Be a Savvy Travel Insurance Comparison Shopper
As with most insurance, comparing policies from multiple companies can potentially save you hundreds of dollars. Travel insurance policies often include most of the same benefits, but the price and coverage amounts can vary considerably by policy.
A good place to start is to check out Forbes Advisor’s rankings of the best travel insurance companies.
A travel insurance agent can also be helpful. That person can help identify the coverage you want and then price-shop the options.
The average cost of travel insurance is between 5% to 6% of your trip cost, according to Forbes Advisor’s analysis.
Understand Exactly What Can be Insured Under Travel Insurance
You can avoid overspending on a travel insurance policy by understanding exactly what costs can be insured. For example, trip cancellation insurance will only reimburse you for prepaid and non-refundable trip expenses. Don’t buy coverage for parts of the trip that aren’t prepaid and non-refundable, such as fully refundable plane tickets. You can’t make a travel insurance claim for costs you can get refunded.
Avoid Unnecessary Travel Insurance Coverage
Be cautious about buying coverage or upgrades that you likely don’t need.
For example, many travelers buy a “cancel for any reason” upgrade in addition to standard trip cancellation insurance. It adds an average of 50% to the cost of your travel insurance plan. The upgrade gives you partial reimbursem*nt for trip costs if you cancel for a reason not listed in the base policy—for example, canceling because you’ve had a falling out with your traveling companion.
However, if your primary concern is covered by trip cancellation—such as canceling due to an illness—you can be covered without spending the additional money to add a “cancel for any reason” upgrade.
Another example: you don’t need baggage insurance of $2,500 if you’re packing $200 worth of T-shirts, shorts and a swimsuit.
You also may not need travel medical insurance if you’re not leaving the country during your trip. This may be especially true if you’ll primarily be shopping, dining out and sightseeing and not participating in a lot of outdoor activities like hiking and biking. Your U.S. health plan will usually cover you if you become ill or injured during a domestic vacation.
And if you’re booking a trip last-minute, trip cancellation may be less important.
That’s why it’s a good idea to think about why you want travel insurance. Don’t go with the policy with the most bells and whistles that you won’t need. Instead, explore which coverage would benefit you the most.
Consider Buying an Annual Travel Insurance Policy
If you’re taking one or two trips a year, buying travel insurance for each one makes sense. But if you’re planning multiple trips, buying a policy for each one gets inconvenient and expensive.
Annual travel insurance policies are primarily designed to provide travel medical insurance for multiple trips, and at a better overall price.
These types of annual policies can make it easier to buy just one policy instead of multiple ones and could be a travel insurance solution for people who plan to take multiple domestic flights. However, annual travel policies may not make sense if you’re taking road trips.
Basic annual policies also offer limited trip cancellation insurance and trip interruption coverage.
Check Your Credit Card’s Travel Insurance Benefits
The best credit cards for travel insurance have perks and insurance benefits built in. The key here is that you must charge the entire trip on that credit card.
If your trip expenses exceed the credit card’s coverage limit, you can buy travel insurance for the remaining amount. This will make the policy less expensive than insuring the entire trip cost.
Value of Travel Insurance Should Be More Important Than Cost
Cost should not be the only factor when you’re buying travel insurance. A cheap travel insurance policy that lacks good benefits won’t pay off in the end.
“Shop for value,” says Christina Tunnah, a spokesperson for World Nomads, a travel insurance company. “Some plans are priced low for a reason—they could come with high deductibles and low benefit limits.”
For example, Tunnah says you could buy cheap travel insurance and find there’s only $5,000 for medical expenses when you have an $8,000 hospital bill from your trip. Comparison shop but don’t skimp on coverage that is important to you, such as trip cancellation or travel medical insurance.
For some people, medical coverage matters the most, and baggage insurance is less important, especially if you’re not planning to pack anything valuable, Tunnah says. Medical coverage is especially important if you’re traveling overseas because U.S. health plans may provide limited or no coverage outside the U.S., and Medicare is not accepted outside the U.S.
Travel medical insurance limits vary by travel insurance policy. For instance, GoReady offers $50,000 in travel medical coverage per person, while HTH Worldwide, Seven Corners and USI Affinity plans provide $500,000 in medical coverage, depending on the policy.
