Traveling broadens our horizons and allows us to immerse ourselves in different cultures. Moreover, for this Roaming Historian, it allows me a glimpse into the past and to visit the historical sites I grew up dreaming about seeing one day.
As a former financial advisor, I try to protect my investments as much as possible…that extends to travel. Unforeseen events can disrupt even my meticulously planned trips. Just like I insure my house, my cars, and my husband’s life (just kidding), I make sure that we’re protected in case our luggage goes missing (has happened), our flight is delayed, one of us has a medical emergency, or there’s a cancellation.
Whether you’re a seasoned globetrotter or a first-time traveler, understanding the ins and outs of travel insurance is crucial for protecting yourself and your investment. So, let’s embark on this journey together and discover everything you need to know so you can find the best travel insurance for you.
What is Travel Insurance?
Travel insurance is a form of financial protection that safeguards your travel investment against unforeseen events. A policy might offer coverage for a range of potential risks, including trip cancellations, medical emergencies, lost baggage, and travel delays.
Travel insurance policies vary in terms of coverage, benefits, and prices. Some policies provide comprehensive coverage that includes a wide range of potential risks, while others offer more specific coverage tailored to your needs. With travel insurance, you can minimize the financial impact of unexpected circumstances. Before purchasing a policy though, it’s essential to understand what it covers, what it doesn’t cover, and any limitations or exclusions that may apply since they vary greatly.
Travel Insurance Benefits
Travel insurance is not a one-size-fits-all product. Depending on your travel plans, preferences, and level of coverage desired, you can choose from various types of travel insurance policies with various aspects of coverage. Understanding the different options available will help you select the policy that best aligns with your needs and provides the appropriate level of protection. Let’s explore some of the terms you will want to know to pick the right plan for you:
1. Trip Cancellation Insurance: Trip cancellation insurance reimburses you for non-refundable expenses if you’re forced to cancel your trip due to a covered reason. This can include unexpected events such as illness, injury, death of a family member, or natural disasters. Trip cancellation insurance ensures that you don’t lose the money you’ve invested in your trip and provides financial protection against unforeseen circumstances.
2. “Cancel for Any Reason” (CFAR) Travel Insurance: While trip cancellation insurance covers specific reasons outlined in the policy, CFAR travel insurance offers more flexibility. With CFAR coverage, you can cancel your trip for any reason not covered by the standard policy and receive a partial reimbursement. This option provides additional peace of mind, allowing you to cancel your trip even if the reason is not explicitly listed in the policy. You generally need to buy this coverage within two weeks of the first covered expenditure of the trip.
3. Travel Medical Insurance for Emergencies: Travel medical insurance generally provides coverage for emergency medical expenses in case of illness or injury during your trip. This coverage may include doctor’s visits, hospital stays, prescription medications, and emergency medical evacuations.
4. Medical Evacuation Insurance: Medical evacuation insurance covers the cost of transporting you to the nearest appropriate medical facility in the event of a serious illness or injury. This can involve air ambulances, medical escorts, or even repatriation to your home country for further treatment. Medical evacuation insurance is particularly important when traveling to remote areas with limited healthcare facilities or engaging in high-risk activities.
5. Travel Delay Insurance: Travel delay insurance provides coverage for expenses incurred due to covered delays, such as accommodation, meals, and transportation. This coverage can help alleviate the financial burden of unexpected delays caused by factors outside your control, such as severe weather, mechanical issues, or strikes (check each policy carefully though to make sure). This can be very helpful if you have a missed connection or lose out on the first night in your planned hotel and have to stay in temporary accommodations.
6. Baggage Insurance: Losing your luggage or having it damaged during your trip is an inconvenience that can disrupt your travel plans. Baggage insurance offers coverage for lost, stolen, or damaged baggage, providing reimbursement for the value of your belongings. Additionally, baggage insurance can include coverage for delayed baggage, allowing you to purchase essential items while waiting for your luggage to be located. We had to make a claim for this once and it was very helpful, as buying just a few minimal things was quite expensive.
7. Trip Interruption Insurance: Trip interruption insurance covers the costs associated with cutting your trip short due to a covered reason. This can include unexpected events such as illness, injury, death of a family member, or natural disasters (but make sure). Trip interruption insurance ensures that you’re financially protected if you’re forced to return home earlier than planned, reimbursing you for the unused, non-refundable portions of your trip.
8. “Interruption for Any Reason” (IFAR) Travel Insurance: Similar to CFAR coverage, IFAR travel insurance offers more flexibility when it comes to trip interruptions. With IFAR coverage, you can cut your trip short for any reason not covered by the standard policy and receive a partial reimbursement. This option provides additional peace of mind, allowing you to make changes to your travel plans, regardless of the reason.
9. Other potential benefits
- Airline ticket change fee coverage
- Missed connection coverage
- Repatriation of remains
- Accidental death and dismemberment
- Renters collision insurance
Travel insurance is often overlooked or dismissed as an unnecessary expense. But it’s an expense that we deem worthwhile over and again. By investing in travel insurance, we are protecting ourselves from potential financial losses and ensuring that we have access to assistance and support when we need it most. I always hope I don’t have to make an insurance claim, but it gives me peace of mind to know that I’m covered if I must.
