Jump straight to it: the best travel health insurance is Travelex Insurance Services.
Traveling the world can provide memorable experiences. You can check off items on your bucket list, travel with the people you love and meet great people along the way. But some people endure an illness or accident during their travels. These incidents can result in higher expenses that make it more difficult to travel in the future. Some travelers get a policy from one of the best travel health insurance providers to financially protect themselves from those types of scenarios.
Quick Look: Best Travel Health Insurance
7 Best Travel Health Insurance Providers
A travel health insurance plan can put you at ease on your travels. While it can feel overwhelming to browse through many insurance policies, this streamlined list can simplify your search for the right policy.
1. Best for Affordability: Travelex
Travelex travel insurance provides protection for travelers on most types of trips, from weekend getaways to the luxury ski vacations.
The Travel Basic plan provides the essentials for your travels, while the Travel Select plan allows you to customize your coverage. The Flight Insurance options are also available for those who want flight-specific protection.
A 42-year-old male traveling internationally for a week at a trip cost of $2,500 pays $110 for Travel Basic. The Travel Select runs $153.
Travelex also offers coverage upgrades like medical coverage, such as emergency medical expense coverage worth up to $50,000 with a dental coverage sub-limit of $500 for Travel Select. Another add-on is the emergency medical evacuation and repatriation of remains worth up to $500,000 with an escort coverage limit of $25,000.
Why We Love It: Travelex offers a convenient way to get travel insurance with an instant quote available online. Not only does it provide coverage for COVID-19 (with certain restrictions), but it also offers 24/7 assistance for all your travel needs. Whether you need help with medical emergencies, lost luggage, or any other travel-related issues, Travel has you covered around the clock.
2. Best for International Travel: Faye
Faye Travel Insurance stands out as an exceptional option if you are seeking reliable and thorough travel health insurance coverage.
With Faye, you can rest assured knowing you are protected by medical expense coverage of up to $250,000 for international trips, including coverage for unexpected illnesses like COVID-19 and injuries.
Faye can also cover pre-existing medical conditions, provided the plan is purchased within 14 days of the initial trip deposit, and the traveler is medically fit to undertake the journey at the time of purchase.
Faye offers additional emergency medical evacuation coverage worth up to $500,000 and non-medical emergency evacuation coverage up to $100,000.
Why We Love It: Faye Travel Insurance offers comprehensive coverage, including medical expenses, trip cancellation and baggage protection. It has an impressive customer satisfaction rate of over 95% and a quick claims process that averages only 24 hours. Additionally, its competitive pricing and 24/7 customer support make it a reliable choice if you’re looking to protect your travel investment.
3. Best for Families: Allianz Global Assistance
Allianz Global Assistance offers great coverage on its travel medical insurance plans. You can get up to $500,000 in emergency medical transportation and choose from various plans. Allianz Global Assistance also covers nonmedical expenses and has 24/7 customer support. The company serves over 70 million customers, with plans starting as low as $27. These plans will get more expensive as you add coverage, but the starter rate is reasonable.
Why We Love It: Allianz Global Assistance offers a wide range of plans, covering trips up to 365 days. It provides convenience through its mobile app, allowing you to easily access its policy information, file claims and receive assistance while on the go.
4. Best for Long Trips: RoamRight
RoamRight offers overseas health insurance policies for long-distance trips, but you can also secure a policy for a nearby getaway. The insurer provides trip cancellation coverage which you can use for nonhealth-related events. If you also need baggage and rental car coverage, RoamRight can help.
Why We Love It: Arch Roamright offers a comprehensive mobile app and online platform for travelers, providing convenience and accessibility at their fingertips. With multi-policy coverage options available for frequent travelers, you can choose the plan that best fits your needs. Additionally, the Pro Plus plan includes the added benefit of having one child included for every adult plan purchased.
5. Best for Adventurers: World Nomads
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Best For:
Travel medical insurance
securely through World Nomads | Health’s website
World Nomads offers simple, flexible coverage options to travels in more than 130 countries. Choose from either the Standard Plan or the Explorer Plan. Protections include emergency accident and sickness medical expense (including dental) coverage, emergency evacuation coverage, repatriation of remains coverage, accidental death and dismemberment, lost or stolen goods coverage and trip cancellation or interruption reimbursement.
World Nomads also offers 24-hour travel assistance services.
World Nomads offers coverage for over 200 adventure activities that most insurance providers won’t touch. The company was founded in 2002 and is more flexible than most insurance companies. You can adjust your travel insurance coverage while on vacation if you want to extend your stay and stay protected in case of an emergency.
