How to Buy Travel Insurance for Your Next Trip

Travel insurance reimburses you for prepaid and nonrefundable expenses if your trip is canceled or delayed due to a qualifying reason. Many policies also cover issues like lost baggage, emergency medical care, and medical evacuation.1

If you’re planning an upcoming trip, travel insurance can provide some peace of mind. In this guide, we’ll explain what travel insurance covers, how much it costs, and how to find the right travel insurance policy for your needs.

How to buy travel insurance online

You can get travel insurance quotes, compare policies, and purchase coverage online in just a few minutes. But to get started with a quote, you need to gather any receipts if you have prepaid expenses, like airline tickets or hotel reservations.

Here are the basic steps to get travel insurance online:

1. Visit a comparison site. Choose a travel insurance website that allows you to compare multiple quotes using a single application.

2. Input your trip details. Put in the details of your trip, including the main destination and dates of travel.

3. Enter traveler information. Enter the number of travelers and their ages. Some insurers also ask for the travelers’ state and country of residency.

4. Share your trip cost. As part of the quote process, you’ll need to input the total expected cost of your trip and the date of your first deposit. 

5. Filter by benefits. Most travel insurance comparison websites allow you to filter the plan options by specific benefits, like plans that include cancel-for-any-reason or cruise coverage.

6. Review the policy fine print. Once you’ve narrowed down your plan options, review the fine print of the policy so you know exactly what is and isn’t covered. Many insurers offer endorsements that can provide coverage for activities that are normally excluded, like mountaineering.

7. Purchase the plan and download your insurance certificate. The final step is to purchase the travel insurance policy and get your insurance certificate. It’s a good idea to keep a copy of your insurance documents on hand while you’re traveling in case something happens and you need to file a claim.

Common mistakes to avoid when getting travel insurance

When you’re buying travel insurance, here are some common mistakes to avoid:

• Waiting too long: It’s best to purchase travel insurance soon after making your initial nonrefundable trip payment. You can’t usually get comprehensive travel insurance once you’ve left for your trip or after an event occurs.

• Underinsuring your trip cost: Travel insurance premiums depend on the total cost of your travel expenses. But don’t be tempted to purchase less coverage to save money. If something happens, the insurer may not reimburse you for the full cost of your trip.

• Ignoring the fine print: Every travel insurance policy has exclusions, which is why it’s a mistake to ignore the fine print. Make sure you understand what’s not covered to avoid surprises or denied claims.

• Duplicating credit card coverage: Many credit cards offer some travel protections, such as reimbursement for lost luggage and protection for rental cars. Before you get travel insurance, check what coverage your credit card offers, if any, to avoid purchasing duplicate coverage.

Where to buy travel insurance

You can purchase travel insurance from comparison websites, travel insurance companies, and travel suppliers like hotels or airlines. Many credit cards automatically include certain travel protections. But the coverage is often limited, so getting travel insurance can still be beneficial.2

Below, you can see the pros and cons of the different places to purchase travel insurance.

Why do you need travel insurance?

Travel insurance is often beneficial because it provides financial protection for prepaid and nonrefundable travel expenses.

Here are some common examples when travel insurance could come in handy:

• Trip cancellation: You’re supposed to depart on a cruise, but you’re unable to travel due to a family emergency. With travel insurance, you may be able to file a claim to get some or all of your prepaid expenses back.

• Trip interruption: Your flight gets delayed overnight because of a storm at your destination. Travel insurance could help cover the cost of a hotel room charge or other costs related to the delay.

• Emergency medical care: You get sick while traveling overseas and need to go to the emergency room. If you have travel insurance, it can help pay your medical bills.

• Baggage loss: Your luggage gets lost or damaged. Travel insurance may cover the cost to replace your belongings.

What travel insurance covers

Travel insurance covers many of the risks you can face while traveling. Travel insurance reimburses prepaid travel expenses — like flights, hotels, and tours — and can cover unexpected events, like a medical emergency.

A standard travel insurance policy covers the following:

Optional add-ons you can include

Many travel insurance policies offer optional endorsements that provide additional coverage. Adding endorsements fills the gaps in your standard policy, but it’ll raise your premium.

Some of the most common optional add-ons include:

• Cancel-for-any-reason (CFAR): CFAR coverage reimburses prepaid travel expenses if you decide to cancel your trip for any reason.3

• Pre-existing medical conditions waiver: Most travel insurance policies exclude coverage for pre-existing conditions. But adding this waiver to your policy ensures medical coverage on your trip.

• Adventure coverage: If you’re planning on participating in commonly excluded high-risk activities, like rock climbing or skydiving, an adventure sports policy offers extra protection.

• Rental car coverage: You can add rental car damage coverage to your travel insurance policy with coverage for accidents.

• Accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D): If you or a travel companion passes away while traveling and the death is ruled accidental, AD&D pays out a death benefit to a beneficiary.

When should you buy travel insurance?

If you’ve already booked your trip, it’s best to buy travel insurance as early as possible — ideally within 14 days of your initial trip payment. In most cases, you’re no longer eligible for comprehensive travel insurance starting on the day of your departure. And once you’ve left, you’ll likely only be eligible for emergency medical insurance.

Additionally, certain parts of travel insurance refund policies can be time-sensitive. For example, many insurers only allow you to add CFAR coverage within 21 days of your first payment.

How much does travel insurance cost?

The average cost of travel insurance is roughly 4% to 8% of your total trip cost, according to the US Travel Insurance Association. Comprehensive travel insurance plans that cover cancellation and interruption are usually more expensive than medical-only plans. If you’re traveling with young kids, they’re often covered for free.

In the table below, you can see sample travel insurance premiums for several trip costs.

Factors that affect price

Travel insurance costs vary based on a variety of factors, including:

How to compare travel insurance plans effectively

When comparing travel insurance plans, it’s important to consider factors besides cost. You should also focus on your insurance needs, the unique risks of your trip, the company’s coverage offerings, and the plan exclusions.

Here are several things to consider to compare travel insurance plans effectively:

• Coverage needs: Choose a travel insurance plan with benefits that match your destination and activities. For example, if you’re going on a hiking trip to South America, you may want to add adventure sports coverage.

• Coverage limits: Think about the coverage limits the plan offers to ensure your specific needs are met if something goes wrong. For instance, if you’re traveling with lots of luggage with items that are expensive to replace, look for a plan that offers generous lost baggage coverage.

• Exclusions: Travel insurance plans have limitations, so find out what is and isn’t covered. Look into the qualifying reasons for trip cancellation and interruption, covered medical expenses, and excluded activities. For example, if you’re flying to Florida during hurricane season, make sure your plan covers cancellation and interruption due to storms at your destination.

• Company financial strength ratings: Research the insurer’s financial strength rating from organizations like AM Best and Standard & Poor’s (S&P). Financially stable insurers pay claims responsibly and meet other financial obligations.

• Customer reputation: Learn more about the company’s overall customer satisfaction and claims reputation. You can find this information by reading online reviews on sites like Reddit, the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and Trustpilot.

Travel insurance FAQs