Finding The Best Economical Travel Insurance: A Guide

Travel insurance is a safety net that can provide peace of mind and financial protection in case of unforeseen events during a trip. It can cover medical emergencies, trip cancellations and interruptions, lost luggage, flight delays, and more. The cost of travel insurance is usually 4% to 12% of the total trip cost and depends on factors such as the traveller's age, trip length, destination, and desired coverage.

When choosing a travel insurance plan, it is important to consider the company's reputation and reliability, the specific coverage options and limits, customer reviews, and the ease of purchasing and filing claims.

When it comes to finding the best economical travel insurance, there are several factors to consider. Firstly, it is important to compare prices and coverage options from different insurance providers. Some companies may offer more affordable plans than others, so it is worth shopping around to get the best value. Additionally, think about what type of coverage you need. Basic travel insurance may suffice for those who are looking for economical options, as it typically covers trip cancellations, interruptions, and medical emergencies. However, if you have specific concerns or needs, such as coverage for pre-existing medical conditions or adventure sports, you may need to opt for a more comprehensive plan. Another way to save money on travel insurance is to look for bundle deals or annual plans, especially if you travel frequently. By considering your specific needs and comparing prices, you can find economical travel insurance that provides the coverage you need without breaking the bank.

Best economical travel insurance for families with children

Travel insurance is a great way to ensure that your family vacation goes smoothly and that any problems can be easily dealt with. When looking for the best economical travel insurance for your family, there are a few key factors to consider: cost, types of coverage, coverage amounts, and customizability. Here are some of the best economical travel insurance options for families with children:

Travelex

Travelex is a great option for families, as it offers two plans that cover family members under 17 at no additional cost. The Travel Basic plan is perfect for those on a budget, while the Travel Select plan offers more extensive coverage, including trip cancellations and delays, missed connections, delayed baggage, and emergency medical and dental expenses. Travelex also offers several upgrades, such as adventure sports coverage and car rental collision insurance.

Allianz

Allianz is another excellent choice for families, especially those with young children. Their OneTrip Prime policy offers free coverage for children under 17 when travelling with a parent or grandparent. This policy also includes a range of benefits, such as trip interruption coverage, emergency medical protection, and baggage loss or delay coverage. Allianz also offers a wide variety of plans to choose from and provides quotes and claims online.

Faye

Faye travel insurance stands out for its affordability, with policies starting at just $4.64 per day for domestic trips and $5.16 per day for international trips. Their intuitive website and app offer a completely digital experience, allowing you to manage your policy easily. Faye also offers generous trip delay coverage and optional add-ons, such as pet care and sports equipment coverage.

Travel Insured International

Travel Insured International is a great option for families looking for flexibility. Their Worldwide Trip Protector plan can cover all children under 17 for free when travelling with related adults. They also offer affordable plans and the option to add Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage, giving you peace of mind no matter the reason for cancellation.

Generali Global Assistance

Generali Global Assistance is a good choice for families travelling internationally, as all of their plans include 24/7 multilingual travel assistance. Their policies also include complimentary concierge pre-trip assistance and identity theft protection. Generali's plans offer a wide range of coverage, including trip cancellation, trip interruption, travel delay, and baggage loss or damage.

Best economical travel insurance for adventure sports

When it comes to travel insurance for adventure sports, it's important to ensure that your chosen policy covers the specific activities you plan to undertake, as many standard travel insurance plans exclude these higher-risk activities. Here are some of the best economical options for travel insurance for adventure sports:

Battleface: Discovery Plan

Battleface is known for its adventure sports travel insurance and offers comprehensive medical coverage at a much lower cost than its competitors. Their Discovery Plan provides primary health insurance, coverage for pre-existing conditions, and trip cancellation protection. It also includes customisation options, allowing you to tailor the plan to your needs.

Travelex: Travel Select

Travelex's Travel Select plan is ideal for adventure sports enthusiasts. It includes trip protections, medical insurance, and coverage for extreme adventure sports such as skydiving, bungee jumping, and mountain climbing. Additionally, it offers 24/7 access to an expert travel assistance team for added peace of mind.

IMG: iTravelInsured Travel SE

IMG's iTravelInsured Travel SE plan stands out for its lower-than-average cost while still offering full travel protections. It provides coverage for emergency medical expenses, emergency evacuation, lost or stolen items, trip delays, and cancellations. This plan ensures you're covered for a wide range of scenarios without breaking the bank.

