Compensate for additional expenses due to delayed travel or lost, delayed or damaged baggage. Protect yourself from costly medical bills in case you get injured or sick while traveling abroad. Travel health insurance pays for emergency medical expenses during a trip. If you are traveling and have an unexpected illness, injury or medical condition that is covered by your travel health insurance, the plan will reimburse you, up to the plan limits.
If you've paid a hefty sum for a non-refundable vacation, travel insurance is probably a good idea. International travelers who need coverage in case they become sick or injured should also consider purchasing a policy. If problems arise, you'll be glad you're protected. If you can afford to lose the money, skip the insurance.
It can be tempting to buy trip cancellation insurance when a flight costs hundreds or thousands of dollars. But basic policies aren't usually worth your money to only insure your flight if you know your rights as a passenger. If you plan to travel to a destination that could have weather-related issues, such as hurricanes in the Caribbean, travel insurance can protect your non-cancellable reservations. If you use a site like Expedia, for example, to make your reservations, you usually have the option of purchasing travel insurance, as well, through a third-party provider.
If you only need travel medical coverage, there's no point in spending money on coverage you won't use and you can focus on medical-only plans. How often you travel in a calendar year could be the deciding factor between these two types of coverage. Elina Geller is Senior Travel Writer at NerdWallet, specializing in airline and hotel loyalty programs. Travel insurance covers a range of travel-related risks, from flight cancellations to lost baggage and medical emergencies.
Check your wallet before buying any travel insurance, as some credit cards offer it as an advantage. If you think you're spending more on your vacation than you can afford to lose, you can consider buying travel insurance with trip cancellation coverage. Additional travel insurance benefits, such as travel delay insurance, may cover the additional costs of Covid quarantines. When you have travel insurance with emergency medical benefits, you can pay for losses due to covered medical and dental emergencies that occur during your trip.
If you have health insurance and buy travel health insurance as secondary coverage, your own health plan must pay first. Covered reasons may include situations such as a covered serious illness or injury of the insured person, travel companion or family member; death of the insured traveler, travel companion or family member; a natural disaster or other event that renders their destination uninhabitable; etc. have high annual rates that may be more than you would pay for a travel insurance policy.
