A solo trip is a wonderful opportunity to go out and explore the world at your own pace. Sometimes, a trip is best enjoyed alone, and it can be an eye-opening adventure filled with self-discovery, whether it is your first or tenth time going solo.
Going on a solo trip soon? You may feel ready to go, but it is important to understand what unexpected events can occur during your solo trip. Typically, we do not think or try to avoid those “what if” scenarios, but in case you want protection for your trip and a stress reliever for yourself and your loved ones, travel insurance can be a very beneficial add-on to your journey.
What is Travel Insurance For a Solo Trip?
Travel insurance for a solo trip provides protection for your trip expenses and overall health in case you experience a snag while traveling. Whether you fall ill during your trip from the different food and water habits, or you experience someone pickpocketing your wallet from your back pocket, travel insurance can help ease those stressors, so you can hopefully continue your trip with confidence.
Setbacks can make it feel like your trip has gone sideways. However, travel insurance can be a great benefit, recouping up to 100% of your prepaid, nonrefundable trip expenses in case you need to delay, interrupt, or cancel your trip. With just the overall awareness that travel insurance exists, it can offer a better mindset knowing that you can travel with protection.
The Key Benefits of Travel Insurance for Solo Travelers
A solo trip can be an escape from reality, giving you freedom to go wherever without compromising your itinerary or bucket list items for a companion. However, while traveling solo, you are your own bodyguard. If something does happen, you do not have a companion to help support you. That is where travel insurance comes in.
The cost of travel insurance typically costs about 4% to 10% of your overall trip expenses. For example, if your overall trip, including excursions, flights, and hotels, costs about $2,500, that is just about $100-$250 for extra trip protection. Whether you want to travel on a budget or want a plan to fit your needs, travel insurance is a modest cost that could potentially save a lot of money in case something unexpected happens.
For the amount you spend on travel insurance, it offers the following key benefits for solo travelers:
- Emergency Medical Coverage: Most trip insurance plans provide coverage if you fall ill or injure yourself during your trip. This can help pay for doctor visits, hospital stays, or prescription medications. This is especially beneficial if you are traveling abroad, where your domestic health insurance may provide little to no coverage.
- Emergency Medical Evacuation & Repatriation: If you are unexpectedly injured or sick while on your trip, and you require transportation, many trip insurance plans can help transport you to the nearest hospital or medical facility. In other serious cases, you can get transported back home if deemed necessary by your insurance policy.
- Luggage Delay and Loss: Baggage mishaps, especially flying into a busy airport hub, are a common frustration amongst travelers. Travel insurance may provide coverage if your baggage is lost, damaged, or delayed. This also includes potentially reimbursing you for a change of clothes or other necessities.
- Trip Cancellation: Most travel insurance plans may reimburse up to 100% of your trip’s prepaid, nonrefundable expenses if you have to cancel your trip for a covered reason like a sickness, provided with a doctor’s note.
- Trip Delay: Travel insurance with trip delay coverage can provide reimbursement for prepaid, nonrefundable expenses you could not use if your trip is delayed by several hours for a covered reason. You may also receive reimbursement for meals, extra transportation, and lodging if you need to stay overnight and the airline does not provide meal or lodging vouchers.
- Trip Interruption: If you have to cut your trip short or start your trip late due to a sudden injury or another covered reason, you may be reimbursed by trip insurance for any prepaid, nonrefundable expenses that you were not able to use.
- 24/7 Travel Assistance Services: While traveling alone, it can be hard to find resources yourself. Travel insurance plans may provide 24/7 travel assistance services if you need any sort of assistance during your trip. This can include translation services, finding the nearest medical facility, or help with coordinating travel documents or what you need to file a claim.
- Cancel For Any Reason (optional add-on): Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage is an optional add-on benefit to many trip insurance policies that allows you to cancel for any reason, no questions asked. Typically, you can cancel for any reason up to 48 hours before your departure. This benefit also typically needs to be purchased within 14-21 days of your initial trip deposit.
What are Common Scenarios Solo Travelers May Face?
Travel insurance is beneficial for any travel scenario that can happen. Especially for a solo trip, travel insurance can be that support system when you don’t have a companion.
Scenario #1: Falling Ill or Getting Injured While Abroad
Imagine you are hiking in Switzerland, when you suddenly fall and injure your leg. Since you bought travel insurance, you may be qualified for emergency medical evacuation to the nearest hospital, as well as get the majority of your medical expenses covered. This also may be considered as a trip interruption, which can help cover your prepaid, nonrefundable expenses that you were not able to use while being hospitalized.