John Hancock: Silver

The John Hancock Silver plan offers superior trip coverage, including reimbursement for change fees and missed connections. It also provides trip delay reimbursement after three hours and has no medical deductible. With its comprehensive benefits and protections, the Silver plan is an excellent choice for adventurous travellers.

HTH Worldwide: TripProtector Preferred

HTH Worldwide's TripProtector Preferred plan offers high coverage limits for primary medical coverage, ensuring you're well protected in case of an emergency. It also includes travel protections, giving you peace of mind during your adventures.

World Nomads (Standard or Explorer Plans)

World Nomads is a well-respected company that focuses on adventure travel insurance and covers a wide range of sports. They offer two plans: Standard and Explorer. The Standard plan covers over 150 activities, while the Explorer plan includes additional activities such as bungee jumping and skydiving. World Nomads provides emergency services in multiple languages 24/7, ensuring you're supported no matter where your adventures take you.

When choosing travel insurance for adventure sports, it's crucial to consider your specific needs, the activities you'll be doing, and the coverage amounts. Be sure to read the policies carefully and pay attention to exclusions to ensure you're adequately protected during your travels.

Best economical travel insurance for cruises

When considering travel insurance for a cruise, it's advisable to look beyond what's offered by the cruise line itself and instead seek out third-party providers. This is because cruise line travel insurance tends to be limited in its coverage and may not include benefits essential to your individual comfort and safety.

Travelex Insurance Services

Travelex offers two basic trip plans for cruises: Travel Basic and Travel Select. You can customise either of these plans with additional medical coverage, optional CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) coverage, adventure sports coverage, car rental collision coverage, and more. The Travel Select plan is ideal for families, as children aged 17 and younger are automatically included with adults covered by the plan. The Travel Basic policy has no deductible and is considered a primary coverage plan. Travelex offers some of the most affordable plans and allows parents to extend coverage to their children for a slightly higher rate.

Allianz Global Assistance

Allianz offers free coverage for children aged 17 and under when you choose the OneTrip Prime plan. This can be ideal for families cruising together. Allianz's epidemic coverage includes trip cancellation, interruption, travel delays, emergency medical care, and emergency transportation. Allianz's coverage limits are per insured, not in total. Allianz earned 4.1 out of 5 stars when rated using our travel insurance methodology.

AIG Travel Guard

AIG Travel Guard's Preferred Plan includes one free child aged 17 and under with each paying adult on the policy. AIG offers an array of policy add-ons such as CFAR coverage, adventure sports coverage, pet coverage, and more. AIG Travel Guard earned 4.6 out of 5 stars when rated using our travel insurance methodology.

Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection

Berkshire Hathaway offers a cruise-specific travel insurance plan known as WaveCare, which provides protection for medical emergencies, unexpected cruise cancellation, travel delays, lost luggage, and cruise ship disablement. This plan is specific to cruises and offers basic protections, so premiums tend to be affordable. Berkshire Hathaway earned 4.6 out of 5 stars when rated using our travel insurance methodology.

Seven Corners

Seven Corners offers two different travel insurance plans specific to cruises: Trip Protection Basic and Trip Protection Choice. These plans go beyond typical travel insurance to offer special coverages for common cruise-related mishaps as well as missed cruise connections. You can also add CFAR coverage to either of these plans. We recommend the Trip Protection Choice policy since it includes primary coverage for emergency medical expenses and robust limits for all the coverages it offers. Seven Corners earned the highest score out of all providers reviewed: 4.7 out of 5 stars.

Nationwide Travel Insurance

Nationwide offers plans specifically for cruises with benefits such as shipboard service disruption, prepaid excursion reimbursement, and missed connection benefits. Cruise-specific policies include medical and non-medical evacuation coverage. Nationwide covers up to 100% of your total trip costs for a covered cancellation and up to 150% of your total costs for trip interruption. Nationwide earned 4.6 out of 5 stars when rated using our travel insurance methodology.