Why We Love It: World Nomads offers flexibility for policyholders by allowing them to buy additional coverage if their travels extend beyond their initial plans. In addition to this customizable feature, World Nomads provides coverage for over 200 adventure activities. Furthermore, with the Explorer Plan, policyholders are granted $500,000 in emergency evacuation insurance, ensuring they are well-protected in case of unforeseen emergencies while exploring new destinations.
6. Best for Expatriates: HTH Worldwide
If you need health insurance for international travel, HTH Worldwide is a useful insurance company to consider. The company includes expatriate coverage and doesn’t have people jump through hoops to get an insurance policy. HTH Worldwide has a network of physicians spread across more than 180 countries.
Why We Love It: HTH WorldWide specializes in providing tailored insurance plans for missionaries, students and maritime crew members. With a quick and easy process for getting an insurance policy, you can have peace of mind knowing that you are protected while away from home.
7. Best for International College Students: Trawick International
If you are an international college student, Trawick International is one of the best international travel insurance providers to consider. Even if you are out of school, the travel insurer offers several packages. You can get the “cancel for any reason” add-on for extra protection. You can also use Trawick International for cruise and adventure travel insurance.
Why We Love It: Trawick International offers cancel-for-any-reason insurance policy, which provides customers with the flexibility to cancel their trip for any reason and still receive a reimbursement. Trawick International also prides itself on exceptional customer service, with representatives available 24/7 to assist customers with any inquiries or claims.
What is Travel Health Insurance?
Travel health insurance is a policy that adds extra layers of financial protection to your traveling plans. It’s hard to anticipate travel cancellations, flight delays and health issues, but they can happen. A travel health insurance policy reimburses you if something goes wrong that is covered in the policy. Travelers can use add-ons to get additional protections or select from the cheapest travel insurance plans available to get basic safeguards.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Travel Health Insurance
Health insurance plans can give you greater peace of mind when you map out your travel destinations. Before you get an insurance policy, you should consider these factors.
Premiums
Most people do not end up filing claims for their policies, but policyholders still owe the premium. While there’s more to the best travel health insurance plans than the premium, it is an investment. You should look at the policy’s protections and fine print to decide whether the premium is reasonable.
Coverage
If you have to file a claim, your coverage impacts how much you can receive and whether the incident is covered in the policy. You might have to pay extra for suitable coverage and a higher reimbursement, but it is something to review before committing to a travel health insurance policy.
Special Perks
Some insurance companies cater to international students, while others have special rates for other groups. If you served in the military, you might find better policies if you look at USAA travel insurance plans. A USAA travel insurance plan includes a discount for military members. While this isn’t a make-or-break component of an insurance policy, a nice bonus or perk can help.
How Many People Need Coverage?
Some insurance companies let you add children younger than 18 to the policy without any extra cost. You might get a better deal if you have multiple people on the policy, and some companies offer better prices than others if multiple people need coverage.
Your Lifestyle
Some insurance providers will reject your application if you engage in risky activities like skydiving. If you plan on doing adventurous activities, you may have to narrow your search to insurance providers who have coverage for your activities.
How Much Does Travel Insurance Cost?
Travel insurance costs vary based on the insurer and the type of coverage you want. Adding more coverage to your plan will increase the premium payments, but most travel insurance companies have affordable starter plans. You may have to pay 5% to 10% of your trip’s total cost for an insurance policy.
Protect Yourself While Hoping for the Best
An insurance policy provides greater peace of mind in case something happens. You can enjoy your vacation while knowing you have the travel health insurance coverage you need. Most people don’t file claims on their insurance, but something can happen. Make sure you have the protection you need so you can get reimbursed if something happens during your travels.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Several insurers offer good travel insurance, but the best travel insurance depends on what you want. Looking at several insurers and comparing plans will help you find the right choice for you.
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You can get travel insurance for medical only. Some insurers offer this plan for their customers.
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Travel health insurance is cheap because the coverage doesn’t last as long as a term-life or whole life insurance plan. These plans also have lower coverage and fewer services than the more expensive policies.
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No, health insurance and travel insurance are not the same. Health insurance typically covers medical expenses and treatments within your home country, while travel insurance provides coverage for unexpected events and emergencies that may occur while you are traveling, such as trip cancellations, lost luggage, or medical emergencies abroad. It is important to have both types of insurance if you are planning to travel internationally to ensure comprehensive coverage.