I hope this article helped you feel more confident about making an informed decision when it comes to protecting your adventures. When choosing a policy, consider your destination, the nature of your trip, any potential risks involved, and your desired level of coverage. By selecting the right combination of policies, you can tailor your travel insurance to meet your specific needs and ensure comprehensive protection throughout your journey.
I recommend making sure you have the right amount of coverage for your personal scenario. For instance, I rarely buy coverage for my airline tickets because most of the carriers I fly with automatically give e-credits for cancelled tickets. The policies I generally purchase only reimburse “losses” and they don’t consider an e-ticket a loss. For this reason, I purchase a policy that covers the rest of my trip’s expenses, but leave out the costly airline tickets that wouldn’t be covered anyway. I call the insurance company and double-check but the ones I book with generally have told me that if an e-credit was to be issued I wouldn’t be able to make a claim.
We have partnered with several different travel insurance companies over the years and this is the best we’ve found to help you evaluate what is best for you, whether you are looking for senior travel insurance, adventure travel insurance, study abroad insurance, family travel insurance, or more.
Travel Insurance.Com The platform allows users to compare travel insurance plans from pre-screened insurers, making it easy to find a suitable policy that meets their needs and affordable travel insurance. After buying our last policy (before we were affiliated with them), I searched for our trip and found the company with policy we purchased with no added mark-up. https://www.travelinsurance.com/?utm_source=pap&a_aid=65590b3a60c44
Happy travels!
Amy French, Ph.D., is the voice behind Roaming Historian. A professional historian and seasoned traveler, she shares stories that blend history and travel to give readers a deeper understanding of the places they explore.
Our Favorite Travel Insurance Site
Protect your vacation with Travel Insurance dot com. This awesome travel site provides quotes from numerous travel insurance agencies and allows you to purchase them with no added increase to you: https://www.travelinsurance.com/?utm_source=pap&a_aid=65590b3a60c44
Trusted Booking Resource: Booking.com
When planning a trip, it helps to compare your options in one place. Booking.com allows you to search and compare hotels, apartments, vacation rentals, flights, cruises, and car rentals worldwide, making it easier to organize the key pieces of your trip in a single platform. Travelers can review prices, amenities, guest ratings, and neighborhood locations to find accommodations that match their style and budget, and many listings offer competitive pricing, occasional deals, and flexible cancellation policies. Pro tip: when comparing places to stay, focus on guest reviews, location, and cancellation policies—these factors often matter more than the nightly price alone. Browse and compare travel options here: https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=6776&awinaffid=1985445
Tours, Tickets, & Experiences: Viator and Get Your Guide
If you’re planning tours, attraction tickets, or local experiences during your trip, Viator and Get Your Guide are two of the most widely used platforms for discovering and booking activities around the world. Both allow travelers to compare itineraries, prices, reviews, and ratings for thousands of experiences ranging from guided historical tours and museum tickets to day trips and unique local activities. Many listings on both platforms include free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance, which adds flexibility when travel plans change. Pro tip: because these platforms host experiences from many different tour operators, always check recent reviews and overall ratings before booking to ensure a high-quality experience.
Browse tours and experiences here:
Viator: https://www.viator.com/?pid=P00161535&mcid=42383&medium=link&medium_version=selector
GetYourGuide: https://www.getyourguide.com/?partner_id=CMSFGKK&utm_medium=online_publisher
Traveling Soon? Trusted Tour & Travel Partners
Planning your trip? Here are our trusted travel partners — thoughtfully chosen for quality, reliability, and exceptional experiences.
- LivTours (high-quality semi-private and private European tours led by expert guides)
Save 10% with code AMYRH10 (valid on two or more tours).
https://livtours.com?af_code=E1DDN61 - The Tour Guy (engaging small group & private European tours)
https://tidd.ly/3J78sNi - Viator (compare thousands of tours, day trips, and experiences worldwide)
https://www.viator.com/?pid=P00161535&mcid=42383&medium=link&medium_version=selector - GetYourGuide (flexible booking options for tours, attractions, and local experiences)
https://www.getyourguide.com/?partner_id=CMSFGKK&utm_medium=online_publisher - Shore Excursions Group (high-quality shore excursions with lower prices and return-to-ship guarantees.)
https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/?id=1634209&data=roaminghistorian@gmail.com - Booking.com (global hotels, apartments & flexible booking options; flights; car rentals)
https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=6776&awinaffid=1985445 - Expedia (flights, hotels, car rentals, and vacation packages)
https://expedia.com/affiliate/p7ZcFsz - Hotels.com (book hotels globally and earn free nights through their rewards program)
https://www.hotels.com/affiliate/rdDAFaG - VRBO (private homes and unique stays ideal for families and longer trips)
https://vrbo.com/affiliate/KvF3nms - Travel Insurance.com (compare policies side-by-side to protect your trip at no extra cost)
https://www.travelinsurance.com/?utm_source=pap&a_aid=65590b3a60c44
We sell fabulous photographic prints from our travels on our Etsy shop! These are great for home decor or as a gift. If you see a photograph on our website that isn’t in our Etsy shop, let me know and I’ll likely be able to add it to Etsy.
Disclosure: Roaming Historian may derive revenue from affiliate links and other sources, which helps offset the costs of bringing you the information we do. The blogs and reviews posted on this website are of our own opinion though.