Whether you're taking a family vacation or a romantic cruise, travel insurance can help if the unexpected happens. From trip cancellations to lost luggage to medical emergencies, the right policy can protect you financially and provide you with peace of mind.
There are several common types of travel insurance coverage:
- Trip cancellation: Reimburses travel expenses if you can't travel because of a covered reason, like illness, death in the family or jury duty.
- Travel delay: Helps cover expenses if your travel is delayed due to a covered event.
- Trip interruption: Can refund expenses if you need to cut your trip short for a covered reason, such as an injury or illness or a family emergency at home.
- Baggage loss: Covers expenses due to lost, damaged or stolen luggage or personal items.
- Medical expenses and emergency evacuation: Can cover medical care and transport if you travel outside the U.S. and your health insurance isn't available.
CNBC Select analyzed dozens of different U.S. travel insurance providers and narrowed down the top seven for all sorts of travelers. (Read more about our methodology below.)
Best travel insurance companies
- Best for lost baggage: AXA Assistance USA
- Best for families: Travel Guard
- Best build-your-own coverage: American Express
- Best for trip cancellation: Allianz Travel Insurance
- Best for medical emergencies: USI Affinity
- Best for cruise insurance: Nationwide
- Best for luxury travel: Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection
Best for lost baggage
AXA Assistance USA Travel Insurance
Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
Policy highlights
AXA Assistance USA offers several travel insurance policies that include travel interruption, trip cancellation, and the option of cancel for any reason (CFAR) coverage.
24/7 assistance available
Yes
Pros
- Three tiers of plans available
- Highly rated for financial strength
Cons
- Cancel for any reason only available on highest-tier coverage
Who's this for? AXA Assistance USA offers three tiers of travel insurance. The basic Silver plan covers trip interruption, delay and cancellation, as well as coverage for baggage and personal effects.
Standout benefits: AXA's Platinum plan reimburses $500 per item for lost luggage and has a maximum $3,000 payout, both of which are higher than several competitors.
Best for families
Travel Guard® Travel Insurance
Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
Policy highlights
Travel Guard offers a variety of plans to suit travel ranging from road trips to long cruises. For air travelers, Travel Guard can help track luggage and cover lost or delayed baggage.
24/7 assistance available
Yes
Read our AIG Travel Guard review
Pros
- Adult policies comes with coverage for one child under 17
- 24/7 customer assistance
- Emergency medical care and evacuation limits can be doubled
Cons
- Cancel For Any Reason policy only reimburses up to 50% of trip cost.
- Standard medical emergency coverage limit is lower than some competitors
- Not all products are available for purchase online
Who's this for? AIG Travel Guard is a strong option because of its variety of coverage types. With three base packages available online and even more options if you work with a representative, there are many ways to customize your policy.
Standout benefits: Travel Guard's Deluxe, Preferred and Essential plans all include free coverage for one child age 17 or younger when a related adult purchases a policy.
Best build-your-own coverage
American Express Travel Insurance
Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
Policy highlights
American Express Travel Insurance offers four standard plans and a "build your own" plan, with coverage options including travel interruption, trip cancellation and baggage protection. While American Express cardholders enjoy some travel protections, a standalone policy can include benefits not included with Amex cards, including emergency medical and dental coverage, medical evacuation and travel accident protection in cases of death or dismemberment while traveling.
24/7 assistance available
Yes
Pros
- Don't need to be an Amex cardholder to get coverage
- Emergency medical and travel accident protection offered
- 24-hour assistance available with all plans
Cons
- Basic rates somewhat higher than competition
- Cancel for any reason not available
- Only higher tiers include travel accident protection and global trip delay coverage.
Who's this for? American Express Travel Insurance has several optional add-ons if you need to customize — including global medical protection and baggage protection — each with adjustable payout limits and requirements.
Standout benefits: These standalone policies are available to anyone, not just American Express cardholders, and include emergency medical coverage and travel accident protection.
Best for trip cancellation
Allianz Travel Insurance
Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
Policy highlights
10 travel insurance plans to customize your coverage. Allianz's OneTrip Prime and Premier policies cover one child age 17 or younger when traveling with a parent or grandparent.
24/7 assistance available
Yes
Read our review of Allianz Travel Insurance
Pros
- OneTrip Prime and Premier plans cover one child under 17 for free
- Cancel For Any Reason coverage reimburses 80% of nonrefundable trip costs.
- 15-day review period is longer than most
- Pre-existing medical condition waiver available with all plans
Cons
- Rates are higher than the national average
- Limited options for adventure travel
- CFAR insurance must be purchased through a travel agent
- No discounts available
Who's this for? Allianz has 10 different travel insurance policies, so you can find coverage for a single excursion or a year's worth of trips.
Standout benefits: Instead of Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage, Allianz offers a cancel anytime add-on that reimburses up to 80% of prepaid, non-refundable trip costs. Many other providers cap CFAR coverage at 50% to 75%.
Best for medical emergencies
USI Affinity Travel Insurance
Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
Policy highlights
USI Affinity has travel medical policies in addition to trip cancellation policies. Travel medical plans include an option for frequent travelers to cover multiple trips. Trip cancellation options include coverage for road trips and group travel.
24/7 assistance available
Yes
Pros
- Wide variety of plans for both trip cancellation coverage and travel medical insurance
Cons
- CFAR only covers up to 70% of non-refundable trip costs
Who's this for? If you're traveling outside the country, USI Affinity has several options with flexible medical coverage.
