Whether you travel frequently take a few major trips each year, a travel insurance plan can prevent financial damages if tragedy strikes or if something goes wrong on your trip.
The best travel insurance plans cover unexpected medical fees, luggage damage or theft, expenses incurred when a trip is cancelled or interrupted due to circumstances beyond your control, and more. However, you can typically customize your plan to ensure that you have various coverage options appropriate for how you travel.
If you’re looking for travel insurance this year, you’re undoubtedly wondering which firms provide the most comprehensive coverage you can trust.
In this article, we’ve compiled a list of the best travel insurance companies you can opt for this 2023.
Table of contents
- What Is Travel Insurance and How Does It Work?
- Is Travel Insurance a Good Investment?
- How Can I Get Travel Insurance?
- What Does Typical Travel Insurance Cover?
- What Does Typical Travel Insurance Exclude?
- What You Should Expect to Pay for With Travel Insurance
- Is Travel Insurance Worth It?
- Best Travel Insurance Companies In 2023
- FAQs On Travel Insurance Companies
- Conclusion
- References
- We Also Recommend
What Is Travel Insurance and How Does It Work?
Travel insurance protects you against frequent issues that arise when you’re on the road. It can help protect the money you put down for your travel experience, from trip disruptions to full cancellations.
More than merely an unexpected trip halt is covered with standard coverage. It can also cover lost or damaged luggage and changes to your schedule for covered causes.
Because your existing health insurance may not work away from home, medical coverage is a crucial consideration.
Medical treatment, dental emergencies, and medical transportation are all covered by the best travel insurance. If you have or are in danger of developing pre-existing ailments, ensure your coverage covers those as well.
SEE ALSO: 10 Best Cheap Dental Insurance Companies in 2023
Is Travel Insurance a Good Investment?
While travel insurance may appear to be an unnecessary extra cost, it can save you a lot of money if your vacation is cancelled or interrupted for any reason.
If you have a medical emergency while away from home, travel insurance might assist in covering the costs.
Travel insurance, especially for large vacations when you’ll be spending a lot of money, can provide you peace of mind knowing you can reclaim your expenses if something unforeseen happens.
However, travel insurance may not be required in all circumstances. You should look into what coverage you already have from other sources.
For example, many credit cards will cover the cost of lost or delayed luggage if you pay for your flight with that card.
Travel insurance may not be required for routine travel inside the same country, such as visiting a family member or acquaintance for a few days.
How Can I Get Travel Insurance?
The next step is to apply for travel insurance when you’ve decided on a plan that matches your needs. You’ll need to give the insurance company some basic information about yourself and your travel plans, such as your age, where you reside, the date and location of your trip, and the entire cost of your trip, including flights and hotel stays.
You may apply for a policy with many insurance companies totally online. You may usually manage your account online and add facts about your trip once your application has been approved. In the event that you do need to file a claim, you can usually do so online.
You may want to see the Best Car Insurance for College Students in 2023
What Does Typical Travel Insurance Cover?
Many different perks may be included in travel insurance. Here are some frequent scenarios that are covered by many travel insurance policies:
- Cancellation of the trip
- Interrupted journey
- Delay on your journey
- A connection was lost.
- Loss, damage, and theft of luggage and personal belongings
- Luggage that has been delayed
- Medical attention is required immediately.
- Medical evacuation in an emergency
- Death and dismemberment as a result of an accident (AD&D)
What Does Typical Travel Insurance Exclude?
Travel insurance includes frequent exclusions that you should be aware of, just as homeowner’s insurance often excludes situations like earthquakes and floods.
Some forms of coverage that you might not get with travel insurance include:
- Weather-related postponements and cancellations
- As a result of terrorist attacks, trips may be cancelled or rescheduled.
- Due to a pandemic, your trip may be cancelled or rescheduled.
- Extreme sports and high-adventure activities injuries
What You Should Expect to Pay for With Travel Insurance
The cost of travel insurance varies greatly depending on the policy and provider. Short-term and single-trip coverage might cost anything from a few dollars per day to more than $10 per day. Another important aspect in determining your insurance quote is the expense of your trip.
That means a single trip’s insurance might cost anything from $20 to hundreds of dollars. For high levels of coverage, annual insurance costs roughly $500 per year.
Although there are several low-cost travel insurance options, most travellers are better off with complete coverage. It costs a little more, but you’ll be glad you have it if you ever need to file a claim.
Is Travel Insurance Worth It?
Travel insurance premiums can go into hundreds of dollars, so you must evaluate whether it is worthwhile.
On low-cost, low-risk vacations, it might not be worth it. Expensive international travel or large family vacations, on the other hand, may warrant the purchase of supplemental travel insurance.
