival. Tickets, rooms, and cars may have been specifically allocated to you personally. Canceling often leaves you with no trip and no money back. Cancel for any reason insurance allows you to recoup a portion of that cost.

• International travel insurance: This one’s a little less obvious. It sounds like trip insurance, but it’s actually a form of travel health insurance. International travel covers gaps in your medical insurance which may apply abroad, allowing you to continue checkups and treatments while you’re away.

• Trip cancellation insurance: This is ‘cancel for any reason’ insurance’s more conservative older sibling. While cancel for any reason insurance allows you to terminate your trip on a whim, trip cancellation insurance kicks in when your travel plans are impeded by an unexpected item that appears on a particular list, which includes extreme weather, jury duty, etc.

• Travel medical insurance: In the event of an emergency, travel insurance covers everything up to and including a medical evacuation, and it’s designed to assist you in recovering the associated costs of medical bills. Not only can it be a lifesaver, but it can reimburse you once your life has been saved.

• Baggage loss and personal effects coverage: With that, we’re back to the kind of coverage you can identify by the title. We’re all aware that baggage spontaneously vanishes like socks in a drawer. This coverage is to compensate you for replacing those items which fall someplace short of their intended destination.

• Cruise insurance: Some anomalies only happen when on a cruise. If you’re unable to enjoy your excursion because you’re cooped up in your quarters due to an emergency, there’s coverage for that. The same goes for a cruise that misses its port.

• Credit card travel insurance: Credit card companies have begun to hop into the travel insurance game, and it’s for your gain. Certain cards offer built-in insurance policies if you book your trip exclusively on their credit. Each card operates a little differently, so do your due diligence and take advantage.

You do not have to get every type of insurance coverage on this list, but can pick and choose to get a plan that is right for you. 

Read more: International Life Insurance: How to Buy Life Insurance While Abroad

How to Choose Your Travel Insurance Plan

People travel for different reasons, to different places, and in different levels of luxury. The best travel insurance plan will differ accordingly. Prices vary based on how old you are (younger people are simply less likely to find themselves hospitalized or injured), as well as where you’re going, what you’re doing, and how long you plan on staying.

Each provider offers base packages based on popular demand. They’re the easiest and the best place to begin, but be sure you select the coverage limits and the options which suit your needs. For example, when you use Allianz Global Assistance travel insurance, you can select rental car coverage as an add-on. 

Learn more: Allianz Global Assistance Insurance Review & Complaints: Travel Insurance

We live in a world as unpredictable as ever, and there’s no reason to count on that fact changing. Plans fall through, the unexpected happens, and life simply refuses to abide by the schedules we attempt to force onto it. Nevertheless, we inhabit a stressful world where sometimes we need to get away. Our families and our minds crave reprieve, and vacations, day trips, getaways, and road trips offer to scratch that itch for us.

Planning a trip can be stressful, and nobody cherishes the thought of dishing out more hard-earned dollars to protect against something that may or may not happen. But it’s like the saying goes: It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Travel Insurance Coverage: Case Studies Highlighting the Benefits of Travel Insurance

Case Study 1: Trip Cancellation Coverage

Sarah planned a two-week vacation to a tropical destination and purchased travel insurance with trip cancellation coverage. Unfortunately, a week before her trip, Sarah fell ill and was unable to travel. Thanks to her travel insurance, Sarah was able to recover the non-refundable expenses she had incurred for her flights, accommodation, and activities.

The trip cancellation coverage provided her with financial protection against unexpected circumstances that prevented her from going on her planned vacation.

Case Study 2: Medical Emergency Abroad

John embarked on a backpacking trip across Europe and made sure to have travel insurance with comprehensive medical coverage. During his journey, John encountered a medical emergency that required hospitalization. His travel insurance covered the cost of his medical treatment that his health insurance didn’t cover, including hospital expenses, medications, and repatriation back to his home country.

Learn more: What does health insurance cover? 

The medical coverage provided him with peace of mind and financial support during a challenging situation in a foreign country.

Case Study 3: Lost Baggage and Delayed Flights

Emily traveled to a different continent for a business conference and experienced a series of unfortunate events. Her baggage was lost during a layover, and her flights were delayed, causing her to miss important meetings. Fortunately, Emily had affordable travel insurance that included coverage for lost baggage and travel delays.

Her insurance company reimbursed her for the essential items she had to purchase due to the lost baggage and provided compensation for the additional expenses she incurred due to the delayed flights. The coverage helped Emily navigate the unexpected challenges and minimized the financial impact of the situation.

Case Study 4: Rental Car Coverage

Mark planned a road trip across the United States and rented a car for his journey. He opted for travel insurance that included rental car insurance. During his trip, Mark got into a minor accident, damaging the rental car.

His travel insurance covered the cost of repairs, saving him from having to pay out of pocket. The rental car coverage provided him with financial protection against unforeseen incidents during his road trip.

The Final Word on Travel Insurance Coverage

As wise as it may be to expect the unexpected when planning a trip, it’s worthwhile to permit responsibility out to somebody else — specifically, a travel insurance company that can provide travel insurance coverage. Most of us only plan a trip or two each year, so unexpected obstacles can often derail our most elaborate efforts.

These companies cover millions of trips every year, meaning that our hardships are the kinds of problems they solve each and every day.

Travel insurance is worth keeping in mind should you want peace of mind. Nab yourself a travel insurance quote today with our free quote comparison tool.