9 Best Travel Insurance Companies of 2021

1. Best for Comparing Quotes
   

   TravelInsurance.com

   Our Partner

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2. Best for Emergency Support Services
   

   Generali Global Assistance

   Our Partner

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3. Best for Frequent Flyers
   

   RoamRight

   Our Partner

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4. Best for Families with Children
   

   Travelex

   Our Partner

   • COVID-19 Coverage:

     Yes

   • Cancel For Any Reason:

     No

   • Emergency Medical Expenses:

     Up to $50,000

   • 24/7 Assistance Available:

     Yes

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5. Best Comprehensive Travel Insurance for Adventure
   

   World Nomads

   Our Partner

   • COVID-19 Coverage:

     Yes

   • Cancel For Any Reason:

     No

   • Emergency Medical Expenses:

     Up to $100,000

   • 24/7 Assistance Available:

     Yes

   Check Price

The best travel insurance provides an important safety net that can protect your trip plans from the unexpected, such as emergency medical expenses, non-refundable cancellations and lost baggage or personal items.

It is especially relevant now that the COVID-19 pandemic has made travel more uncertain, with travel restrictions and lockdowns still being implemented globally, sometimes in unpredictable ways. Travel insurance can help protect your trip from unforeseen complications, and many countries are now requiring coverage as a condition for entry.

Read on to find out which companies made our list for the best travel insurance of 2021

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Best Travel Insurance Reviews

TravelInsurance.com

Best for Comparing Quotes

Get a Free Quote

Our Partner

Trawick International

Insuremytrip.com

Pros

• Compare quotes from 20+ top insurers
• Insurance representatives available to answer questions
• Rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau

Cons

• Trip protection and medical plans only available to U.S. and Canadian residents

InsureMyTrip.com is another travel insurance marketplace that lets consumers find and compare quotes from multiple insurers. What makes this company stand out is its search interface, which allows users to find the best plan for their situation. For example, if you’re looking for the plan with the highest level of baggage protection, you can choose to display each plan’s coverage limit for baggage loss for comparison. The search also makes it easier to find plans that offer pre-existing condition waivers, cancel for any reason coverage and other features.

IMG Travel Insurance

Travel Insurance Guide

What does travel insurance cover?

If you are looking to buy travel insurance you may have noticed many different types of coverage options and benefits. Ahead we list some of the standard coverage found in travel insurance plans and common add-ons.

Trip Cancellation/Interruption

Trip cancellation insurance will refund up to 100{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} of the prepaid, non-refundable travel costs as long as the reason for cancellation is covered under the policy and takes place before the trip.

If the trip has already started, trip interruption coverage will reimburse you for the unused portion of the trip and could cover expenses you may incur to get back home, such as last-minute flights. Trip interruption insurance can pay as much as 150{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} of the interrupted trip cost.

Some insurance providers will also offer travel delay coverage, providing a daily amount for meals or lodging during the wait. Other companies offer insurance for missed connections between flights. They will provide reimbursement for any flight change fees or additional expenses incurred while trying to catch up with your travel plans.

Emergency Medical/Dental Expenses

Travel insurance is also useful if you have a medical emergency during your trip. Benefits for medical expenses can range from $15,000 to $50,000 and in some cases, additional coverage can be purchased.

For serious conditions that require you to seek medical assistance outside of your travel area, you can also get Emergency Medical Evacuation coverage. This benefit will pay to have you evacuated to the nearest medical facility or even repatriated to a facility back in your home country. Benefits usually range between $100,000 to $500,000, but can be as high as $1,000,000.

Baggage and Personal Effects

This coverage is intended to assist you if your luggage gets lost or is delayed during your trip. With baggage delay coverage, you must wait between two to six hours for the baggage to arrive before you can file a claim. The coverage includes reimbursement for replacement items purchased during the delay, up to the policy limit.

If your bag is lost, travel insurance can reimburse you up to the policy limit, anywhere between $500 to $1,000. Claims typically require receipts or a list of items in the luggage. We recommend travelers keep this documentation on their person while traveling.

Worldwide Assistance

Make sure whichever insurer you choose has 24/7 services available in the country to which you’re traveling. Request local contact information, including phone numbers and addresses and keep the information handy with your other travel documents.

Popular travel insurance add-ons

If your coverage needs go beyond what a basic travel insurance policy can offer, there’s a variety of add-ons or riders you can select to increase benefit limits and cover activities that may be excluded from standard policies.

Common add-ons include:

• Cancel for any reason coverage: With cancel for any reason coverage, you can do just that —cancel your travel plans for any reason and get reimbursed for your pre-paid travel costs. See below for more information on how this coverage works.
• Pre-existing medical condition waiver: Most travel insurance companies won’t cover your pre-existing condition under the basic emergency medical expenses coverage. You can purchase a separate rider to cover your pre-existing conditions, subject to some limitations.
• Rental car insurance: This additional coverage will pay out for damages to the rental car and injuries to yourself or others should an accident occur while traveling.
• Adventure sports coverage: This rider will cover injuries or losses caused by participating in adventure sports such as skydiving or bungee jumping. These injuries are typically excluded from basic policies.
• Identity theft protection: This optional coverage can help if you lose your passport and other identification, credit card or other important documents. (To learn more about identity theft, visit our guide on the best identity theft protection).