Standout benefits: InterMedical Insurance® combines medical and evacuation coverage and will cover any number of trips in a year, up to 90 days each.
Best for cruise insurance
Nationwide Travel Insurance
Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
Policy highlights
Nationwide's wide coverage for travel insurance allows many different types of travelers to find coverage that fits their needs. Three levels of cruise insurance coverage gives extra options to cruise passengers.
24/7 assistance available
Yes
Pros
- 10-day review period on cruise insurance policies to make sure the plan meets your needs (not available in NY or WA)
Cons
- Most basic cruise plan doesn't offer CFAR coverage
Who's this for? Nationwide offers cruise-specific policies that can cover accidents, illness, itinerary changes, trip interruptions and more.
Standout benefits: Nationwide offers three tiers of cruise insurance — universal, choice and luxury — and a 10-day review period on its cruise policies to give you time to make sure it's a good fit (not available in New York or Washington).
Best for luxury travel
Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection
Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
Policy highlights
Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection has multiple plans to cover vacations from luxury travel to adventure travel. The brand's LuxuryCare offers the highest limits of travel insurance coverage offered by the company. Quotes and policies are available online.
24/7 assistance available
Yes
Pros
- Wide variety of policies available
- Strong financial strength rating by AM Best
Cons
- Cancel for any reason only provides reimbursement for up to 50% of non-refundable trip payments
Who's this for? Berkshire Hathaway’s LuxuryCare travel insurance has high limits for trip interruption coverage, medical expenses, and coverage for things like sporting equipment.
Standout features: Luxury travel can take many forms, so it's helpful that Berkshire Hathaway also covers cruises and adventure travel.
More on our top travel insurance companies
AXA Assistance USA
AXA Assistance USA has over 20 years of experience in the travel insurance space and is backed by the large insurance group AXA.
Cancel for any reason (CFAR) coverage
Yes, up to 75% of non-refundable travel expenses available on platinum plan
A.M. Best rating
A+
Travel Guard
AIG Travel Guard has the global presence you need with travel insurance.
Cancel for any reason (CFAR) coverage
Available as an upgrade
A.M. Best rating
A
American Express
Backed by Amex Assurance Company, American Express Travel Insurance is available to any U.S. resident traveling abroad.
Cancel for any reason (CFAR) coverage
No
A.M. Best rating
A
Allianz
Allianz covers more than 55 million travelers a year and has strong ratings for financial strength from A.M. Best.
Cancel for any reason (CFAR) coverage
Yes, up to 80% of non-refundable travel costs
A.M. Best rating
A+
USI Affinity
USI Affinity offers robust travel insurance plans that cover trip cancellation and medical plans, including options for group policies.
Cancel for any reason (CFAR) coverage
Yes, up to 70% of non-refundable trip costs (not available to New York residents)
A.M. Best rating
A
Nationwide
Nationwide is a mainstay for homeowners and car insurance and offers versatile travel insurance for those going overseas.
Cancel for any reason (CFAR) coverage
Yes, up to 75% of non-refundable travel costs
A.M. Best rating
A+
Berkshire Hathaway
Specializing in high-end vacations, Berkshire Hathaway's travel insurance policies are versatile and strong enough to cover unique adventures.
Cancel for any reason (CFAR) coverage
Yes, only available on LuxuryCare travel insurance plans
A.M. Best rating
A+
FAQs
Is travel insurance worth it?
Whether travel insurance is worth it depends on many different factors, including if you have coverage from another source, like a travel credit card. A travel insurance policy could be useful if much of your trip is non-refundable, if you have a lot of connections, if you're traveling somewhere your health insurance won't be available or if you've planned risky activities like skiing or hang-gliding.
How much does travel insurance cost?
The average travel insurance plan costs between 4% and 10% of your prepaid, non-refundable trip costs. The price of a specific policy varies based on the cost of the trip, the payout limits, the age of the travelers, additional coverage added to the policy and other factors.
What does travel insurance not cover?
Travel insurance typically doesn't cover foreseeable events, like epidemics or hurricanes announced before you bought your plan. In addition, pre-existing health conditions are almost always excluded unless you purchase a premium plan with a waiver. If you do cancel, it must be for a reason cited on your policy, like a death in the family, not just because you changed your mind.
What is Cancel For Any Reason travel insurance?
While travel insurance policies have a narrow list of reasons you can cancel your plans and still be reimbursed, Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) insurance is an optional add-on that gives you much more flexibility. CFAR policies usually refund 50% to 80% of your trip costs but can as much as 40% more than the standard plans. And, despite their name, there are still some exclusions.
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Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every travel insurance review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of travel insurance products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best travel insurance.
Our methodology
To determine the best travel insurance companies, CNBC Select analyzed dozens of U.S. travel insurance companies that come with a wide variety of policies and offer coverage for many situations.
When narrowing down the best travel insurance companies, we focused on the coverage available, including the number of plans available, 24/7 assistance availability and cancel for any reason (CFAR) coverage availability. We also considered financial strength ratings from AM Best and Better Business Bureau ratings for customer satisfaction.
From there, we sorted our recommendations by the best for lost baggage and personal belongings, best for customization, best build-your-own coverage, best for cancellation coverage, best for travel medical plans, best for cruise insurance and best for luxury travel.
Note that the premiums and policy structures advertised for travel insurance companies are subject to fluctuate per the company’s policies.
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