How to Get the Cheapest Travel Insurance

Traveling is often expensive and comes with risks you don’t face at home. If you end up getting hurt, losing your luggage, or getting stuck overnight in the airport, the costs can add up quickly. 

Travel insurance offers a way to protect yourself from unexpected travel costs. It covers or reimburses a wide range of expenses so you don’t have to worry too much about the financial fallout of traveling mishaps. And, the good news is, it can be cheap!

Here’s a closer look at how to get the cheapest travel insurance and what else to consider when picking a policy.

Factors Influencing the Cost of Travel Insurance

As you shop around for travel insurance, you’ll find some of the best travel insurers have a range of policies and price points that include different levels of coverage types and amounts. Here’s a closer look at the common coverage types and how they work. 

Medical Coverage

A prominent feature of travel insurance is medical coverage that kicks in if you get hurt or sick while traveling. It can cover you up to a max limit that often ranges from $50,000 up to $5 million or more. 

Typically, the emergency accident and sickness coverage comes with a deductible and may also have a copay amount and coinsurance percentage. Insurers cover eligible costs after you pay your deductible and they subtract any copay or coinsurance you pay. 

Emergency Dental

Emergency dental can help to cover the costs of dental care while traveling. Providers will often outline maximum limits, the type of care that’s covered, and specific situations in which it’s covered. 

For example, Seven Corners’ basic plan includes $750 of coverage for emergency treatment if sound natural teeth are causing pain. 

Trip Cancellation, Delay, or Interruption

Some insurers offer trip cancellation, travel delay, and trip interruption coverage. Each of these coverage types typically stands alone and comes with its own respective maximum limit. 

• Trip cancellation: If you need to cancel a trip because of a covered event and can’t get a refund, this coverage can help you recoup your costs. Covered events may include situations such as you or a family member getting sick, injured, or dying before the trip. 
• Travel delay coverage: If you happen to encounter travel delays that result in the need to pay for reasonable expenses like accommodations and extra meals, travel delay coverage can help to reimburse you for the costs. Restrictions may apply, such as requiring you to be abroad or requiring a minimum delay length of 10 hours.  
• Trip interruption coverage: If you need to end a trip early due to extenuating circumstances (death of a family member, serious damage to your home, etc.), this coverage reimburses you for certain costs you’ll incur. For example, it may provide reimbursement if you have to book an earlier return flight.

Loss of Checked Baggage

Baggage and personal effects coverage reimburses you for lost baggage and personal items that you check with a common carrier. Insurers may provide limits per item and per occurrence. 

Baggage Delay

If your baggage ends up getting delayed, this coverage reimburses reasonable amounts you spend on additional clothing and other necessary personal items. It may also cover the cost of locating and retrieving your luggage. 

Insurers often set a maximum limit on the amount they’ll reimburse and may require your baggage to be lost for a minimum amount of time before you qualify (e.g. 24 hours).

Natural Disaster or Emergency Medical Evacuation 

Many insurers include coverage for emergency evacuations with maximums that are separate from your medical limits. However, companies vary in the amount that’s covered, the situations which warrant a covered evacuation (e.g. medical, non-medical, natural disaster), and who can be evacuated (e.g. policyholder, spouse, children). 

Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D)

Accidental death and dismemberment coverage pays a benefit if you’re involved in an accident while on your trip that results in your death or the loss of one or more limbs. In the event of death, the insurer pays the plan’s benefit to your chosen beneficiary. Insurers will vary in the benefit amount they include for this coverage and their criteria for when a situation qualifies. 

Personal Liability 

If you are sued and found personally liable for injuries to another person or damage to another person’s property—due to an event that happened while on your trip—this coverage could help to cover the costs up to your plan’s limits. Insurers may or may not provide this coverage and will vary in their coverage limits. 

Adventure Activities

Many people participate in adventure activities while they’re on vacation. Adventure activities coverage is often an optional add-on that will ensure your medical coverage will still apply, even if you’re injured due to an adventurous activity like bungee jumping, riding a motor scooter, or parasailing. 

Cheapest Travel Insurance by Company

Which travel insurance is cheapest? Here’s a look at quotes from five reputable providers.

The above quotes are based on seven-day trips to Mexico and Canada. We chose the entry-level travel insurance plan for each provider and we requested $50,000 in medical coverage. Where a deductible option was present, we chose $250. Further, we requested quotes for 35- and 60-year-old travelers.

Beyond the medical maximum coverage limit, the insurers offered a variety of coverage types and amounts. For example, accidental death and dismemberment coverage varied from $10,000 up to $50,000 between the providers. Baggage delay, trip delay, trip interruption, and evacuation coverage varied. Some offered the above coverage types while others didn’t, and coverage amounts varied for those that did. So, when comparing travel insurance quotes, it’s essential to review what you get for the price. 

How to Save Money on Travel Insurance

If you’re looking to save money on travel insurance, the best thing you can do is shop around. Most providers have a variety of plan tiers. So, figure out the minimum amount of coverage you need, and then browse the plan options to find the best overall value. Be sure to read the fine print. 

It may also be helpful to know that you can adjust your medical coverage and deductible amounts to impact your premium price. Lower coverage limits and higher deductibles will mean a lower premium. However, if you end up filing a claim, high deductibles and low coverage limits could put you in financial trouble.

In the end, if something happens, you might be able to save a significant amount by paying a few more dollars each month on your premium. 

The Bottom Line

Traveling is expensive and brings risks you might not anticipate. If you get injured, lose luggage or other property, or have to change your plans on short notice, the costs can start to spike. Travel insurance can protect you from unexpected costs.

The price of insurance varies based on how extensive your coverage is, where you're going and for how long, your age, and how much of a deductible you're willing to pay. Some of the companies with the cheapest rates include IMG Global, Seven Corners, and Trawick International.