If you’re spending thousands of dollars on a trip, it’s probably worth investing a few hundred dollars to ensure you receive your money back if things don’t go as planned.
If something goes wrong, which may result in tens of thousands of dollars in charges, it’s wise to have a financial safety net so you don’t have to pay for everything yourself.
Best Travel Insurance Companies In 2023
The best travel insurance policies are affordable while still providing great coverage. They should have few exclusions and limits and high customer satisfaction ratings. Let’s take a look at the best travel companies:
1. GeoBlue
GeoBlue is a division of Worldwide Insurance Services, and a Blue Cross Blue Shield Association license backs its policies. 4 Ever Life International Limited, a corporation with a history of more than 60 years and an A grade (Excellent) from AM Best, issues the policies.
GeoBlue is a wonderful option if you only require medical coverage. This company specializes in travel medical insurance. When you pay for medical coverage, you’re not paying for the rest of your travel insurance, which may be covered already.
Instead, you’re just reimbursed for medical expenses, which can be as low as a few dollars daily.
You’ll pay a lot less than the other insurers on this list because you’re largely getting travel medical coverage. Just ensure you’re clear on what’s covered and what isn’t. With GeoBlue’s plans, you’ll only get basic luggage protection and trip interruption coverage.
READ ALSO: How To Get Cheap Medical Insurance in 2023
2. Travel Guard
Travel Guard also simplifies your coverage with three individual trip options and an annual travel insurance plan. Trip cancellation and interruption coverage, trip delay coverage, baggage delay coverage, and missed connection coverage are all included in their most comprehensive plan, dubbed “Deluxe.”
You’ll also get high-dollar coverage amounts in some categories, such as $100,000 in travel medical expenditure coverage, $1 million in emergency evacuation and repatriation of remains coverage, and $100,000 in security evacuation coverage, among other things.
Also, if you purchase your travel insurance plan within 15 days of making your first payment on your trip, you purchase coverage for all prepaid, non-refundable trip expenses, and you were medically able to travel when you purchased your vacation package; this coverage can include pre-existing conditions.
3. World Nomads
For those seeking adventure, World Nomads is a good option. The service, which is based in Australia, is a good option for international travel because it excludes only a few activities.
Various insurers underwrite policies, including the financially sound and well-known Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Generali Global, AIG, and Lloyd’s.
Terrorist attacks, assaults, medical repatriation, equipment and baggage, and international medical and dental care are all covered.
Snow sports, water sports, aviation, motorsports, athletics, and high-adventure events are all included in the Explorer Plan.
There are almost 200 activities listed, with many being specifically prohibited by other insurers.
4. Amex Assurance
Amex Assurance is travel insurance offered by American Express. However, you must not have an American Express credit card to purchase it.
You can also purchase coverage for each trip, making it simple to customise your plans to your exact travel requirements.
This coverage is also quite flexible because you can change or cancel your plan at any time before your trip, and you can even ask for a complete refund within 14 days of receiving your plan documents.
While standard Amex Assurance policies are available, you can also “create your own” coverage.
Trip cancellation and interruption coverage, worldwide medical protection, travel accident insurance, global luggage protection, trip delay coverage, and 24-hour travel support are all options you can pay for.
The top tier “Platinum” coverage comes with medical coverage up to $100,000, dental coverage up to $750, and evacuation and repatriation coverage worth up to $1 million dollars, depending on the plan you choose.
SEE ALSO: 10 Cheapest Liability Only Car Insurance
5. IMG
IMG offers a number of travel insurance options, but their most popular medical insurance policies are ideal for families planning international travel, immigrants, and business travellers. For example, you can buy medical insurance for individuals, organizations, or families with their Patriot Travel Medical Insurance plan. This coverage can be renewed for up to 24 months, making it suitable for long vacations abroad.
Maximum coverage levels of up to 1 million dollars are available, with deductibles ranging from $0 to $2,000. Medical bills, evacuation, and repatriation are all covered under this policy.
You can also add an Adventure Sports rider to your plan to do things like jet skiing, jungle zip-lining, rock climbing, kayaking, mountain biking, parachuting, paragliding, or parascending.
However, if you’re under 49, this rider comes with a separate yearly coverage limit of $50,000.
6. Cruise Travel Insurance
Cruise travel insurance from Berkshire Hathaway was designed exclusively for cruises. As a result, this policy covers the most popular types of insurance required by cruise guests.
Cruise Travel Insurance provides complete trip cancellation and interruption insurance, emergency travel medical insurance up to $75,000, medical evacuation coverage up to $750,000, missing connection coverage, baggage delay coverage, and other benefits.
