What Does Travel Insurance Cover? (2024)

Travel insurance is a “peace of mind” policy that protects you in the event of emergencies and mishaps while traveling. In addition to covering non-refundable expenses, such as lost hotel days due to a mandatory hurricane-related evacuation, it can also help pay for associated medical costs and lost personal property. A travel insurance policy will typically cost you 4% to 10% of the trip’s overall cost, depending on the coverage.

No one expects their long-awaited vacation to be derailed by these kinds of events, just as you don’t expect to have a car accident or house fire. But when they happen to you, insurance offsets the financial loss.

Here’s what you need to know about travel insurance.

What does travel insurance cover?

The exact coverage boundaries of trip insurance depend on your policy.^[1] But any travel policy should protect you against three categories of losses: non-refundable travel costs, such as airfare and hotel bills; costs related to a medical emergency; and losses related to the personal property you bring on your trip.

While some coverages are standard, others are optional — you pay extra to add them to your policy.

Trip cancellation, interruption, or delay

Trip cancellation insurance reimburses you for any non-refundable expenses you’ve already paid if your trip starts late, ends early, or needs to be canceled because of a covered emergency.^[2] Covered emergencies vary by insurance company and policy, but they typically include:

• Illness, injury, or the hospitalization or death of a family member, even if they’re not traveling

• Transportation delays and cancellations

• Illness or death of host

• Jury duty

• Mandatory evacuation due to severe weather or a natural disaster

• Military duty

• Job loss

• Adoption

Cancellation coverage usually covers 100% of your prepaid non-reimbursable costs. Interruption coverage may provide more than 100% coverage of prepaid costs if it pays for your transportation home. Delay coverage typically pays a flat daily rate for lodging, transportation, and other costs you incur due to a covered delay.

Baggage and personal effects loss or delay

This coverage reimburses you for baggage and other personal items that get damaged, lost, or stolen.^[1] However, it’s secondary to your homeowners or renters insurance — if you have either of those policies, you must submit your claim to that insurer first. Travel insurance will pay for what homeowners or renters insurance doesn’t cover.

Reimbursement for baggage delays covers the costs of any essentials you need if you’ll be without your baggage for a certain period of time, such as 24 hours.

Travel medical insurance

Travel medical insurance covers the cost of treatment for medical and dental emergencies that happen while you’re traveling. These emergencies might include physician and nursing care, hospital bills, ambulance fees, and prescription medications.^[2] Dental coverage usually has a much lower limit than medical care — $500 versus $10,000, for example.

If you have your own health insurance policy, your travel medical insurance coverage will serve as secondary insurance.

Emergency medical evacuation

Quality medical care isn’t always available in remote areas, and most health plans, including Medicare, won’t pay for transportation to a properly equipped healthcare facility. These plans also won’t pay for transportation to the U.S. in the case of death or medical necessity. Instead, emergency medical evacuation coverage pays these costs.

Missed trip connection

A missed connection can force you to start a cruise or travel tour late, and you’ll likely incur additional transportation and lodging expenses to meet the ship or group after it’s already underway. Trip delay and interruption policies cover common carrier issues and weather-related delays, but if you don’t have that coverage for some reason, missed-connection insurance will pay for the added expenses.

Cancel for any reason (CFAR)

Cancel-for-any-reason coverage is usually an add-on to your travel insurance policy. It overrides standard coverage restrictions for covered reasons to cancel your trip.

However, CFAR coverage doesn’t usually reimburse 100% of your prepaid non-refundable expenses like cancelation coverage does. Instead, you’ll be out 25% to 50% of those costs, according to the NAIC.^[1]

Comprehensive

Unlike stand-alone travel medical insurance, which only covers medical expenses your primary health insurance doesn’t cover while you travel, comprehensive travel insurance includes more coverage.

In addition to covering medical expenses, comprehensive travel insurance also provides trip delay/interruption/cancelation coverage and coverage for lost, damaged, or stolen baggage and personal belongings and other non-medical events.

Common travel insurance exclusions

Travel insurance doesn’t cover everything, and the following are common exclusions from travel insurance coverage:

• Pre-existing conditions: Standard travel insurance medical coverage doesn’t cover pre-existing medical conditions.^[1] But higher-level plans might if you purchase the insurance within a certain time frame after booking your trip or before making your final payment. You’ll also need to be healthy enough to travel when you leave for your trip.

• Civil and political unrest at the travel destination: Losses due to civil and political unrest aren’t covered by standard travel insurance policies. Cancel-for-any-reason coverage might reimburse losses from delays or interruptions, however.

• Pregnancy and childbirth: Trip insurance typically doesn’t cover cancellations due to pregnancy, childbirth, or routine medical care for either.^[4] Emergencies, on the other hand, might be covered. These would include conditions such as pre-eclampsia or complications during delivery.

• Pandemics: Fear of a pandemic or epidemic is usually excluded from trip delay/interruption/cancelation coverage. These are foreseeable events in many cases, so even if you decide to travel but become ill as a result, you won’t be covered. That said, some trip insurance companies have made allowances for COVID-19.

• Risky activities: Your travel insurance is unlikely to cover you if you’re injured in a risky activity, like skydiving, rock climbing, or bungee jumping.

Where to buy travel insurance

Travel insurance is available through many different outlets, including:

• 

  Airlines

  Purchasing travel insurance through your airline when you book your travel is convenient. However, it limits you to the insurance company the airline partners with. If you go this route, make sure the policy isn’t limited to flight insurance if your intent is to purchase comprehensive coverage.^[5]

• 

  Travel agent

  You might be able to purchase travel insurance from the travel agent who books your vacation. Remember, however, that your travel agent is not a licensed insurance agent. They can relay the information contained in the policies but can’t advise you on coverage.

• 

  Vacation rental company

  As with airlines, vacation rental companies and online travel agents, like Airbnb, typically offer travel insurance from a single insurance company. Alternatively, they might provide travel protection services that aren’t insurance.

• 

  Credit card company

  Travel insurance purchased through your credit card issuer provides the same kind of comprehensive coverage other insurers offer, but the only expenses likely to be reimbursed are the ones you charged to the card.

• 

  Direct from company

  Buying travel insurance straight from the insurer, whether it sells travel insurance exclusively or handles many lines, is the most flexible option. You can research the various levels of protection each offers and compare rates and coverages. And if you have a question, you can pick up the phone and talk to an agent.

• 

  Comparison site

  Insurance-comparison sites are the most efficient way to shop for insurance. You can get quotes from several different companies, compare them side by side, and purchase the best choice for you, all without leaving the platform.

Travel insurance coverage FAQs