How cancel for any reason coverage (CFAR) works

Cancel for any reason coverage is offered as an upgrade to certain policies and provides a partial refund when canceling your trip, regardless of what caused your change of heart. Among the covered reasons is “fear of travel,” which is excluded under a basic travel insurance policy.

Not every travel insurance company offers a CFAR upgrade. This policy must be purchased within 14 to 21 days of the first trip booking and adding it to your policy may increase your total travel insurance bill by about 50{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}.

Companies that offer CFAR travel insurance include:

• AIG Travel Guard
• C&F Travel Insured
• Generali Global Assistance
• RoamRight
• Seven Corners
• TravelSafe
• Trawick International
• USI Travel Affinity Insurance Services

Does my credit card have travel protection?

Credit cards may include some travel protection, usually covering the costs of tickets and reservations when the card is used to purchase them. But for most credit cards, the costs may be partial and benefits may be capped. Review the terms and conditions of your credit card travel protection plan to learn about what is covered before relying solely on it for travel insurance.

What does travel insurance exclude?

Among the most common travel insurance exclusions are pre-existing medical conditions, injuries caused by extreme sports and theft/loss of some personal items like electronic devices and jewelry.

With most travel insurance policies, you may only be covered if you cancel your trip for approved reasons like a serious illness or a death in the family. If you want the flexibility to cancel for any reason, you’ll have to purchase additional CFAR coverage.

If you need to purchase travel insurance while pregnant, you should be aware that it may not cover all pregnancy-related conditions. If you give birth during your trip, the medical emergency coverage may not cover the expenses of childbirth. On the other hand, if you have an unexpected complication in your pregnancy, it may be covered by the insurance.

Additionally, most travel insurance policies won’t pay for injuries that happen while you’re intoxicated, be it with drugs or alcohol, even if the substance is legal to use at the destination.

Finally, keep in mind that insurance companies may change their coverage at any time. As it happened when the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020, many companies temporarily excluded COVID from coverage and could do so again in the future. The insurer always has the final say on what is covered and what isn’t so review your policy documents thoroughly before the start of the trip.

How much does travel insurance cost?

The cost of travel insurance varies, but the average premium is between 5{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} and 15{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} of your trip cost.

Some of the factors that affect your final cost are the age and number of travelers, the duration of your trip and the coverage options you select.

Many insurers offer group travel plans which can give you a better value when traveling with a large party.

And if you’re a frequent traveler, many companies offer annual travel insurance plans so you don’t need to purchase a separate policy every time you travel.

How to choose the right travel insurance policy

1. Identify your travel requirements to ensure that you’re not paying for something you don’t need.
2. Verify whether the policy covers travel to your chosen destination.
3. If you have a pre-existing medical condition, check whether it’s covered under the medical coverage of the policy you’re taking. If it’s not, you may need to purchase additional coverage.
4. Find out what kind of assistance you can expect from the travel insurance policy if your belongings are stolen.
5. Check the policy’s fine print before buying to ensure that it covers the activities you have planned for your trip.
6. Choose a policy that provides emergency assistance services.
7. Compare multiple quotes before making your final purchase.

Travel insurance is a type of insurance policy that reimburses you for certain expenses and losses that happen while traveling. You must purchase the insurance policy before the trip and it typically covers situations such as having to cancel your trip due to an illness, or medical emergencies during the trip.

Travel insurance policies cover unforeseen losses and expenses while traveling. Policies regularly include coverage for trip cancellation and trip interruption, emergency health care, car rental insurance, as well as reimbursement for lost baggage and costs related to trip delays. Some companies include coverage for trip specifics, such as extreme sports coverage or professional photo and video equipment.

The cost of travel insurance depends primarily on the cost of your trip. Typically, it's between 5{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} and 15{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} of your total trip cost. The cost may also vary depending on your age, the number of travelers, your destination and the additional coverages you select.

Most travel insurance companies offer multiple plans suited for a variety of needs. The most basic plans only include trip cancellation coverage but no post-departure benefits. Premium plans will include benefits before and during your trip. To calculate your insurance need, take stock of where you're going and what you will be doing. If you plan on taking part in high-risk or winter sports, you'll want to purchase additional coverage for these activities, since they're usually excluded from the base coverage.

Most travel insurance companies sell their policies online. If you make your travel arrangements online through a fare aggregator, it's possible you'll be offered a travel insurance policy when you check out. You can also purchase a policy through an online marketplace that shows you quotes from many companies. This is a good option if you want to see what different companies are offering and compare their prices.

Trip interruption coverage is a component of travel insurance. This coverage will pay out if you need to interrupt your trip and go home early for a covered reason. The insurance company will reimburse you for the unused portion of the trip and help you with additional expenses you incur to get home. The policy will only cover these expenses if you cancel for one of the covered reasons. Examples of covered reasons are the serious illness or death of the policyholder, another traveler on the policy, or a close relative. A natural disaster at your destination is also a covered reason.

What's more, if your flight is canceled or significantly delayed because of a hurricane or any other reason, many airlines will typically allow you to cancel for a refund or change your itinerary with no fees -- even if the flight was nonrefundable.

Summary of Money’s Best Travel Insurance of 2021

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