Cruise disablement coverage is included in the cruise-specific insurance you’ll receive, and it pays out a set amount if you’re stuck aboard your cruise ship without water, power, food, or restroom access for a set period.
Some policies also include financial insolvency insurance, which guarantees a reimbursement if your cruise line goes out of business owing to financial difficulties.
Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection also has a mobile app that allows you to manage your insurance, get specialized travel support, and file claims from your phone or tablet.
7. Travelex
If you’re planning a trip with little children, Travelex is a good option because their plans cover youngsters under the age of 17 at no additional cost. Travelex also provides five types of travel insurance: Travel Basic, Travel Select, Travel America, Flight Insure, and Flight Ensure Plus.
Their Travel Select Plan is the most comprehensive, with coverage for trip cancellation, trip interruption, trip delay, missed connection, luggage insurance, and even special insurance for sporting equipment delays.
This plan also includes $50,000 in emergency medical and dental coverage and $500,000 in evacuation and repatriation coverage.
While Travelex has a variety of standard travel insurance plans to pick from, you may also personalize your plan with unique upgrades that may be appropriate for your trip.
Adventure sports coverage, automobile rental collision coverage, supplementary medical coverage, and other options are available.
8. Allianz Travel Insurance
Consumers can purchase individual policies based on specific trips from Allianz Travel Insurance, but if you travel frequently, you can also get an annual travel insurance package. The fact that you may buy an annual plan makes it simple to research travel insurance once a year and have coverage for the entire year—an significant benefit if you’re frequently away from home for business or pleasure.
In addition to annual plans, Allianz Travel Insurance offers a variety of travel insurance alternatives that can be customized to meet your specific needs, including larger coverage levels when needed.
However, their most popular plan, OneTrip Prime, may be the best option for most travellers because it includes $100,000 in trip cancellation coverage, $150,000 in trip interruption coverage, $25,000 in emergency medical coverage, and $5000 in emergency medical transportation coverage.
You’ll also get perks like baggage delay and loss insurance, travel delay insurance, and more.
Pre-existing conditions may also be covered if you were medically fit to travel on your trip, are a U.S. resident, insured the entire non-refundable cost of your trip, and acquired your travel insurance plan within 14 days of making your first vacation payment.
9. TravelInsurance.com
TravelInsurance.com works with some of the country’s largest and best-rated insurers to make shopping for and obtaining travel insurance as simple as possible.
When you enter the cost and duration of your trip, the site generates quotations from multiple travel insurance providers, as it is a travel insurance marketplace.
After submitting this information, you will receive estimates from each firm in a format that allows you to compare costs easily, weigh benefits and cons, and locate specific coverages.
If you don’t want to do the comparison work, you might pick a vendor who sells only one insurer’s products to make the process easier.
10. Generali
Standard, preferred, and premium travel insurance plans are available from Generali. Each plan has varying benefit limits for trip cancellation, interruption, baggage loss, and medical and dental coverage.
Customers also have access to ID theft resolution assistance and concierge services, which can assist with pet relocation.
The Premium plan offers more comprehensive emergency coverage, including up to $1 million in evacuation and $250,000 in medical coverage, as well as generous delays and lost baggage payments (up to $2,000 per passenger).
Benefits for lost athletic equipment, covering for pre-existing medical conditions, and protection for rental car damage are all included in the plan.
FAQs On Travel Insurance Companies
There are some things that travel insurance does not cover. Make sure you read the exclusions in a policy so you don’t be caught off guard later. A travel insurance policy, for example, might cover medical expenses but not pre-existing conditions. So, unless you obtained a pre-existing conditions exclusion waiver, if an existing condition flares up during your vacation, your travel insurance policy will not cover it.
The price of travel insurance is largely determined by the expense of your vacation. The premium is typically roughly 5% of the overall trip cost. The cost may also vary according on your age, the number of passengers, the location, and the optional coverages you choose.
Travel insurance is a type of policy that reimburses you for money you lose from non-refundable deposits and payments when something goes wrong on your trip. These problems can range from lost baggage to flight delays to medical problems.
Conclusion
When it comes to travel insurance, there are numerous options to consider. If your travel plans are cancelled or disrupted at the last minute, it can give you peace of mind and save you hundreds of dollars. With travel insurance, you are ready for global events like pandemics and natural catastrophes, which can easily throw a wrench in your travel plans.
References
- investopedia.com – Best Travel Insurance Companies
- forbes.com – Best Travel Insurance Companies Of 2023
- money.com – 9 Best Travel Insurance Companies of 2023
- insuremytrip.com – The Right Travel Insurance Providers
We Also Recommend
