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Even fully vaccinated travelers may want to guard against Covid-related problems when they travel. One smart way to do that is with travel insurance.
Not all travel insurance plans cover Covid-related problems, so if you’re planning overseas travel you’ll want to look for a plan that covers Covid-related trip cancellation and medical expenses.
To help you find the best pandemic travel insurance we evaluated over 50 plans using data from Squaremouth, a travel insurance comparison provider. Plans were scored based on their Covid-related trip cancellation and medical benefits, and whether the plan offers “cancel for any reason” coverage, which gives you the option to cancel and get some reimbursement no matter what the reason.
Travel Plan
$500,000
per person
Yes
100% of trip cost
Cat 70’s plan was among the top scorers because it provides the best coverage levels across all of our measurements.
TripProtector Preferred
$500,000
per person
Yes
100% of trip cost
HTH Worldwide has top-notch COVID-related benefits across the board.
Gold
$500,000
per person
Yes
100% of trip cost
Tin Leg’s Gold plan has superior COVID-related travel insurance benefits.
Diamond
$500,000
per person
Yes
100% of trip cost
USI’s Diamond plan has a top-notch medical coverage limit
Platinum
$250,000
per person
Yes
100% of trip cost
AXA Assistance USA scored highly due to its solid pandemic-related coverage.
Gold
$250,000
per person
Yes
100% of trip cost
John Hancock’s Gold plan offers excellent coverage levels for pandemic-related problems.
Safe Travels Voyager
$250,000
per person
Yes
100% of trip cost
The plan has excellent benefits for travelers wanting solid COVID-related coverage.
Ruby
$250,000
per person
Yes
100% of trip cost
USI Affinity’s Ruby plan is highly competitive for COVID-related travel benefits.
April Pandemic Plus
$50,000
per person
Yes
100% of trip cost
April’s Pandemic Plus plan provides a solid choice for travelers concerned about trip problems due to COVID.
Bronze and Silver plans
$50,000 (Bronze) or $100,000 (Silver)
per person
Yes
100% of trip cost
The Bronze and Silver plans offer valuable COVID-related benefits and an option for people who don’t feel they need the higher benefits of John Hancock’s Gold plan.
Classic & Classic Plus
$100,000
per person
Yes
100% of trip cost
Both plans have good medical coverage levels that you can use if COVID affects your trip
Providers and plan names | Forbes Advisor rating |
---|---|
Cat 70 - Travel Plan | |
HTH Worldwide - TripProtector Preferred | |
Tin Leg - Gold | |
USI Affinity Travel Insurance Services - Diamond | |
AXA Assistance USA - Platinum | |
John Hancock Insurance Agency - Gold | |
Trawick International - Safe Travels Voyager | |
USI Affinity Travel Insurance Services - Ruby | |
April Travel Protection - April Pandemic Plus | |
John Hancock Insurance Agency - Bronze & Silver | |
TravelSafe - Classic & Classic Plus | |
USI Affinity Travel Insurance Services - Diamond | |
HTH Worldwide - TripProtector Classic | |
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. - Prime & Cruise Luxury | |
Seven Corners - RoundTrip Choice & RoundTrip Elite | |
Tin Leg - Adventure | |
Trawick International - Safe Travels First Class | |
Berkshire Hathaway - ExactCare | |
Tin Leg - Luxury | |
Travelex - Travel Basic & Travel Select | |
TravelSafe - Basic | |
AXA Assistance USA- Gold | |
Generali - Preferred & Premium | |
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company - Cruise Choice | |
Trawick International - Safe Travels Journey | |
AXA Assistance USA - Silver | |
Berkshire Hathaway - ExactCare Value | |
Generali - Standard | |
HTH Worldwide - TripProtector Economy | |
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. - Essential & Cruise Universal | |
Seven Corners - RoundTrip Economy | |
Tin Leg - Economy, Standard & USA Only | |
Trawick International - Safe Travels 3 in 1, Safe Travels Explorer, Safe Travels Explorer Plus & Safe Travels Single Trip | |
INF Visitor Care - TravelCare Basic, TravelCare Plus & Traveler USA | |
Travelex - Flight Insure Plus | |
Trawick International - Safe Travels International Cost Saver excluding US, Safe Travels Outbound Cost Saver excluding US, Safe Travels USA, Safe Travels USA Comprehensive & Safe Travels USA Cost Saver |
Many travel insurance policies offer good medical coverage, but not all cover COVID-related problems. If that’s important to you, make sure to verify that the plan you’re buying specifically covers you in case you contract COVID, says Kasaro Barto, spokesperson for Squaremouth.
Squaremouth recommends a minimum of $100,000 in emergency medical and medical evacuation coverage in order to account for COVID-19 related medical care and evacuation expenses.
Sudden travel bans and unexpected quarantines requirements can also derail your trip, too, but standard travel insurance may not cover these problems, warns Barto. Buying cancel for any reason coverage will give you some reimbursement no matter what your reason for canceling.
But add cancel for any reason coverage quickly if you want it, advises Barto. You may have only a couple weeks before the option expires for your plan.
Also, some travel destinations abroad have medical coverage requirements for incoming travelers. Confirm the medical coverage requirements you’ll need for your destination before you buy a travel insurance plan.
The plans listed above include benefits beyond trip cancellation and medical coverage. Check out the details to make sure you’re getting other benefits you want, too. For example, the Cat 70 plan that scored among the highest in our rankings also provides reimbursement for:
Using data provided by Squaremouth, Forbes Advisor scored plans based on these measurements:
COVID medical coverage: 20 points. Plans earned points for providing medical coverage that does not exclude COVID.
Type of medical coverage: 20 points. Plans earned points for having primary medical coverage vs. secondary coverage. Primary coverage is often preferred by travelers who don’t want to go through their own health plans first for a claim.
Medical coverage limits: Up to 20 points. Plans earned more points for higher medical coverage amounts.
COVID cancellation coverage: 40 points. Plans earned points for offering trip cancellation and interruption coverage if the traveler contracts COVID.
Cancel for any reason coverage: 20 points. Plans earned points for also offering cancel for any reason coverage, which allows cancellation for any reason, including fear of traveling. It generally adds about 40% to the travel insurance cost.
U.S.-based health plans generally don’t offer coverage outside the U.S. That makes it even more important to have travel insurance with medical benefits. That way you’ll be covered for injuries and illness while on your trip.
Cancel for any reason coverage generally reimburses you 50% or 75% of your prepaid and nonrefundable trip expenses. The advantage of the coverage is that you aren’t limited to cancellation reasons defined by the policy.
Many travel insurance plans offer “pre-existing medical condition exclusion waivers.” These waivers mean that your existing medical conditions won’t be excluded from coverage. But note that these waivers must be added quickly after your initial trip deposit—usually within two or three weeks.
See our rankings of the best travel insurance plans.
I’m the Insurance Analyst for Forbes Advisor. I’ve been writing about insurance for consumers for more than 20 years. Insurance intersects with many parts of our lives, yet it’s tough to untangle, and wrong choices can make a financial mess. I’m here to help you make sense of it. I’m especially interested in how data is affecting the price you pay for all insurance types.