How To Get Cheap Travel Insurance

Part of a trip to-do list can be purchasing travel insurance. A good travel insurance plan can help pay trip medical expenses, reimburse you for deposits lost if you have to cancel the tip and much more. But you don’t want the insurance purchase to break the bank.

The biggest price factors in travel insurance are the total trip cost, your age and the length of your trip. Travel insurance will often cost between 4% to 10% of the trip expenses you’re insuring.

Here’s some expert advice about finding cheap travel insurance that still has good coverage.

Be a Savvy Comparison Shopper

As with most insurance, comparing policies from multiple companies can potentially save you hundreds of dollars. Travel insurance policies often include most of the same benefits, but the price and coverage amounts can vary considerably from policy to policy, says Steven Benna, a spokesperson for Squaremouth, a travel insurance comparison provider.

By using a travel insurance agent, you can get help identifying the coverage you want and then price-shopping the options.

Understand Exactly What Can be Insured

You can avoid overspending on a travel insurance plan by understanding exactly what you should insure, says Benna. For example, it’s important to understand that trip cancellation coverage will only reimburse you for prepaid and non-refundable trip expenses. So don’t buy coverage for the refundable parts of your trip, advises Benna.

For example, if you’ve booked a hotel for five nights for a total of $5,000, but the cancellation penalty is $1,000, you would insure the $1,000. You can’t make a travel insurance claim for amounts that are refundable.
Or, for example, you don’t need baggage coverage of $2,500 if you’re packing $200 worth of T-shirts and a swimsuit.

Avoid Unnecessary Coverage

Be cautious about buying upgrades that you likely don’t need.

For example, many travelers buy a “cancel for any reason” upgrade in addition to standard trip cancellation insurance. The upgrade gives you partial reimbursement for trip costs if you cancel for a reason not listed in the base policy—for example, canceling because you’ve had a falling out with your traveling companion.

“However, if your primary concern is covered by trip cancellation, such as canceling due to an illness or a family member’s illness, you can be covered without spending the additional money to add ‘cancel for any reason,” says Benna.

Consider Buying an Annual Travel Insurance Policy

If you’re taking one or two trips a year, buying travel insurance for each one makes sense. But if you’re planning multiple trips, buying a policy for each one gets inconvenient and expensive.

Annual travel insurance policies are primarily designed to provide travel medical insurance for multiple trips, and at a better overall price.

Check Your Credit Card’s Benefits

Your credit card may offer travel insurance as a built-in perk. The key here is that you must charge the entire trip on that credit card.

“This benefit can include some cancellation coverage for trip expenses paid for with that card, in addition to coverage for luggage,” says Benna. He points out that instead of paying for a travel insurance policy, you can save money by relying on a credit card’s cancellation benefits.

If your trip expenses exceed the credit card’s coverage limit, you can buy travel insurance for the remaining amount, notes Benna. This will make the policy less expensive than insuring the entire trip cost.

See the best credit cards for travel insurance benefits.

Value Should Be More Important Than Cost

Cost should not be the only factor when you’re buying travel insurance. A cheap travel insurance policy that lacks good benefits won’t pay off in the end.

“Shop for value,” says Lisa Cheng, a spokesperson for World Nomads, a travel insurance company. “Some plans are priced low for a reason—they could come with high deductibles and low benefit limits.”

For example, Cheng says, you could buy cheap travel insurance and find there’s only $5,000 for medical expenses when you have an $8,000 hospital bill from your trip. Comparison shop but don’t skimp on coverage that is important to you (such as trip cancellation or travel medical insurance).

For some people, medical coverage matters most, and baggage insurance is less important, especially if they’re not planning to pack anything valuable, Cheng says. This coverage is especially important if you’re traveling overseas, because U.S. health plans and Medicare may provide no coverage outside the U.S.

And if you’re booking a trip last-minute, trip cancellation may be less important.