Heading overseas soon? Lucky you! Just make sure that you have travel insurance, your best defense against travel anxiety and uncertainty.
People often ask What’s the best travel insurance for my international trip? The truth is there’s no single plan that’s perfect for everyone. In general, the best travel insurance plans for a trip outside the U.S. will include:
- Trip cancellation benefits
- Trip interruption benefits
- Travel delay benefits
- Emergency medical and dental benefits
- Emergency transportation benefits
- Baggage benefits
- The Epidemic Coverage Endorsem*nt, which adds covered reasons to select benefits for certain losses related to COVID-19 and any future epidemic. Benefits vary by plan and by state of residence, and are not available in all jurisdictions.
Be sure to read each plan’s details before you buy, to make sure the benefits and benefit limits can fully protect your trip. To choose the best plan for your needs, answer these five questions.
1. What’s Your Destination?
“What’s the best travel insurance for Australia?”
“What’s the best travel insurance for India?”
“What’s the best travel insurance for the Caribbean?”
Many people search for travel insurance plans for a specific country. We’ll tell you a secret: Your destination doesn’t affect the details of your coverage. The cost and the benefits included in a specific plan are the same no matter which countries you’re visiting.
However, your destination does matter when you’re choosing a travel insurance plan. The main thing to consider: Are you traveling to remote areas, or a developing nation without state-of-the-art medical facilities? If so, then the best travel insurance for your trip will be a plan with generous emergency medical benefits and emergency transportation benefits.
Why? If you’re traveling overseas and you get seriously ill or injured, emergency medical evacuation can be hugely expensive and your domestic health insurance most likely won’t be accepted at hospitals. “Many foreign medical facilities and providers require cash payment upfront and do not accept U.S. insurance plans. Medicare does not provide coverage outside of the United States,” the U.S. Department of State explains.1Travel insurance can pay for emergency medical expenses and evacuation to the nearest appropriate medical facility, as well as the cost of flying you home to recover.
Suggested plans: OneTrip Prime, OneTrip Premier, OneTrip Emergency Medical
2. How Much Are You Spending on Your International Trip?
Make sure your plan’s trip cancellation and interruption benefits can fully cover your travel costs, should you have to call off your trip or cut it short for a covered reason. The affordably priced OneTrip Basic plan can cover trips up to $10,000. OneTrip Prime covers trip cancellation up to $100,000 and trip interruption up to $150,000, which should be enough for most vacations! (If you’re spending more — e.g. you’re renting a private island in the Caribbean for a few weeks — contact us to discuss insurance options.)
If you’re a free-spirited traveler with few pre-paid expenses, then theOneTrip Emergency Medicalplan might be your best international travel insurance plan. This plan includes only post-departure benefits: emergency medical and emergency transportation, travel delay, travel accident coverage and lost/stolen or damaged baggage. It does not, however, include trip cancellation or trip interruption. OneTrip Emergency Medical can cover trips up to 180 days.
3. Are You Planning Several Trips This Year?
For frequent travelers, an annual plan will almost always be the best travel insurance choice. For one low price, you can get 365 days of protection for all your trips, international or domestic. Some plans may include valuable collision/loss damage insurance for your rental car, to protect you even when renting a car overseas.
Suggested plans: AllTrips Basic, AllTrips Prime, AllTrips Premier
4. Who’s Traveling With You?
If you’re traveling with another adult — whether a friend, partner or family member — you should each have your own travel insurance plan. If you’re the only person on the trip who’s insured, your benefits won’t protect your travel companion in case of medical emergencies, travel delays, etc.
If you’re traveling with children, our best international travel insurance plans are OneTrip Prime or OneTrip Premier. Both cover kids 17 and under for free when they’re traveling with a parent or grandparent (not available on policies issued to Pennsylvania residents).
Read more: How Travel Insurance Covers Family Members
5. How Old Are You?
We know that really, you’re only as old as you feel… but age can be a big factor in the cost of international travel insurance. That’s because the older you are, the greater the risk of a medical emergency while you’re on your trip. A travel insurance quote for a 25-year-old may cost half as much as the same quote for a 70-year-old.
Older travelers should definitely buy travel insurance that includes emergency medical benefits, as Medicare typically won’t pay for medical care received outside of the United States.2Here’s a tip: annual travel insurance can be the best buy for people 65 and up. That’s because the price of a multi-trip plan is not affected by the traveler’s age. Get a few travel insurance quotes to see which plan is best for your trip and your budget.
Suggested plans: OneTrip Prime, AllTrips Basic, AllTrips Prime,AllTrips Premier
Remember: Any travel insurance is better than no travel insurance! Every plan we offer includes access to 24-Hour Assistance, available anytime via the free TravelSmart app or by phone. Our elite team of travel and medical experts is there to help in almost any situation, whether you’re facing a major emergency or a travel hiccup.