Best economical travel insurance for pre-existing conditions

If you have a pre-existing medical condition, it is crucial to find the right travel insurance plan to cover any emergencies during your trip. Here are some of the best economical options for travel insurance for pre-existing conditions:

Allianz Global Assistance

Allianz Global Assistance offers comprehensive travel insurance plans that cover pre-existing conditions. Their OneTrip Prime Plan is ideal for those with chronic health issues, as it provides abundant coverage for emergency medical expenses (up to $50,000) and emergency medical transportation benefits (up to $500,000). The OneTrip Premier Plan doubles these amounts, offering even more extensive coverage. Allianz also provides trip cancellation and interruption benefits, reimbursing you for non-refundable trip payments if you need to cancel due to a covered reason, including pre-existing medical conditions.

Travel Guard by AIG

Travel Guard by AIG offers a range of plans, including the Essential plan, which is ideal for travelers with pre-existing medical conditions. This plan includes a Pre-Existing Medical Conditions Exclusion Waiver, which is available at all plan levels as long as it is purchased within 15 days. The Essential plan covers trip cancellation, interruption, baggage, and medical coverage. Additionally, Travel Guard offers a Cancel For Any Reason upgrade, allowing you to cancel your trip for any reason and receive a partial refund of your non-refundable deposit.

Travelex Insurance Services

Travelex Insurance Services provide comprehensive plans that cater to travelers with pre-existing conditions. Their basic coverage starts at a competitive price, and they offer a range of add-ons to customize your plan. Travelex's top-tier plan offers excellent medical coverage, with up to $50,000 in medical expense coverage and $500,000 in medical evacuation coverage. They also have a post-departure medical coverage plan, which is ideal for travelers seeking protection after they have already left home.

Seven Corners

Seven Corners offers the Trip Protection Choice plan, which is an excellent option for those with pre-existing medical conditions. This plan provides superior travel medical expenses and evacuation benefits, along with a range of upgrade options. The basic coverage plan is reasonably priced, and you can add on the "Cancel For Any Reason" upgrade if needed. Seven Corners also offers rental car damage coverage, sports and golf equipment rental coverage, and event ticket fee registration coverage.

Generali Global Assistance

Generali Global Assistance stands out for its generous window for pre-existing condition coverage. Their Premium policy allows travelers with pre-existing conditions to get coverage as long as they purchase the plan within 24 hours of their final trip deposit, which is a more flexible timeframe compared to competitors. The Premium policy also offers excellent trip interruption insurance, covering up to 175% of your trip costs, and superior medical evacuation benefits of $1 million per person.

When choosing travel insurance for pre-existing conditions, it is essential to carefully review the policy details, exclusions, and coverage limits to ensure that your specific needs are met. These companies provide a range of economical options to suit your travel plans and give you peace of mind during your journey.

Best economical travel insurance for add-ons

Travel insurance is an important safeguard for your trip, and there are several add-ons you can include in your policy to make it even more comprehensive. Here are some of the best economical travel insurance companies for add-ons:

• Faye: Faye offers a digital claims process and real-time travel alerts. Its one plan includes generous trip delay coverage and optional add-ons for pet care, sports equipment and vacation rental damage.
• AXA Assistance USA: AXA's Platinum plan offers generous lost baggage coverage of $500 per item, with a maximum of $3,000. It also has three tiers of coverage available.
• Travel Guard: Travel Guard offers five plans to suit travel ranging from road trips to long cruises. Deluxe policies include coverage for missed connections, security evacuations and accidental death and dismemberment. Add-ons include adventure sports, wedding cancellation and pet companions.
• American Express: American Express Travel Insurance has several optional add-ons, including global medical protection and baggage protection, each with adjustable payout limits and requirements.
• Allianz Travel: Allianz offers 10 different travel insurance policies, so you can find coverage for a single excursion or a year's worth of trips. Instead of Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage, Allianz offers a cancel anytime add-on that reimburses up to 80% of non-refundable trip costs.
• USI Affinity: USI Affinity has several options with flexible medical coverage. InterMedical Insurance® combines medical and evacuation coverage and will cover any number of trips in a year, up to 90 days each.
• Nationwide: Nationwide offers cruise-specific policies that can cover accidents, illness, itinerary changes, trip interruptions and more. It also offers three tiers of cruise insurance and a 10-day review period on its cruise policies.
• Berkshire Hathaway: Berkshire Hathaway’s LuxuryCare travel insurance has high limits for trip interruption coverage, medical expenses, and coverage for things like sporting equipment. It also covers cruises and adventure travel.

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