Scenario #2: Lost or Stolen Passport and Travel Documents
Now, let’s imagine that while you are walking at a busy tourist destination, someone pickpockets your passport. Without it, you cannot travel back home or prove your identity in many situations that require it. The 24/7 assistance services can help provide support if your passport is lost by coordinating to obtain a replacement quickly and efficiently, minimizing disruptions to your itinerary.
Scenario #3: Missed Connections Causing a Delay
Finally, we will imagine that you have a flight connection that you have to get to in order to get to your destination. Unfortunately, you miss your connecting flight, causing a disruption to your travel plans. This can be a stressful situation, especially if you are traveling alone and the airport has already had its last plane take off for the night. Typically, the airline will book you on the next available flight in the morning. However, if they don’t provide you with accommodations, travel insurance can help reimburse you for the cost of the hotel and transportation to get there.
How to Choose the Right Plan for Your Solo Trip
It is important to remember that travel insurance is not a one-size-fits-all solution. One plan might not be beneficial to another person. To find the right plan for your solo trip, consider the following:
- Choose a plan with high medical coverage: Especially if you are traveling to a place with expensive healthcare, it is important that you have the right coverage in case of a medical emergency.
- Consider a plan that has 24/7 assistance services: When traveling alone, you might not always know the solution to an unexpected mishap that could happen. 24/7 assistance services can help with those mishaps, including getting a new flight, obtaining replacements of stolen documents, translation services, and more.
- Compare multiple options: Looking at a marketplace for travel insurance allows you to compare multiple providers and policies side-by-side to make sure you make a good decision.
- Read the policy details: While reading through the policy details can be time-consuming, it is worth it to make sure you have all the right coverage you may need for a solo trip.
Have Travel Insurance Play a Role in Your Solo Trip
Your solo trip should be an experience to remember. Getting the coverage you need, like travel insurance, can help you plan and navigate your trip stress-free, making sure that your solo trip goes smoothly. Have any questions or need help comparing travel insurance plans? Connect with our team of licensed insurance specialists who can help guide you in finding the best travel insurance for a solo trip.
Get a Travel Insurance QuoteFrequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
If there is a natural disaster that happens at my destination, will travel insurance cover me if I have to return home early?
Yes, trip insurance may reimburse you for your new flight back home as well as any prepaid, nonrefundable expenses that were not used due to your trip interruption. In general, it is important to know that you should buy trip insurance before your trip in order to make sure you are covered along the way, including if a natural disaster happens. If the natural disaster happened and you decided to purchase trip insurance after, you will most likely not be covered.
If I am a senior going on a solo trip, how much is insurance and what coverage should I prioritize?
Trip insurance for seniors averages about 5% to 10% of the total trip cost, which is slightly more, but could provide significant coverage for medical expenses abroad and if you need to be medically evacuated. Especially since domestic health insurance such as Medicare may not provide coverage while you are abroad, it is important to get good medical coverage while protecting your overall trip expenses.
Does a travel insurance policy cover if I want to go scuba diving or ziplining during my solo trip?
Yes, however, you should make sure that your trip insurance offers the optional adventure sports add-on to cover your financial investment and potential risks if you plan on doing a high-risk activity like scuba diving or ziplining.
Is there extra assistance for women traveling alone?
Some insurance policies may have their 24/7 assistance services trained to help with certain women-related safety concerns, however, it is important to ask your insurance provider how exactly they can help when a woman is going on a solo trip as it is typically not stated in the policy explicitly. Also, if your baggage is delayed, travel insurance can provide coverage for replacements of toiletries and clothing, which may include feminine hygiene products.
Can you get travel insurance for pre-existing medical conditions?
Yes, most trip insurance plans provide a pre-existing medical conditions waiver as long as your insurance was purchased within 14-21 days of your initial trip deposit. You also have to make sure that you insure the full cost of the trip including your prepaid, nonrefundable expenses, and you have to be medically stable at the time of purchase. The waiver provided by your policy may cover your trip cancellations, interruptions, or delays related to your pre-existing condition, which would otherwise be excluded from your policy without the waiver.
If my valuables are stolen, what documentation should I provide for my claim?
When filing a trip insurance claim, you often have to prove ownership of the valuable items that were stolen, lost, or delayed while traveling. Documentation can be bank and credit card statements, receipts, online registration, photos, or serial numbers for electronics. You may want to make an inventory list before your trip with photos of what you are bringing and a description of what they are, and keep that list handy in case something does happen.
Is it really necessary to buy trip insurance for international travel?
Depending on your destination, overseas travel may require travel insurance. For destinations that do not require it, it is still highly recommended to get travel insurance. For example, if you happen to get in a situation where you need to seek medical attention, it is very likely that your U.S. healthcare won’t cover overseas medical care. That means you would have to pay out of pocket, which can be expensive in most countries.
